HBU Huskies (1-2, 0-1 SLC) at #12 Sam Houston State (0-2, 0-1 SLC)
Saturday, Sept. 26 – 6 p.m.
Bowers Stadium – Huntsville, Texas
All-Time Series: SHSU leads, 1-0
 
Audio (Lonnie King/Alonzo Williams)
TV: FOX College Sports Central (DirecTV 608-1/Dish 448)
Live Stats
Game Notes
Tickets
 
HUNTSVILLE, Texas - HBU plays its second-straight Southland Conference road game when it battles 12th-ranked Sam Houston State Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at Bowers Stadium. The Legacy Sports Network audio broadcast with Lonnie King and Alonzo Williams can be heard on HBUHuskies.com, and the game will be televised live on FOX College Sports Central (DirecTV 608-1/Dish 448).
 
The Huskies (1-2, 0-1 SLC) are led by sophomore running backs Terrance Peters, who averages 79.0 yards per game and 8.2 yards per carry, and B.J. Kelly, who averages 63.3 yards per game, 5.8 per carry, and leads the team with three touchdowns. The duo combined for 203 yards in last week's loss at Abilene Christian and the Huskies rank 21st in the nation in rushing yards per game. Sophomore quarterback Max Staver has completed 32-of-70 passes for 442 yards, three touchdowns and four interceptions. Sophomore wide receiver Ethan Fry leads HBU with nine catches for 146 yards and a touchdown.
 
On defense, sophomore linebacker Garrett Dolan leads the conference with 30 total tackles, is tied for the league lead and ranks 30th nationally with 10.0 tackles per game.Sophomore linebacker Cody Moncure has made 22 stops, while senior defensive end Josh Jones has 16 tackles and a team-leading 2.0 sacks. Sophomore punter Christian Guzman leads the conference and ranks 11th nationally with a 44.5 punt average.
 
The Bearkats (0-2, 0-1) are led by quarterback Jared Johnson, who has completed 33-of-53 passes for two touchdowns and an interception, and has a team-leading 173 rushing yards with two touchdowns. Donovan Williams has rushed for 127 yards and a team-leading six touchdowns, one of them a receiving TD. Davion Davis has 13 catches for 113 yards and a score, while Yedidiah Louis has nine catches for 162 yards and a touchdown.
 
Tristan Eche leads SHSU with 15 tackles, while Mikell Everette has 13 tackles. The Bearkats have not recorded a sack or forced a fumble through two games and have one interception. SHSU is coming off a 49-46 loss in conference play to Lamar, after falliong 49-45 to Texas Tech in its season opener.
 
Following its only set of back-to-back road games all season, HBU returns home for back-to-back games, first in a non-conference tilt against College of Faith for Homecoming Saturday, Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. at Husky Stadium, then back to SLC play against Central Arkansas Oct. 10 at 2:30 p.m.
 
HEAD COACH VIC SHEALY QUOTES
Growth as a program: "We're seeing areas in our program that are growing and improving. We came out this fall and have showed some growth in terms of being more physical and our toughness is starting to show. I think it's a reflection of us being better, especially in our run defense and our ability to run the ball. You don't grow as fast as you want to grow, but the main thing is seeing our kids be more and more competitive each week. One of the things that is equally important that we don't talk as much about is our locker room -- is it growing? -- is it developing the brotherhood that really builds the bonds of a team and players play in such a way as they are not going to let their teammates down?"
 
Facing Sam Houston State: "When you play a team like Sam, as athletic as they are, they look more like a Big 12 school right now on tape. Sometimes it's hard, because the growth and improvement you're making, you may not be able to see those as easily this week as you would against a team we're more equally talented to. Where Sam is, not just because of where we are as a growing program, but against the rank-and-file in our conference, you have to play a near-perfect game, just like Lamar did -- they made no mistakes last week -- didn't allow a sack, didn't have a turnover. It takes that kind of an effort against a team like Sam right now, so we're going to have to work in such a way to really take away those areas in our execution that are not excellent, we need to become more excellent, have a good week of practice and chip away at those areas that give us the expectations to line up and beat Sam."
 
On running backs: "B.J. (Kelly) and Terrance (Peters) are similar in some ways, but they are different, too. Both of them have a burst of speed that is tremendous -- Terrance just has some straight-line juice that's amazing, but you look at B.J., who has a little faster turnover ratio, he at the same time, can chew down yards also. Both of them run strong behind their pads and are physical by nature. B.J. is an exceptional pass protector and Terrance has some ability to catch the ball out of the backfield that gives him an edge on our backs. It doesn't seem to matter who's in there right now, they're both highly productive, and we have Larry Day and Craig Bell who are tremendous backs, too."