'Welcome to the NCAA Playoffs'

Dec. 7—HUNTSVILLE — Sam Houston football held off the Univerity of Incarnate Word by an inch last Saturday, and earned their spot in the FCS Playoff quarterfinals.

While it took a goal-line stand to win the game, the Bearkats offense was rolling on the ground with 346 yards on their way to the 49-42 win.

"Welcome to the NCAA Playoffs," Sam Houston head coach K.C. Keeler said in his opening statement. "This is what it looks like, everyone you play is going to be really good and everyone you play is going to put out their best game and everybody you play has a chance of beating you."

Sam Houston learned just that.

The Bearkats defense has been noted as a run-stopping defense and that they are, but through the air, their defense has struggled. UIW's sophomore quarterback Cameron Ward had a field day with the Kats secondary throwing for 481 yards and five touchdowns, the most notable was a 62-yard throw down the sideline that brought the Cardinals within seven with 7:50 remaining in the game.

Sam Houston's secondary has been like this all year, and it has shown to be the only way to hang with this team as the Cardinals netted 119 yards on the ground.

"That quarterback is great, and I'm not going to say anything else" Bearkats defensive end Jahari Kay said. "He is a good player. He's just good. They have a good offense and a quick one-two punch. Their offense is pretty good and they came to play."

Sam Houston's defense answered the call upfront. The Kats were able to drop Ward three times with Kay snagging 1.5 sacks.

The Kats also came up with seven tackles for loss, which played a big part in stopping dives. Those big plays helped the Bearkats limit the Cardinals to 7-15 on third-down conversions. These are the plays that will advance you in the playoffs.

If it wasn't for Sam Houston's rushing game this would have been completely different.

Junior running back Ramon Jefferson was his usual self last Saturday rushing for 166 yards and finding the endzone twice in the win.

For the Kats to win their second straight title they are going to have to keep the running backs going and get junior quarterback Eric Schmid to have a breakout performance.

Schmid rushed for two touchdowns in the game and even somersaulted in the endzone for one, but his progress through the air has been up and down. The junior threw for 210 yards in the win but only threw for one touchdown.

One thing that Schmid has done well over the last three weeks is not turning the ball over. Schmid has thrown seven interceptions this year but since the Dixie State game, he hasn't thrown one.

"Going into the playoffs we told Eric 'you're gonna need more ice tubs this week.' We are going to have to use him and in any conceivable way we can use him," Keeler noted. "He's just so tough and we had to run him there a couple of times. He's a competitor and he makes everybody else better around him."

Sophomore running back Noah Smith has also been a major force this season and will be a big reason they are where they are now. With Schmid, Jefferson and Smith teamed up with the other playmakers in Cody Chrest, Jequez Ezzard and Ife Adei that make this offense one of the best in the country.

While the Bearkats have gotten through the second round of the FCS Playoffs they will now turn their heads to face Montana State in the quarterfinals round. The game is slated to kickoff at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.