James extends TD scoring streak vs. Sam Houston

ABILENE, TEXAS – Eric Schmid survived six sacks to throw for 260 yards and Ife Adeyi scored two touchdowns to lead Sam Houston State University to a 24-10 come-from-behind win over Abilene Christian University in a Southland Conference game Saturday afternoon at Wildcat Stadium. 
 
Capitalizing on three turnovers, the Bearkats rallied from a 10-0 second-quarter deficit to score 24 unanswered points in snapping a three-game winning streak for the Wildcats (5-5 overall and 4-4 in the league). The win steadied SHSU's ship (6-4, 5-2) after the visitors had lost two of their previous three.
 
Schmid completed 16 of 33 passes and threw one touchdown pass for Sam Houston State, and wide receiver Adeyi caught scoring passes of 36 and 57 yards. ACU's Tracy James scored his 19th TD of the season, the second-best mark in the nation (FCS).
 
Abilene Christian held SHSU to just 71 yards on the ground and chased Schmid all over the field, but the Bearkats limited ACU to only 83 second-half yards of offense and 279 overall, far below their per-game average of 457.2. SHSU managed just 365 yards of offense, 20 yards below what ACU averages allowing per game.
 
Both teams entered the game from a bye week, and each entertained FCS playoff hopes.
 
ACU began two of its first four drives under the north end zone shadow of Wessel Scoreboard after punts by Aussie freshman Matt McRobert pinned the Wildcats at their 3- and 2-yard lines, respectively. 
 
Blair Zepeda booted his 12^th field goal of the season, a 24-yarder to put the Wildcats on top, 3-0. ACU had been gifted excellent field position when it bottled up the Bearkats deep in their own territory and forced them punt on their opening drive.
 
The Wildcats increased their lead to 10-0 when James ran 14 tough yards with a screen pass from Luke Anthony with 53 seconds left in the first quarter. For the junior signal caller, this was his 50th career touchdown pass.
 
Abilene Christian looked sharp on both sides of the ball. The opening quarter was one of offensive futility for the Bearkats, who were held to zero yards rushing and 25 overall by the Wildcat defense. The frame ended with a sack of Schmid by defensive tackle Temisan Kuyatsemi, ACU's second of the game's early action.
 
But in far less time than the 18 minutes it took Sam Houston State's namesake to lead his army to a win at the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836, the Bearkats flipped ACU's tables and ensured themselves of a victory.
 
They stormed into a 14-10 lead before half and extended it to 17-10 early in the third quarter – all benefit of Wildcat turnovers – and added another TD to make it 24-10. SHSU racheted up its defensive pressure the rest of the game.
 
SHSU shook its offensive woes with a five-play, 90-yard scoring drive and a one-play, 57-yard drive just before halftime. On the first touchdown, Noah Smith connected with fellow wide receiver Ife Adeyi on a 36-yard pass at the 5:06 mark and on the second, Adeyi hauled in a 57-yard pass from Schmid with 3:47 left.
 
That 14-point rally in only six plays was keyed by a pair of interceptions of Anthony when it appeared he was leading the Wildcats toward more first-half points. The first pick – in the red zone at the Bearkat 8-yard line by free safety Will Lockett – was a turning point in the game. The second interception, by defensive back Evrin Hawkins, came at the Bearkat 26.
 
ACU continued its spate of turnovers when Kobe Clark fumbled a punt following the Bearkats' first possession of the third quarter, and Jalan Mayes recovered at the Wildcat 8-yard line. SHSU's Hunter Pinegar then kicked a 22-yard field goal to make the new score 17-10 with 11:34 left in the third.
 
Sam Houston State extended its lead to 24-10 when Donovan Williams ran 3 yards for a touchdown with 8:45 left in the quarter.
 
When the Bearkats looked to be headed for yet another score late in the third quarter, the Wildcat defense came through with its sixth sack of Schmid. Defensive end Garviea Freeny's play caused the sophomore quarterback to fumble, allowing tackle William Morgan to recover the ball at the ACU 42-yard line.
 
ACU couldn't capitalize on the turnover, but at least the disastrous third quarter – when the Wildcats ran but 12 plays for just 8 yards of total offense – was in the rear-view mirror. Still, the home team managed just 83 yards of offense in its scoreless second half.
 
Pinegar missed a 41-yard field goal with 10:47 left in the game, and neither team mounted another serious scoring threat.
 
Anthony completed 28 of 44 passes for 155 yards, one TD and was picked twice. Tyrese White led ACU in rushing with five carries for 49 yards. Sema'J added 43 yards and James had 32. Clark caught nine passes for 67 yards.
 
Williams led the Bearkats in rushing with nine carries for 34 yards and one score.
 
ACU concludes its regular season home slate next Saturday by hosting Southeastern Louisiana at Wildcat Stadium, with kickoff at 1 p.m. on Anthony Field. The Wildcats' finish their regular season with a Nov. 23 non-conference road game at Mississippi State.
 
PLAYS THAT MATTERED

• 1Q – Blair Zepeda kicked a 24-yard field goal at the 10:38 mark to give ACU a 3-0 lead.
• 1Q – Tracy James caught a screen pass from Luke Anthony in the left flat, and ran 14 yards for his Southland-leading 19th touchdown. Zepeda's PAT kick extended the Wildcat lead to 10-0 with 53 seconds left.
• 2Q – Ife Adeyi caught a 36-yard TD pass from Noah Smith. Hunter Pinegar's PAT kick pulled SHSU closer, 10-7, with 5:06 left in the half.
• 2Q – Adeyi caught a 57-yard TD pass from Eric Schmid to put the Bearkats ahead, 14-10, with 3:47 remaining.
• 3Q – Pinegar kicked a 22-yard field goal to up the Bearkat lead to 17-10.
• 3Q – Donovan Williams ran 3 yards for a TD to pad the SHSU lead to 24-10.

 
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

• The Bearkats were perfect in their only two red-zone scoring chances. ACU was 2-for-4.
• ACU's 10-0 second half lead vanished in the span of six plays, when the Bearkats cashed in two turnovers for long-distance touchdowns through the air.
• Jack Gibbens led ACU with 10 tackles, and Koy Richardson and Jeremiah Chambers added seven each.

 
STAT CORNER

• The game was slowed by 22 penalty flags: 13 for 155 yards for SHSU and nine for 112 yards for ACU.
• James scored his 19th TD of the season. He entered the game ranked No. 2 in the nation in that category.
• At the half, ACU led in first downs (15-9), rushing yards (90-47), plays (44-25)and time of possession (19:48 to 10:12). Sam Houston State had the advantage in total yards (211-196). Sema'J Davis led all rushers with 44 yards. Adeyi had 132 receiving yards and two TDs.

 
QUOTABLE

• "I was disappointed in the outcome, our first-half energy and enthusiasm, and the way we played especially offensively. They're a really good defense but I don't feel like we executed tonight. That's not what you want to see coming off a bye week. We should have been fresh and ready to go ... Defensively, I thought we played really well although we gave up a few big plays and had a bit of a struggle on third down, but for the most part I thought we did good things. That being said, I was proud of our kids and their composure. They had (I think) six late or unsportsmanlike hits, and I'm thankful our  guys didn't get involved in any of that. Even still we could have done a little better job of that. That's not who we are as a football program or institution." – head coach Adam Dorrel

 

• "That was a tough one. We have to have energy and we lost that by the second half, and that's just what killed us overall. I appreciate our defense. They fought all night, and the offense came up short a few times, but the defense was just putting it in there for us." – running back Tracy James

 

• "The second half defense picked us up for the lack of offense. They played good. I feel like us offensively have to fix some small mistakes. We were one play away from scoring again. I feel like we were straining so we'll look at the film, and then get those mistakes fixed." – quarterback Sema'J Davis

 
NOTABLE

• ACU leads (13-12-1) its series against Sam Houston State, which began in 1926. The teams are former rivals from the Lone Star Conference.
• Entering the game, Sam Houston State was third in the nation (FCS) in rushing defense (69.8 yards) and sacks (3.78), and 19^th in total defense (324.3 yards) per game. ACU's Tracy James was second in the nation in touchdowns with 18.
• Founded in 1879, SHSU is the third oldest public university in the Lone Star State and the 12^th largest overall. Its namesake, Sam Houston, was the first and third president of the Republic of Texas.