burnet44
08-31-2007, 10:52 AM
Rams don’t give Bomar free pass
SAM HOUSTON STATE 17, ANGELO STATE 13
By Jeff Wick (Contact)
Friday, August 31, 2007
HUNTSVILLE — Rhett Bomar’s first completed pass since the 2005 Holiday Bowl went right into the arms of Angelo State University’s Ian Ritchey for an interception.
Ritchey ruined Bomar’s start, and the Rams nearly ruined his finish as Angelo State rallied from a 17-0 deficit before eventually losing to the Bearkats 17-13.
In a Thursday night college football season opener for both teams in front of 10,000 fans, Bomar (a former starter for the University of Oklahoma) threw for 204 yards and one touchdown and ran for another in his return to college football after a 19-month hiatus after getting kicked out of OU.
The Rams looked rusty early, but they finished strong. They almost pulled off what would have been one of the program’s biggest upsets of the past several years.
“We came out here for battle,” said ASU running back Daniel Thomas. “We came ready to fight. All the men out here came ready to fight.”
ASU was as close as the SHSU 8-yard line in the fourth quarter but couldn’t score the game winner on a fourth-down pass from the 9.
Behind the rushing of Thomas (who carried the ball a career-high 31 times for 113 yards), the big play capability of Sam Tindol (who returned a SHSU fumble for a touchdown and caught five passes for 123 yards) and the foot of freshman kicker Brad Holcomb (who was good on his first-ever collegiate field goals from 34 and 28 yards) the Rams put a scare into the Bearkats.
“I’ve been telling everybody that I wouldn’t underestimate them,” Bomar said of Angelo State.
ASU quarterback Josh Neiswander, a sophomore from Winnsboro, nearly threw for more yards than Bomar as he completed 11 of 22 passes for 182 yards. He was the only quarterback used by ASU.
The whole upset theme of the night started with Ritchey, with a pick of a Bomar pass that might get him on highlight reels around the country because of who it came against.
“I thought it was going to be big for us,” Ritchey said.
Instead, after Ritchey, a Rams sophomore defensive end, returned the interception 11 yards to the Bearkat 30-yard line ASU couldn’t get any points from the golden opportunity when Thomas was stopped on a fourth-and-1 from the SHSU 21.
Bomar proceeded to complete 10 straight passes as Sam Houston built a 17-0 lead behind an offensive line that dominated early.
There was a 64-yard touchdown pass to Justin Wells (aided by a Rams missed tackle in the secondary) with 9:47 left in the first quarter, a Taylor Wilkins 30-yard field goal nine minutes later and a Bomar 8-yard touchdown run 5:47 before halftime.
“We were pretty ugly in the first quarter and a half,” ASU head coach Dale Carr said. “I think we settled down after the first few drives. We didn’t do anything different.”
The Bomar scoring run (seconds after his consecutive passes streak ended) momentarily appeared to give Sam Houston a comfortable lead.
ASU’s D’Angelo Waites and Sam Tindol had other ideas.
After a Rams punt, Waites forced a fumble on the SHSU return that was recovered by Tindol and returned 33 yards for a touchdown with 1:30 left in the second quarter.
“We work a lot on special teams, and we knew if something happened in special teams we had to capitilize,” Tindol said.
A Holcomb extra point cut the SHSU lead to 17-7, and that’s the way it stayed heading until halftime — a close score considering the Bearkats had outgained the Rams 265 to 67 yards at that point.
On the Rams’ first possession of the second half, they turned a failed SHSU fourth down try into a field goal.
With a steady diet of Thomas runs (eight of nine plays went to him at one point), the Rams marched 43 yards to the SHSU 17 before Holcomb nailed a 34-yard field goal to cut the SHSU lead to 17-10.
“He lived up to all our expectations,” Carr said of Thomas. “He was clearly a spark out there. I can’t say enough good things about him.”
During Sam Houston’s ensuing possession, the Bearkats were driving until Bomar left the game with an injury and the march stalled.
ASU took over and drove 79 yards on six plays (highlighted by a 62-yard pass from Neiswander to Tindol) culminated by a Holcomb 28-yard field goal that cut the Bearkat lead to four.
With Bomar back in the lineup, SHSU got in position to try a 22-yard field goal, but a botched hold kept the Rams within four points.
From their 2-yard line, the Rams drove 89 yards only to face a fourth-and-4 at the Bearkats’ 9. With no timeouts, instead of going for the field goal, the Rams gambled. A Neiswander pass to the corner was just long, though it would have been negated by an offensive pass interference call, anyway.
After yet another ASU defensive stand, the Rams got the ball back at their own 10 with 3:26 left in the game, but they couldn’t complete the comeback.
“This showed us our potential, and there’s no going down from this,” said Thomas, who, along with the rest of the Rams, will play at East Central Oklahoma next Saturday. “Now we know. Now we know.”
Sam Houston State 17, Angelo State 13
Score by quarters
Angelo 0 7 6 0 — 13
SHSU 10 7 0 0 — 17
Scoring summary
First quarter
9:47 — SHSU: Justin Wells 64 pass from Rhett Bomar (Taylor Wilkins kick)
0:43 — SHSU: Taylor Wilkins 30 field goal
Second quarter
2:15 — SHSU: Rhett Bomar 8 run (Wilkins kick)
1:30 — ASU:Sam Tindol 33 fumble recovery (Brad Holcomb kick)
Third quarter
6:35 — ASU: Holcomb 34 field goal
1:32 — ASU: Holcomb 28 field goal
Individual stats
Rushing
ASU: Daniel Thomas 31-113; SHSU: Chris Poullard 22-134.
Passing
ASU: Josh Neiswander 11 of 22 for 182 yards; SHSU: Rhett Bomar 16 of 24 for 204 yards.
Receiving
ASU: Sam Tindol 5-123; SHSU: Poullard 5-71.
Att: 10,517
SAM HOUSTON STATE 17, ANGELO STATE 13
By Jeff Wick (Contact)
Friday, August 31, 2007
HUNTSVILLE — Rhett Bomar’s first completed pass since the 2005 Holiday Bowl went right into the arms of Angelo State University’s Ian Ritchey for an interception.
Ritchey ruined Bomar’s start, and the Rams nearly ruined his finish as Angelo State rallied from a 17-0 deficit before eventually losing to the Bearkats 17-13.
In a Thursday night college football season opener for both teams in front of 10,000 fans, Bomar (a former starter for the University of Oklahoma) threw for 204 yards and one touchdown and ran for another in his return to college football after a 19-month hiatus after getting kicked out of OU.
The Rams looked rusty early, but they finished strong. They almost pulled off what would have been one of the program’s biggest upsets of the past several years.
“We came out here for battle,” said ASU running back Daniel Thomas. “We came ready to fight. All the men out here came ready to fight.”
ASU was as close as the SHSU 8-yard line in the fourth quarter but couldn’t score the game winner on a fourth-down pass from the 9.
Behind the rushing of Thomas (who carried the ball a career-high 31 times for 113 yards), the big play capability of Sam Tindol (who returned a SHSU fumble for a touchdown and caught five passes for 123 yards) and the foot of freshman kicker Brad Holcomb (who was good on his first-ever collegiate field goals from 34 and 28 yards) the Rams put a scare into the Bearkats.
“I’ve been telling everybody that I wouldn’t underestimate them,” Bomar said of Angelo State.
ASU quarterback Josh Neiswander, a sophomore from Winnsboro, nearly threw for more yards than Bomar as he completed 11 of 22 passes for 182 yards. He was the only quarterback used by ASU.
The whole upset theme of the night started with Ritchey, with a pick of a Bomar pass that might get him on highlight reels around the country because of who it came against.
“I thought it was going to be big for us,” Ritchey said.
Instead, after Ritchey, a Rams sophomore defensive end, returned the interception 11 yards to the Bearkat 30-yard line ASU couldn’t get any points from the golden opportunity when Thomas was stopped on a fourth-and-1 from the SHSU 21.
Bomar proceeded to complete 10 straight passes as Sam Houston built a 17-0 lead behind an offensive line that dominated early.
There was a 64-yard touchdown pass to Justin Wells (aided by a Rams missed tackle in the secondary) with 9:47 left in the first quarter, a Taylor Wilkins 30-yard field goal nine minutes later and a Bomar 8-yard touchdown run 5:47 before halftime.
“We were pretty ugly in the first quarter and a half,” ASU head coach Dale Carr said. “I think we settled down after the first few drives. We didn’t do anything different.”
The Bomar scoring run (seconds after his consecutive passes streak ended) momentarily appeared to give Sam Houston a comfortable lead.
ASU’s D’Angelo Waites and Sam Tindol had other ideas.
After a Rams punt, Waites forced a fumble on the SHSU return that was recovered by Tindol and returned 33 yards for a touchdown with 1:30 left in the second quarter.
“We work a lot on special teams, and we knew if something happened in special teams we had to capitilize,” Tindol said.
A Holcomb extra point cut the SHSU lead to 17-7, and that’s the way it stayed heading until halftime — a close score considering the Bearkats had outgained the Rams 265 to 67 yards at that point.
On the Rams’ first possession of the second half, they turned a failed SHSU fourth down try into a field goal.
With a steady diet of Thomas runs (eight of nine plays went to him at one point), the Rams marched 43 yards to the SHSU 17 before Holcomb nailed a 34-yard field goal to cut the SHSU lead to 17-10.
“He lived up to all our expectations,” Carr said of Thomas. “He was clearly a spark out there. I can’t say enough good things about him.”
During Sam Houston’s ensuing possession, the Bearkats were driving until Bomar left the game with an injury and the march stalled.
ASU took over and drove 79 yards on six plays (highlighted by a 62-yard pass from Neiswander to Tindol) culminated by a Holcomb 28-yard field goal that cut the Bearkat lead to four.
With Bomar back in the lineup, SHSU got in position to try a 22-yard field goal, but a botched hold kept the Rams within four points.
From their 2-yard line, the Rams drove 89 yards only to face a fourth-and-4 at the Bearkats’ 9. With no timeouts, instead of going for the field goal, the Rams gambled. A Neiswander pass to the corner was just long, though it would have been negated by an offensive pass interference call, anyway.
After yet another ASU defensive stand, the Rams got the ball back at their own 10 with 3:26 left in the game, but they couldn’t complete the comeback.
“This showed us our potential, and there’s no going down from this,” said Thomas, who, along with the rest of the Rams, will play at East Central Oklahoma next Saturday. “Now we know. Now we know.”
Sam Houston State 17, Angelo State 13
Score by quarters
Angelo 0 7 6 0 — 13
SHSU 10 7 0 0 — 17
Scoring summary
First quarter
9:47 — SHSU: Justin Wells 64 pass from Rhett Bomar (Taylor Wilkins kick)
0:43 — SHSU: Taylor Wilkins 30 field goal
Second quarter
2:15 — SHSU: Rhett Bomar 8 run (Wilkins kick)
1:30 — ASU:Sam Tindol 33 fumble recovery (Brad Holcomb kick)
Third quarter
6:35 — ASU: Holcomb 34 field goal
1:32 — ASU: Holcomb 28 field goal
Individual stats
Rushing
ASU: Daniel Thomas 31-113; SHSU: Chris Poullard 22-134.
Passing
ASU: Josh Neiswander 11 of 22 for 182 yards; SHSU: Rhett Bomar 16 of 24 for 204 yards.
Receiving
ASU: Sam Tindol 5-123; SHSU: Poullard 5-71.
Att: 10,517