The Bearkats earned their first win of 2026 with 619 yards, nine touchdowns and a shutout before 12,182 fans in Huntsville.
HUNTSVILLE, Texas. Sam Houston earned its first victory of the 2026 football season Saturday night, defeating Nicholls 59-0 at Bowers Stadium behind 619 yards of offense, nine touchdowns and a defense that limited the Colonels to 163 total yards.
The Bearkats moved to 1-2 after scoring in every quarter. The 12,182 fans in attendance saw Sam Houston return to Huntsville for the first time since 2024. The Bearkats played their 2025 home games at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston while Bowers Stadium underwent renovations, according to Sam Houston Athletics.
Sam Houston led 10-0 after the first quarter, 31-0 at halftime and 52-0 after three quarters. Nicholls did not score and converted one of 15 third-down tries, according to the official box score.
Locke directs a fast start
Quarterback Landyn Locke completed 19 of 28 passes for 322 yards and four touchdowns. Sam Houston Athletics identified it as his third consecutive 300-yard passing game.
The first touchdown came on a three-play, 69-yard drive that lasted 1 minute, 16 seconds. Locke connected with Tim Burns Jr. for 65 yards with 10:55 left in the opening quarter. Samuel Carpenter’s 33-yard field goal later in the period made it 10-0.
Locke added scoring passes to Grady O’Neill from 3 yards and Darrick Bledsoe III from 11 yards before halftime. He opened the second half with a 48-yard touchdown pass to Kamari Maxwell. O’Neill caught five passes for 44 yards and a touchdown. Maxwell recorded 86 receiving yards.
The Bearkats finished with 386 passing yards. They gained 26 first downs and converted 10 of 17 third-down opportunities. Nicholls had 10 first downs and the one third-down conversion.
Rushing depth extends the lead
Sam Houston added 233 rushing yards on 47 carries. Jerrian Parker Jr. led the Bearkats with 52 yards on six attempts. Backup quarterback Brett Holloway ran eight times for 51 yards and two touchdowns.
Landan Brown reached the goal line on a 5-yard run. Alton McCaskill later added another 5-yard rushing score. Holloway threw a 61-yard touchdown pass to Kyan Berry-Johnson in the third quarter, then scored from 10 yards out with 4:45 remaining to complete the 59-point total.
The scoring illustrates the spread of the production. Locke accounted for four touchdowns through the air. Holloway accounted for a passing touchdown and two rushing touchdowns. Five different players caught touchdown passes, while Brown, McCaskill and Holloway supplied the rushing scores.
Defense limits Nicholls to 163 yards
The defensive effort started with a stop on Nicholls’ opening possession. Sam Houston then intercepted two passes, with Railyn Adams and She’Fon Boyd each recording a takeaway, according to the Bearkats’ game recap.
Nicholls gained 124 yards on the ground and 39 through the air. Its 59 plays produced 163 yards. Sam Houston ran 75 plays. Ean Rodrigue was credited with 39 passing yards for the Colonels. Tamaj Hoffman led the team with 56 rushing yards, and Jordan Smith had 21 receiving yards.
Sam Houston also recovered a third-quarter fumble at the Nicholls 27-yard line. The Bearkats held possession for 35 minutes, 31 seconds, compared with 24:29 for the Colonels. Sam Houston was penalized eight times for 70 yards, while Nicholls had seven penalties for 66 yards.
The 619-yard total was Sam Houston’s highest since its 2020 season opener against Southeastern Louisiana, the athletics department said. The game began at 6:02 p.m. in 90-degree weather with a southeast wind measured at 7 mph. It ended at 9:34 p.m. after 3 hours, 31 minutes.
Homecoming crowd sees first win
Sam Houston’s official game center listed Saturday as Homecoming. The win followed close opening losses to Troy and Tulsa and gave the Bearkats a decisive result in their first home game back at Bowers Stadium.
Nicholls entered the matchup at 2-2, according to its athletics site. Its game recap described the contest as the Colonels’ second FBS road matchup of the season. Sam Houston is scheduled to travel to Lubbock on Sept. 26 to play Texas Tech.
Sam Houston won the opening toss and deferred, then forced Nicholls to punt after six plays on its opening possession. The Bearkats’ 59-point margin was built with 10 points in the first quarter, 21 in the second, 21 in the third and seven in the fourth. The shutout was secured by the defense’s two interceptions, the fumble recovery and Nicholls’ inability to convert on third down.
Sam Houston recorded seven scoring drives before the final quarter and then added Holloway’s closing touchdown run. The Bearkats had a 456-yard edge in total offense, a 109-yard edge on the ground and a 347-yard edge through the air. Those official figures detail how Sam Houston controlled the game from its opening touchdown drive through the final whistle.
The game record also listed no fourth-down attempts for either team. Sam Houston’s advantage in third-down conversion and possession allowed it to keep drives moving, while the Colonels’ offense repeatedly returned the ball. The Bearkats next take that 1-2 record into their Sept. 26 road game against Texas Tech.