HUNTSVILLE, Texas – Sam Houston State's Tim Flanders rushed for 141 yards and scored two touchdowns as the Bearkats erupted for a 34-0 halftime lead and defeated Southeastern Louisiana, 57-7, in a Southland Conference game Saturday at Bowers Stadium.

Freshman quarterback Brian Bell completed 6 of 14 passes for 87 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 34 yards with a 1-yard TD run in the final seconds of the first half as SHSU (4-2, 2-0 Southland) won its fourth consecutive game. Southeastern, which hosts McNeese State for Homecoming, fell to 2-4 overall and 1-1 in Southland Conference play.

SHSU drove 57 yards in six plays on its opening possession as Flanders capped the drive with a 15-yard scoring run. Vincent Dotson blocked a Southeastern punt and Robert Shaw returned it 24 yards for a TD and Flanders added a 1-yard TD plunge as SHSU scored three times in the first 11:58

Tyler Beatty, who threw for a career-high 368 yards in last week's 49-24 win over Texas State, struggled against a blitzing Bearkat defense as he went 5-for-16 for 32 yards before being replaced by Brian Young in the second quarter.

Young got Southeastern on the scoreboard with 10:45 remaining in the third quarter when he connected with Simmie Yarborough on a 95-yard scoring pass – the longest touchdown reception in school history breaking the previous record of 92 yards by Johnny Wells to Andre Lennix against Delta State in 1978.

The Lions drove to the SHSU 10 on its next possession but were unable to score as Seth Sebastian missed a 36-yard field goal.

SHSU pulled away from there as Shaw added a 54-yard interception return in the third quarter that gave the Bearkats a 41-7 lead and D.J. Morrow added on an 11-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

After a Matt Foster punt was downed inside the SLU 1, SHSU's Eric Fieilo tackled Sam Fairley in the end zone for a safety and the Bearkats took the free kick and drove 50 yards on the ensuing drive, with Bryan Randolph scampering 17 yards for a TD.

Young went 9-for-25 for 202 yards for Southeastern while Yarborough caught five passes for 130 yards, tying him with Duane Floyd. Brandon Collins, a Brenham, Texas native and University of Texas transfer, caught a game-high six passes for 91 yards for Southeastern while Fairley led the Lions on the ground with 26 yards.

SHSU outgained Southeastern, 397-287, and controlled the football for nearly 37 minutes. Southeastern finished 14-for-42 from the air and went 6-for-20 on third-down conversions after going 13-for-19 in its previous game with Texas State.

Nathan Clophus led Southeastern on defense with a career-high nine tackles while Tommy Connors added eight. Curtis Strong added an interception for the Lions.

Southeastern La..... 0 0 7 0 - 7 Record: (2-4,1-1)
Sam Houston......... 21 13 7 16 - 57 Record: (4-2,2-0)

Scoring Summary:
1st Quarter
11:44 SHSU – Flanders 15 run (Antonio kick)
7:30 SHSU – Shaw 24 blocked punt return (Antonio kick)
3:02 SHSU – Flanders 1 run (Antonio kick)

2nd Quarter
14:53 SHSU – Matthews 38 pass from Bell (Rush failed)
0:10 SHSU – Bell 1 run (Antonio kick)

3rd Quarter
10:45 SLU – Yarborough 95 pass from Young (Sebastian kick)
2:27 SHSU – Shaw 54 interception return (Antonio kick)

4th Quarter
13:37 SHSU – Morrow 11 run (Antonio kick)
9:32 SHSU – Fieilo safety
7:32 SHSU – Randolph 17 run (Antonio kick)

SLU SHSU
FIRST DOWNS................... 14 21
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............ 32-53 51-277
PASSING YDS (NET)............. 234 120
Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 42-14-1 16-8-1
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS..... 74-287 67-397
Punts (Number-Avg)............ 10-31.8 7-41.9
Fumbles-Lost.................. 2-0 0-0
Penalties-Yards............... 8-72 5-35
Possession Time............... 23:28 36:32

RUSHING: Southeastern La. – Fairley 10-26; Young 9-12; Jones 3-9; Theodore 1-5; Chaney 4-4; Johnson 1-0; Beatty 4-minus 3. Sam Houston – Flanders 20-141; Wilson 5-35; Bell 8-34; Randolph 3-19; Sincere 1-13; Brown 5-13; Sprowls 2-11; Morrow 7-11.

PASSING: Southeastern La. – Young 9-25-1-202; Beatty 5-17-0-32. Sam Houston State – Bell 6-14-1-87; Sincere 1-1-0-21; Randolph 1-1-0-12; Morrow 0-0-0-0.

RECEIVING: Southeastern La. – Collins 6-91; Yarborough 5-130; Cryer 1-10; Fairley 1-4; Jones 1-minus 1. Sam Houston State – Matthews 4-89; Patterson 2-30; Morrow 1-5; Flanders 1-minus 4.