Sam Houston State backup quarterback Wade Pate came off the bench to spark a sputtering Bearkats' offense to a 35-18 win over Southeastern Louisiana in Southland Conference football action Saturday evening at Bowers Stadium.
Pate, a sophomore from Arp, Texas, relieved starter Phillip Daugherty on the Bearkats' third possession. He sparked the SHSU offense leading his squad to scores on three of the next four possessions to turn a 7-0 deficit into a 21-7 advantage. The only miss came on an awry Lance Garner field goal attempt. Pate accounted for five SHSU scores finishing the game 16-for-22 for 260 yards with three touchdown passes and two rushes for scores.
Southeastern (3-5, 2-3 SLC) out-gained the Bearkats 389 yards to 372 and had 27 first downs to only 17 for SHSU (3-5, 2-3 SLC) but big plays and turnovers, including three lost fumbles, proved costly for the Lions. Trey Willie led the Southeastern attack going 25-for-41 for 263 yards and one touchdown pass. Willie also rushed for a score and finished with 64 yards on 15 carries. Felton Huggins had 53 yards on five catches and Josh Taylor had three catches for 72 yards and a score.
Senior running back Jason Godfrey rushed for a game high 74 yards on 15 carries to lead the Bearkats while Corey Roberts had 67 yards receiving on five catches.
The first half was a series of costly errors for the Lions. A fumble into the end zone, interception in their own territory, a long kickoff return and blocked field goal combined with several defensive errors to stake Sam Houston to a 21-7 halftime lead. Despite running 11 more plays and racking up 12 first downs to seven for the Bearkats, Southeastern trailed 199-175 in first half yardage.
After holding Sam Houston to a three-and-out on its first possession, the Lions marched 52 yards to the Bearkat two-yard-line but came up empty after Mario Gilbert fumbled on second and goal. Derrick Harris recovered in the end zone to give SHSU the ball on the 20-yard line.
After Duke Adams picked off a Phillip Daugherty pass and returned it to the SHSU 29, the Lions got on the scoreboard first, going 29 yards in six plays capped by a three-yard dive by Willie for a 7-0 lead with 1:55 left in the first quarter.
But that was the Lions' lone highlight of the half as Sam Houston scored 21 unanswered points fueled by two passes for scores and a TD rush from Pate to lead by 14 at the break.
The second half didn't start much better for Southeastern as a Josh Taylor fumble set up another Bearkat score as Pate scrambled in from 23 yards on a brilliant play-action fake for a 28-7 lead with 13:29 left in the third.
The Lions chipped away at the lead as a 30-yard Jim Hall field goal to cut it to 28-10 and had a chance to get it closer but couldn't punch in a first-and-goal from the inside the five to turn it over on downs.
Sam Houston took over at its own two and promptly drove 98 yards in 10 plays capped by a nine yard pass from Pate to Brian Christian for a 35-10 lead.
Southeastern added a late score as time expired as Willie hit Taylor for a 47-yard strike followed by a two-point conversion for the final margin.
The Lions will wrap up their 2005 home season with Homecoming and Senior Day next Saturday, Nov. 12 at 6 p.m. in Strawberry Stadium hosting Nicholls State in a renewed rivalry of the Riverbell Classic.
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score
Southeastern La......... 7 0 3 8 - 18
Sam Houston State..... 0 21 7 7 - 35
Scoring Summary:
1st Quarter
02:03 SLU - Willie 3 run (Hall kick)
2nd Quarter
14:00 SHSU - Pate 12 run (Garner kick)
05:53 SHSU - Smith 63 pass from Pate (Garner kick)
04:31 SHSU - Perry 17 pass from Pate (Garner kick)
3rd Quarter
13:29 SHSU - Pate 23 run (Garner kick)
04:10 SLU - FG Hall 30
4th Quarter
06:16 SHSU - Christian 9 pass from Pate (Garner kick)
00:00 SLU - Taylor 47 pass from Willie (Jackson pass from Willie)
A - 7,235
SLU SHSU
FIRST DOWNS................... 18 35
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............ 37-126 35-101
PASSING YDS (NET)............. 263 271
Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 41-25-1 26-17-1
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS..... 78-389 61-372
Fumble Returns-Yards.......... 1-6 1-7
Punt Returns-Yards............ 2-16 1-1
Kickoff Returns-Yards......... 6-53 2-67
Interception Returns-Yards.... 1-16 1-22
Punts (Number-Avg)............ 3-40.0 3-40.3
Fumbles-Lost.................. 5-3 1-1
Penalties-Yards............... 8-70 6-67
Possession Time............... 32:19 27:41
RUSHING: Southeastern - Willie 15-64; Gilbert 18-59, Watson 4-3. Sam Houston - Godfrey 15-74; Pate 9-25; Baca 2-6; Smith 8-2; Daugherty 1-(-6).
PASSING: Southeastern - Willie 41-25-1-263. Sam Houston - Pate 22-16-0-260; Daugherty 3-1-1-11; Baca 1-0-0-0.
RECEIVING: Southeastern - Huggins 5-53; Scates 4-48; Taylor 3-72; Lanaux 3-26; Jackson 3-16; Watson 3-16; Howard 2-20; Gilbert 2-12. Sam Houston - Roberts 5-67; Martin 3-33; Smith 2-67; Wells 2-49; Christian 2-18; Perry 1-17; Malone 1-12; Godfrey 1-8.
