Historic first meeting and high stakes as Sam Houston seeks victory during Bearkat Family Weekend at Bowers Stadium
HUNTSVILLE – The Sam Houston Bearkats will take the field at Bowers Stadium for the first time in 2024 on Saturday when they play host to the Hawaii Warriors, highlighting Bearkat Family Weekend on campus. Kickoff of Saturday’s contest is set for 6:00 p.m. at Bowers Stadium. It will be aired on ESPN+ with Tom Franklin and John Harris on the call. The game can be heard online on the Bearkat Sports Network, the Bearkat Athletics app and Sirius XM 984 with Carlos Zimmermann and Brian Adams on the call from the radio booth.
HOME OPENER UP NEXT FOR THE BEARKATS
– Sam Houston has dropped each of its last 2 home openers, last winning a home opener in 2021 when it took down Southeast Missouri, 52-14
– The Kats are 7-3 in home openers under KC Keeler and 31-7 in openers at Bowers since the stadium was built in 1986
– The game will be one of the centerpieces of Bearkat Family Weekend with a strong contingent of Bearkat family and friends expected to be in attendance. Sam Houston is 30-6 in games played on Bearkat Family Weekend and had won 7 in a row before an OT loss in 2023 to Jax State
– Bearkat Family Weekend has been one of the top draws of the season for the Kats over the years with season highs in attendance being posted on that weekend in 7 of the last 10 years
– Sam Houston had a 67-yard touchdown pass in Week 1 at Rice and a 64-yard touchdown pass in Week 2 at UCF. The plays mark the first time the Kats have had consecutive games with pass plays of 60+ yards since the opening games of the 2020 season vs Southeastern Louisiana and Nicholls
SERIES HISTORY
– The Bearkats are scheduled to complete the home-and-home series with Hawaii in 2025 with the teams set to play on the island on September 6, 2025
– The Warrior are the second of 2 first-time opponents on the Bearkat schedule for 2024. The first came last week when the Kats took on UCF
– Sam Houston is 1-4 all-time vs current members of the Mountain West Conference
– Saturday will mark the second straight year the Kats have played a MWC opponent, having played Air Force at NRG Stadium in Week 2 of the 2023 season
– Sam Houston’s lone win vs a team from the MWC came in 2011 when the then-FCS Bearkats took down New Mexico in Albuquerque. That year the Kats finished 14-1 and advanced to the first of back-to-back FCS Championship Games
SAM HOUSTON >> HAWAII CONNECTIONS
– Hawaii special teams coordinator Thomas Sheffield is a Bearkat alum and a native of Waco. Sheffield was an offensive quality control coach at Sam Houston in 2011 when the Bearkats advanced to their first of back-to-back FCS national championship games under former head coach Willie Fritz
– Sam Houston wide receiver Qua’Vez Humphreys and Hawaii defensive back Caleb Brown were junior college teammates on the 2022 Butler CC squad. The pair helped lead the Grizzlies to an 8-4 record in 2022 and wins in each of their final 3 games
QUICK HITTERS FROM THE LOSS AT UCF
– The game provided an opportunity for Jase Bauer, a transfer from Central Michigan, to see time at quarterback. He took advantage by completing 7 of his 10 pass attempts and leading the Kats on a touchdown drive in the fourth quarter, connecting with receiver Michael Phoenix II for a 22-yard touchdown in the left corner of the end zone
– Bearkat quarterbacks connected with 10 different receivers at UCF. It marked the first time the Kats have had 10 different players catch a pass in a single game since 2019 when 11 Bearkats hauled in a grab in the season opener at New Mexico
– Ife Adeyi had a pair of catches for 21 yards, giving him 2,125 for his career and moving him past Jason Mathenia into seventh place all-time at SHSU
– Adeyi has now caught a pass in 26 consecutive games, while teammate Noah Smith has caught a pass in 21 straight
– Linebacker Trey Fields racked up a career-high 12 tackles, including 10 in in the first half for the Kats. He also recovered his first career fumble
– The fumble recovery was the first takeaway of the game for the Kats and marked the eighth straight game in which the Sam Houston defense has had caused a turnover
– Fields and Jevon Leon combined for a sack of UCF quarterback KJ Jefferson in the second quarter. The half sack gave Leon 17.5 for his career and put him in sole possession of sixth place on the all-time list at Sam Houston and into a 4-way tie for sixth with 36.0 career TFLs
