Don’t look now; the Bearkats are 8-0!

They say to the victor goes the spoils and the Kats are two games away from cashing in on the treasure. The Kats have been burning up the polls this season tightening the grip on the number one spot in the KatFans.com Power Poll after a 66-0 beat down of the Lamar Cardinals. The Bearkats head out east to face the Southeastern Louisiana lions this Saturday in a 2 pm contest. The Lions are coming off of a 55-29 loss to Central Arkansas last Saturday and will be looking to avenge the loss they suffered at the hands of the Bearkats last season at Bowers. The Kats next home game will be on Nov 12th at 3pm. The game will be televised on the Southland Television Network and could have major conference title implications. Tickets for the game can be purchased at gobearkats.com and as always you can follow the action at katfans.com, the home of the Bearkat Nation.

Team        Votes       First Place Votes

HSU           80                    (10)

UCA          65

NWST       62

McNeese   48

SFA           45

SLU           27

LU             19

Nicholls      15

Interview with Brad Hagen - SHSU Bowling

Interview with Head Women's Bowling Coach Brad Hagen

Coming off of a huge win against SFA, how did that feel?

I hear it's a good thing, the rivalry between the two schools. Its a nice bragging rights. Something we wanna continue to see and see this as an ongoing trend as long as possible.We don't like to loose against powerhouses- so we definitely don't wanna loose against our rival.

Yall are heading out to a tournament this weekend. How do you think we will do?

I feel pretty confident. Optimistically, confident we should say. The fields a little bit smaller than anticipated- there is only 8 teams competing. However, 6 out of the 8 teams are pre-season ranked, so it'll be a positive in regards to strength in schedule. We are optimistic that we will do just as good as we did last year if not better. Last year we took second. Last year we prepared for the tournament to the best of our knowledge and we didn't have all the right equipment.Keeping the things in mind that we learned last year from this event we are gonna go up there much more prepared and hopefully the results will show that we did so.

How do you feel the team is coming together after the one match against SFA?

The experience and depth of the team has definitely increased. With Michelle and Elise, the newcomers to the team, the dynamics have grown even stronger. We have started some new traditions and overall the dynamics of the team are positive. We have actually increased some of our goals and standards on the team and that's promising. We just have to keep ourselves straight and see that we don't second guess ourselves and stick to what we know we are capable of. This weekend will be our first true test and we are staying optimistically positive and hopefully things will go our way this weekend.

During the Oral Roberts Press Conference, one of the things mentioned was the student athlete ease of travel throughout the season. Your team, by far, travels farther than any other SH team. How hard is that on the girls and how much does it impact school schedules?

It's not as bad as it may appear. Its nice to add Oral Roberts to the Southland Conference and we welcome them if they decided to have a bowling team. The biggest thing is, we know what we have to do to get to where we want to go. To get to the bigger tournaments we have to travel, we have to have the strength of schedule and quality opponents. The athletic department as a whole understands that. They bought into it prior to last year and they saw the results of it at the end of the year. So, its even more important this year that we continue to do the same. With my team I emphasize accountability, integrity and staying on top of our academic obligations. We do have the proper protocols and steps in place to see that nobody gets behind. I think that it helps us on the road that we also have access to the internet and other things. They do have full access to academics when we are not bowling and that's the biggest thing. We start things off right at the beginning of the year and that carries forward because we are the most traveling team in the athletic department, if not in the country, in regards to our sport. Its important that we manage the academics first and the bowling second..

Preseason Poll has you guys ranked at number 7. Are you satisfied with that ranking or are you a little disappointed?

I'm ok with it. By far we are not the 7th ranked team in the country and I think things do still get overlooked, including us. I feel that individuals overlooked our team and just looked at the numbers from last year. However, there are a lot of positives to being number 7 and not being something higher. We have a lot of goals this year and I feel that the pre-season poll is just extra fire to fuel us and push the girls to prove ourselves and that we are worthy of a higher ranking. We are firm believers in "actions speak louder than words." Long term, the heart and fire of this team is going to set precedents over anyone's opinion. Preseason poll doesn't matter as much as where we end up at the end of the year. It really helps us and only shoots the other teams in the foot who are ranked higher than us when we beat them. We are really going to use this to our advantage as a positive as we work up the food chain with our ultimate goal of being in Cleveland.

Photo Credit: gobearkats.com

For Bearkats, 2011 Has a Different Feel

For Bearkats, 2011 Has a Different Feel

KatFans.com Writer - Joesph Healy


There was no doubting the fact that there was cautious optimism around the Bearkats’ football program heading into the 2011 season, but some of the Bearkat faithful were understandably hesitant to buy in. After all, we had felt that way before only to have our hopes dashed mere weeks into the season.
Six week into the season, I think it’s safe to say that this team is worth buying into.

The results speak for themselves. The Kats are 6-0 and with the exception of their win over New Mexico on the road, they have yet to be pushed to the final whistle.

Their conference wins have come by a combined score of 145-34. When compared to their 45-10 and 44-7 wins over Stephen F. Austin and Nicholls State, respectively, their 22-7 win over UTSA seems like a nail-biter.

But the excitement around this new-look program goes far beyond the on-field results. There is a palpable buzz around the program that hasn’t been felt in several years.

The success of the Bearkats has worked its way into conversations all around town and the presence of Bearkat football posters and flags can be seen as you drive around Huntsville. It would be nice if some of these same locals would show up on Saturdays at Bowers Stadium with a little more regularity, but that’s a conversation for another day.

More importantly, the buzz has extended beyond the Huntsville area. The win in the annual Battle of the Piney Woods game against SFA was huge in this regard. Houston-area alumni came out in droves and they were treated to a dominating win over their biggest rival.

Sam grads that are likely used to hearing all about the successes of UT and A&M at work and in their circle of friends now have a little something to crow about.

Who, then, do we have to thank for this success?

That conversation has to start with head coach Willie Fritz. Fritz has done a lot to improve the talent level on campus, but the improvements he has made have as much to do with attitude and effort  as they do with talent.

Gone are the listless performances of the past. Without indicting anyone in particular, seeing the Bearkats look all but apathetic toward the game at hand became all too common there for a while.

At least as far as I’ve seen, that has yet to happen with Fritz as the head coach. Even last season when the Bearkats were a little over-matched at times, they were nothing if not scrappy and hard-working.

On the field, you have to look at Brian Bell. The sophomore quarterback from China Spring has been a leader from the first time he stepped on the field.  Bell isn’t the biggest guy or fastest guy on the field. He doesn’t have the strongest arm or even the most accurate arm. But he’s a tough kid and a field general above all else. He went through the growing pains expected of a freshman quarterback last season, but he continued to fight and proved to be the best man for the job.

To put it simply, Bell is just what the doctor ordered for the Bearkats. He avoids costly mistakes, plays within himself and always puts his team in a position to win.

It’s also not like Bell is out there by himself. It’s always nice when you have a stud running back like Tim Flanders. After rushing for 989 yards and 13 touchdowns last season, Flanders has already rushed for 638 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2011. His appearance on SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays for his “Flanders Flip” into the end zone against SFA certainly doesn’t hurt the excitement level around the program.

On top of it all, the defense has been spot-on. They have yet to allow more than ten points to any FCS opponent.

There is still a lot of football to be played, but things have broken right for the Bearkats in the conference race. They already control their own destiny, as they are the only undefeated team left in the Southland Conference.

This Bearkats team is much different from the teams we have seen over the last several years. They are playing well, they are playing hard and you can feel their confidence.

I’ll say this much. If you aren’t already on the bandwagon, you had better get on it soon. It’s getting crowded and it promises to only grow from here.

Photo Credit: David Barfield

Katfans.com Week 5 Power Poll

Team	Points	FPV
Sam Houston State	77	(7)
McNeese	73	(3)
Central Arkansas	59
Northwestern State	44
Stephen F. Austin	43
Lamar	28
Nicholls	18
Southeastern Louisiana	18

Discuss on Katfans.com: http://katfans.com/forum2/index.php?topic=3170

Katfans.com Week 4 Power Poll

1. SHSU (9)         79
2. McNeese (1)    71
3. SF Austin         53
4. Central Ark       46
5. Northwestern    32
6. SE Lousiana    32
7. Nicholls            23
8. Lamar              13

Discuss on Katfans here: http://katfans.com/forum2/index.php?topic=3103

Darnell Taylor - Week 3 POTW

Darnell Taylor has been named the Katfans.com Player of the Week for Week 3. While the main focus after the game was the Kats’ dominating running tandem of Richard Sincere and Tim Flanders, it was Darnell Taylor’s explosiveness on the defensive side that held the #18 team in the nation to only 10 points. Taylor, a junior from Mesquite, Texas finished the UCA game with 11 tackles, including 1 tackle for loss.

Darnell Taylor isn’t the only play on the roster from Mesquite, Texas. He also isn’t the only player with the last named Taylor on the roster from Mesquite, Texas. Darnell’s brother, Darius Taylor led the linebacking core for the Bearkats with 8 tackles of his own, and a 6 yard sack. The Taylor brothers were the Bearkat’s two leading tacklers this past Saturday.

Darnell Taylor was also awarded the Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against UCA. Taylor leads a Bearkat Defense that ranks second in rush defense, seventh in total defense, and third in points allowed.

The Bearkats return to the gridiron on Saturday, September 24, 2011 as they face off against the University of New Mexico Lobos in Albuquerque, NM. Game time is scheduled for 4:00 pm (MT), with live updates available from Katfans.com and on Twitter @Katfansdotcom

Katfans.com Week 3 Power Poll

1. SHSU (5)            74
2. McNeese (3)       67
3. SFA (2)              64
4. UCA                   50
5. Nicholls              34
6. Southeastern       29
7. Northwestern       29
8. Lamar                 12

The Battle in Bohler - Match 3

PULLMAN, Washington - The Kats came out mentally focused in their match against tournament host, WSU, who had gone undefeated so far through the tournament. The team fought hard through all 4 sets, but came up short, losing to the Cougs 25-17, 21-25, 25-20, and 25-18. While Kaylee Hawkins led the Kats with 13 kills, it was the WSU outside hitter, Meagan Ganzer that shined with 21 kills. The Kats saw a great effort by sophomore Tayler Gray, who added 10 digs in the match, while only appearing briefly in serving opportunities.

Throughout the match, the Kats seemed even with the Cougs, until the middle of the sets. At that time, the Cougs tended to slowly pull away from the Kats. In the second set, the Kats were able to reverse roles and take a notch out of the Cougs. During the 4 set match, there were 9 lead changes and 26 tie scores, which shows the Kats fight early on each set.

A big advantage for the Cougs were there size, where they averaged a full 2 inches over the entire team, and especially on the net, where the average advantage was 3 or 4 inches. While the mistakes were limited, the Kats were never able to get a nice string of points lined out, except in their second match.

WSU finished the tournament undefeated, while San Francisco went 2-1, Sam Houston State 1-2, and Manhattan College finshed 0-3. Kelli Stewart and Kaylee Hawkins were selected to the all tournament team, while WSU's Meagan Ganzer pulled our MVP honors. The Kats return to Texas to start playing in the Lumberjack Invitational next weekend.

Battle in Bohler - Match 2

PULLMAN, Washington - The Kats headed back to the court for the night game against Manhattan College, who gave WSU a tough match in their afternoon game. Manhattan College is coached by a former WSU graduate assistant, so his eye was on a successful homecoming. The match would be close the entire time, but the Kats pulled ahead late in each match secure a 3 set victory. Led by Kaylee Hawkins, the Kats defeated the Jaspars 26-24,  25-20, and 25-23.

Hawkins led all Kats with 17 kills in the match, and netted 10 digs to finish the night. Kym Loving, a fifth year senior from Cypress Springs set up 38 assists for the night. The most noticeable change from the first match against the University of San Francisco was the disappearance of freshman Deveny Wells-Gibson, as well as Kelli Stewart, who had a very limited role in the second match. While Wells-Gibson was out of the starting line-up, the Kats opted for Jamie Haas at libero, and she didn't disappoint, coming up big on numerous occasions.

This match showed the Kats resilience, and their ability to bounce back after a loss earlier in the afternoon. The Kats face tournament host WSU in the final game tomorrow at Bohler Gym. WSU handed Manhattan College a thorough defeat, only needing 3 matches to finish the game.

The Battle in Bohler - Match 1

The Battle in Bohler
Match 1 vs. San Francisco
25-15 25-17 27-25

PULLMAN Whether it was the time zone change or the quick turnaround from their previous tournament, the Kats came out looking a little flat. Pullman is known for it’s dry air, higher elevation, and a gym that’s designed specifically for volleyball matches. While the marginal Cougar might wonder, who are the Bearkats, the San Francisco team looked poised to upset the Bearkats.

The match started off slow; with SF handing the Kats a solid first set beating. It wasn’t for a lack of trying, but rather a lack of solid mental preparedness. Athletically, the Kats should have won, but they were riddled with mistakes early on. A miscommunication here, a missed assignment there. It wasn’t that the Kats were unprepared; they just weren’t where they needed to be when they needed to be there.

Noticably absent from play was Carli Kolbe, who was reported injured earlier this week. Also sidelined was Courtny Laskowski who dawned the warmups. The one Kat that saw considerably playing time through all three sets was Fr outside hitter, Deveny Wells-Gibson. It was only in the third set that she took some time out and the Kats started a late set rally. The Kats ended the third setting battling back from a 24-18 advantage to SF. They fought down and tied the match up, but couldn’t pull it through.

Match 2 pits Sam Houston against Manhattan College, who gave WSU all they could handle in the first 2 sets of their first match of the tournament. Match time is set for 4:30 PST (6:30 for those back home). Tomorrow’s matchup pits host WSU vs. SHSU in the primetime spot at 6:30. That match is available online through the WSUCougars.com athletic site.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly - Week 1 SHSU Football

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly - Week 1 SHSU Football

Mike Silva - KatFans.com Writer

It's always good for a team to pick up where it left off. If they left last season on a good note, that is.

Luckily, for the Bearkats, the season ended with another 100-yard rushing performance from Southland Newcomer of the Year, Timothy Flanders, and most importantly, a victory.

Sam Houston State met a familiar foe in Western illinois Thursday night, avenging last year's brutal, 56-14 beatdown, by opening the season with a 20-6 win over the Leathernecks.

Starting the season 1-0 is always better than starting 0-1, but how a team notches that first "W" is telling of how the team will play for the season.

A win is a win is a win, but as with any game--and this 14-point victory was no exception--there's always a healthy mix of the good, the bad, and the ugly.

THE GOOD

Perhaps the most striking number of SHSU's first win was the number "6." That's exactly how many points the Kats' defense surrendered.

Down the 2010 stretch, the Bearkats defensive unit persevered with each game, climbing from one of the SLC's worst units to a stingy, run stuffing squad intent on shutting down opponents with tenacity. That continued Thursday.

The SHSU pass rush was in full effect, bringing down WIU's quarterback tandem of Josh Hudson and Will Lunt a total of five times. But the front line didn't only smother the pocket in the passing game, the Leatherneck run game had little breathing room, as well.

WIU carried the rock 28 times for a measly 37 yards, a mere 1.3 yards per carry. SHSU recorded a total of 12 tackles for a loss, held the Leathernecks to just four third-down conversions out of 13 attempts, and forced an interception along the way. To say the defense looked "good" is an understatement.

Another good site for SHSU fans was seeing Flanders add yet another 100-yard game to his resume, giving him eight for his Bearkat career.

Flanders, who finished with 948 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns, both conference highs, missed the majority of three games last season with an ankle injury. To see him carry the ball 24 times to open the season is a sure sign that he's ready to go in 2011. The potential for a full season with Flanders in the backfield gives the Kats a strong chance to win in the Southland.

The final thing that stood out in Thursday's win was efficient ball movement on offense.

Sophomore Brian Bell (16-22, 198 yards, 2 TDs) connected with seven difference receivers throughout the night, getting just about everyone involved. Last year saw a majority of Richard Sincere and Seth Patterson reeling in catches. To see a wider  array of players getting touches on the O speaks to the versatility of the unit and Bell's maturation under center.

THE BAD

All three of SHSU's conference losses last season came consecutively, and each one was within one score of going the other way.

In fact, all three L's came by a combined 11 points. One of the culprits was the field-goal-kicking unit.

Kicker Miguel Antonio nailed just 14 of 23 attempts, a tame 61 percent. One of the field goals he missed was a potential game-winner at Northwestern State.

Though the three points left on the table last night didn't determine the game, Antonio missed a 40-yarder, finishing two for three in the win.

If the Kats want to claim the SLC crown, they'll have to win the close ones, where executing on special teams is crucial.

Another concern for SHSU should be in pass protection.

Though Bell completed a high percentage of his passes (73 percent), he might have done even better had he been given more time in the pocket. The Leathernecks sacked Bell three times last night, and forced him to fumble.

Protecting Bell and keeping him comfortable will result in wins.

THE UGLY

By far, the ugliest sight of the night was the Leathernecks' attempt at a run game.

Their leading rusher, Caulton Ray, had 14 carries for 48 yards. 19 of those yards came on one carry, meaning outside of that one burst, he ran the ball 13 times for 29 yards. Take that run away, the team finishes with 28 yards on 27 carries. Ouch. "Look out! Only 72 more carries away from reaching Flanders' total!"

But WIU's run game wasn't the only ugly site of the season opener. The Kats don't walk away clean here.

Leatherneck receiver Terriun Crump reeled in five catches for 127 yards and a 92-yard score.

SHSU's achilles heel last season was the secondary, in particular, the team's inability to stop big plays.

It would take all the fingers of at least two, maybe three hands, to count all the big plays SHSU surrendered in 2010. To put it into perspective, Nicholls' longest play against the Kats in last season's meeting was 33 yards. Of all the game-high plays against SHSU, that one was the shortest.

On the bright side, this once young and inexperienced defense has grown up together, and with another year under head coach Willie Fritz and defensive coordinator Scott Stoker, it should only continue to improve.

KatFans.com Exclusive: Q&A With Coach Fritz - Western Illinois

KatFans.com Exclusive: Q&A With Coach Fritz - Western Illinois

KatFans.com caught us with Coach Fritz during the Southland Conference Media teleconference to take the questions of the Bearkat Nation to the coach. The Kats take on the Western Illinois Leathernecks tomorrow in Huntsville at 7pm. The Leathernecks return a veteran squad but have a huge hole that needs to be filled at QB. The Bearkats will be looking for revenge as the Necks handedly beat the Kats last season in Macomb, Ill.

Tell us about camp this year and preparations for Western Illinois on Thursday:

Coach Fritz: We had a hot camp, just like everyone else. We tried to get the most out of our practices by having them in the early mornings and late evenings. When school started back up we had to go to practice in the afternoons to accommodate some kids with evening classes. We had a couple of kids get banged up in camp but they’ve had a week or two to recover so we hope to have them on the field this Thursday. We’ve got a veteran squad this year as compared to last year where 50% of our kids were new. We’ve got a better understanding of the game and our system, overall camp was very productive.

Is Western Illinois going to be tougher against the run or pass, and how are we preparing for the possibility of two QB’s?

Coach Fritz: They are a very good and balanced team. They are a lot like us in they want to establish the run and do a lot of play action off of that. They are a very physical team, they had a RB that had over 1,000 yards and their second team RB had almost 900. As far as the QB situation neither one of them had a lot of playing time last year. One played a little bit against us after the game got away from us. Both of them are right handed and I am sure they are going to run the same offense because they have a lot of returning starters. I think we gotta prepare for everything and be as ready as possible. I’m sure there will be a wrinkle or two in all three phases for them just like us, but we can’t let it concern us about having two quarterbacks.

How much of an advantage do we have over WIU being acclimated to this heat?

Coach Fritz: It has been extremely hot down here. It’s been hot throughout the Midwest but the Texas heat is a little different with the humidity. We’ve been practicing in the afternoons and our guys should be prepared for it.  

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Q&A With Women's Soccer Head Coach, Tom Brown

Q&A With Women's Soccer Head Coach, Tom Brown
Katfans.com Exclusive Article

Tom Brown is entering his fourth season as the Bearkat's head coach, and has high expectations for the upcoming year. After taking over the team in 2008, Coach Brown has gotten the team to the playoffs 3 of his 4 seasons at Sam, as well as posting a 27-28-3 record at Sam. Coach Brown took some time out of his schedule to sit down and answer some questions for the Bearkat Nation:

Tell us a little about this year’s team, and how they will be different than last year’s team?

I think this year’s team finally (will be younger), we tend to be a bit older team. We’ve been a very young the past few years, and now a lot of our players are juniors and we only have one senior. That junior class has started for us for such a long time. A lot of those players have already been two-year starters. It’s nice we’ll be a little bit older on the field and a little bit more experienced. I think between the last two (seasons), that’ll probably be the biggest difference, as far as the team. We also have to replace Jenny Pence in goal; she’s been a four-year starter for us. That’s been kind of a been a key as we’ve looked to replace her position and then how we want to organize ourselves in response to that.
Losing Jenny Pence, the starter for 4 years, how are the other two goalies, Michele McCullough and Mallory Garthwaite handling the competition for starter this year?

I think good. They both were obviously around in the spring, and I thought they both progressed well through the spring. Both have been a little banged up with nagging injuries through training camp. I don’t think we’ve been able to get everything out of them as we would have liked to, but I think their training has been good, and the biggest thing early on is for them to get into the games early on and gain some experience, and we figure they’ll make some mistakes early on, but we’ll be able to use those as teaching tools as we progress toward the conference games.

Coming into your 4th season as coach, where do you see the team heading?

I think we’ll be very competitive in the conference. We return two players that were preseason first team all conference players with Tricia Mallory and Kirby Zak. I think we’ll be good in the attack. We’ve added Jessica Toms, who was a freshman that comes in with a lot of experience and I thought she’s had a very good preseason over the last couple of weeks. Our biggest thing is trying to get the defensive group sorted out. We’ve had a very pleasant surprise with Ashley Fluty, another freshman out of the Dallas area who has come in and done extremely well for us, better than I had anticipated. We’ll use this first month, as far as non-conference schedule, to get ourselves organized a little bit more. I think we’ll be good in conference by the time we get there.

With the Women’s World Cup run this summer, how excited are the girl’s to get on the field? It seems each year the World Cup goes on, people get a little more excited about soccer? Any of that excitement carry over on the team, are they excited to get out there?

I always think so. Once they get back, even when it’s not a World Cup year, all of them are aware of what the Women’s World Cup team was able to accomplish this last year, and had a chance to see some of that. I think that’s good, not only for our players, but I think we have a lot of people that participate in soccer in our nation, but not a lot of people that watch soccer in our nation. The more excited people can get, I think that’s good for our team, it’s good for collegiate soccer, and it’s good for soccer across the whole nation.
Moving to the Southland, we were picked to finish 5th, tied with Lamar. Where do you put the Kats this year, and which team (outside of SFA) is the team to beat?

I think it’s hard to pick a team to beat. I think Southeastern Louisiana returns some very good players and they were very successful last year. I think they obviously have to be up there close with Stephen F. Like you said, SFA is the team that’s picked to win it. They were the team I put number one in my poll. I think they’ve got some quality players, and I’m good friends with their head coach, and I think he is a quality head coach. I think he’s done a good job there. As far as our finish, I think we’ll be battling for those top spots. Last year, even going into that last weekend, depending on how things fell, we had the potential to finish from number one all the way to number five. I think you’ll find high enough of a cluster of us at the top that will be there again. I just don’t think any team can completely run away with it. I hope over the five week period that, again, we keep ourselves in and our last game is a game against Stephen F., so hopefully it will have title implications, and we always know it will be a big battle between the two schools.

What can we expect in the season opener on the road at Baylor, and the home game opener against HBU?

Baylor will probably be our toughest game over the entire year. A Big XII team that had very good results last year, and only lost three starters. They were a young team themselves, and I think going into their place to start the season will be very tough. The thing for us, win or lose, is that I’m sure that because of how competitive they are, they will put us under some pressure and give us some things we need to consider as we go forward throughout the season. Looking beyond the score, just from a coaching standpoint, I think it will expose some things, but I think that’s good for us. It will help the players realize the level we would like them to play at and help the coaching staff be able to see where some of our weaknesses can be exposed later on.

Against HBU, I think from some of the excitement we see from Baylor on Friday night, we’ll be able to bring back home for our home opener. It’ll be nice, normally Sunday’s are 1:00 kickoffs, but we brought it to a 7:00 o’clock kickoff mainly due to the heat, and the possibility of trying to minimize hydration issues with both teams. Last year, we lost a tight game to them in the last minute or so. I think our players will be keen to try and get that game back in and hopefully flip that result around. From a coaching standpoint, I hope we don’t have to wait till the last minute. I would like that to happen a little sooner, if we can get the lead.

How important our facilities in the recruiting process of college soccer? Is it easier or harder to recruit with Pritchett Field being the showcase field of the Kats?

A lot of universities are putting a lot of money into facilities for women’s soccer. The surface we play on does make it difficult. When you compare our facilities to other facilities, whether it be in the Southland, or other division I schools. I think the atmosphere that’s created by the stadium, and that surrounding with the seating and stuff, that is a very unique aspect of our facility that where we may not look like we have as many seats or as up to date seating, but I think that creates a very unique venue for us. Our biggest challenge has always been the surface and the size of the field that we have to play on because it’s smaller than any other field that we play on, and where we have to logistically deal with our locker room, training rooms, and those sorts of things.

We posed the same question to Coach Fritz regarding the football program, and we want to know what you think. If Dr. Gibson came to you and said money is no object Coach, what is the one thing you would wish for to take Sam Houston SOCCER to the next level?

Going back to the previous question concerning the playing field and facilities, that is such a key component of us moving our program forward. Where we are located, being so close to Houston, and Houston being a hotbed with Dallas. Those two cities, and Austin, we can attract a lot of good players that would like to come to Huntsville, and to Sam Houston. I think our University, when we walk players around it, most of the time it’s their first time to be on our campus, and most parents and players are very impressed with the University, across the board. The last little bit we need is to be able to showcase the facilities that will draw even better players in because the University has a lot to sell with our academic programs. I think with that, combined with the facilities, we could continue moving everything forward.

Q&A with Coach Willie Fritz

Q&A with Coach Willie Fritz
KatFans.com Exclusive Article

With one full season under his belt as Sam Houston's football Coach, Willie Fritz is ready for the next step, the Southland Championship. With an overall career record of  142-57 over 19 seasons, Coach Fritz is a winner and expects to do so here. Coach Fritz took some time today to talk with KatFans.com and answer the questions of the Bearkat Nation. 

Last year Tim Flanders rushed for almost 1,000 yards and has gained some attention in the preseason. How do you think he has handled the added expectations?

Coach Fritz: He's one of the hardest workers on our team, he loves the game of football and does everything he can to get better. You don't have to worry about him being the guy that gets the big head, he's actually worked harder this summer than he did last year and is doing a fantastic job at camp. We're trying to limit his touches a little bit during the preseason, we know what he can do. The big thing we gotta do with Tim (Flanders) is keep him healthy, he probably only played 7 games last season when you add it all up. I think he has the opportunity to be the best running back in FCS football, he's that talented.

Are your expectations higher for Flanders this year than they were last year?

Coach Fritz: We had no idea what he could do last year, he was a pretty good high school player, going to Kansas State, plus the other offers he had there was potential. He was red shirted at Kansas State so we had no look at what he could do. After about three or four weeks we figured out he was pretty darn good and we better get him in the lineup as much as possible.

How is sophomore QB Brian Bell progressing with his arm strength and over all quarterback skills?

Coach Fritz: Brian has also had a great spring and a super summer, he put on about 20 pounds and weighs between 175 and 180. Last year we had to throw him in to the fire, starting nine games as a freshman. He's way ahead of where he was at this point last year. He really has great command of the offense and has made some really great throws, he's playing with great confidence right now.


How does the transfer from Wyoming fit in to the offense with Bell being the established QB? Does he fit in to the Wildcat?

Coach Fritz: He can do both looks. He runs really well, there have been numerous times in camp he's put his toe in the ground and changed directions with a burst of speed. He also throws the ball very well so we can run our total offense with him. He's not exclusively a running or passing quarterback, he can do both. Right now we doesn't know the offense as well as Brian (Bell) does, but we are very happy to have him.

Last year our defensive backs had some tough times. How are they progressing this camp and with their experience from last year do you think we can limit the big plays?

Coach Fritz: The thing that's going to happen with our defensive philosophy is we're gonna crowd the box and do everything we can to not allow you to run the football. Our big goal on the offensive side is to throw the ball more effectively and on the defensive side is to play a lot better pass defense. Other teams are gonna have to throw the ball against us because of how many people we put in the box. We are getting better and better, a lot of those guys (defensive backs) are really third year starters. Shaw, Jenkins, Taylor have played a lot of football for the Kats and did a good job last season. Bookie Sneed and Dax Swanson did a great job on the corners and I really think the secondary's big question is depth. We gotta get some guys to step up and play if a guy gets banged up, someone to step up and start for us. That is what we are trying to develop right now in camp.


How do you feel about D-Line depth and rotation with the transfers coming in? Do you think we will be able to get to the QB without blitz packages?

Coach Fritz: We would like to be able to rush four and play a little bit more zone behind it. Again, our philosophy both run and pass is to out number and overwhelm you. This team has one of the deepest D-Lines that I've been around, I really feel like we've got seven or eight guys who can play and be effective at this level. Four or Five of them have a chance to be dominating players at this level, led inside by JT Cleveland, he's a second team all conference player. We are moving Preston Sanders from a tackle to an end and picked up a couple of transfers in Jarret Brown and Andrew Weaver. Those guys have shown flashes of being explosive players.  

With all of the WAC talk out there, whether Sam Houston's in the mix or not, are there any changes in preparing for an FBS game versus an FCS game?


Coach Fritz: No, not really, probably the biggest difference is most of those games are on the road. I've told our kids we are basically playing three FBS teams this year with UTSA, Texas State and New Mexico. We've got a heck of a schedule, a lot of home games, which is good and the game down at Reliant. We are playing four FCS teams that are ranked in the Pre-Season Top 25, UCA, Western Illinois, McNeese and SFA. It's going to be a very challenging schedule, it's probably the toughest schedule Sam has played in along time.

Richmond, Montana, etc. are always on top of the FCS year in and year out. What do you think they do that makes them top programs every year?

Coach Fritz: It all starts off with recruiting, and I've gotten beat very seldom by being out coached. Recruiting is very important at all levels, normally the team with the better players has a better chance of winning. I feel like we have really upped our recruiting from what its been in the past and that's the big thing. Tradition is also big, you combine those two and that's the package we wanna have here.

I feel we are headed in the right direction, we had a good product on the field last year and we are excited about this season.

Coach Fritz: We've got a ways to go, we were 6-5 last year and that's just a smidgen better than average. We've got a long way to go but we got a lot of kids back and we need to come out of the box fast. We are starting the season against a team that went two rounds deep in the playoffs last season, that's gonna be a big ballgame for us.

If Dr. Gibson came to you and said money is no object Coach, what is the one thing you would wish for to take Sam Houston football to the next level?

Coach Fritz: An indoor practice facility would be nice, but we have good facilities now. The financial situation is tough right now in Texas and across the U.S. The thing I've been looking at with our program right now is we wanna be a top flight FCS program. I think sometimes people start looking past their real goals,our goal right now is we wanna win the Southland Conference. We want to be like those teams you talked about a minute ago, Montana, Richmond, SFA over the past few years and McNeese for a long period of time. We've got a ways to go, to be able to accomplish that. We've got things in place right now, I'd love to have better facilities and more budget, but everybody would. I'm not in to excuses, we got enough for us to be successful and we just spent $145,000 on new video equipment, we are piecing it together. We've got enough to be successful, a great location. great campus and a large student body. There is no reason why Sam Houston can't be highly successful.

KatFans.com Exclusive: Q&A with Coach Fritz

KatFans.com Exclusive: Q&A with Coach Fritz

We are giving you the chance to ask what you want to Coach Willie Fritz in our exclusive Q&A. Go to the Message Board and get your question in now!

Coach Fritz is in his second year as Sam Houston's head coach. He posted a 6-5 record with a team that was by all accounts young. The team returns 22 starters including Sophomore's QB Brian Bell and Tim Flanders. This season is shaping up to be one of the best seasons in recent history as the Kats are expected to be in the hunt for a title. Get to the message board and get your question in now.

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