The Houston Baptist Huskies are off to their best start since 2013 with a 2-1 record.
With a record that is nothing to be scoffed at, their lone loss was against the first place University of Central Arkansas Bears. Both of HBU’s wins have come against FCS foes, Texas Southern and Abilene Christian University, with a combined total of seven points deciding the victor in both contests.
“They [HBU] had a tough to start against UCA,” SHSU head coach K.C. Keeler said. “They’ve done a great job bouncing back.”
HBU is coming off of an overtime thriller against ACU, which gave them a two game win streak at home. The Huskies will look to protect that streak on Saturday as they take on the Bearkats.
The Huskies will look to their offense to pressure a Bearkat defense that gave up 31 points to Lamar last week. A big strength for the offense is the dual threat of juniors Isaiah Hall, and 6-foot-6-inch Wesley Lewis, who have combined for 319 yards and one touchdown for the Huskies this season.
“They are not afraid to throw the ball vertically,” Keeler said. “They have the height advantage against all of our cornerbacks. It should be a real challenge.”
HBU has another dynamic duo in their backfield with junior running back and Terrence Peters, and senior quarterback Tony Dawson leading the Huskies on the ground. Peters, who is averaging 89 yards per game, and Dawson who averages 28 yards per game on the ground and 172 on the receiving end, give the HBU offense a lot of flexibility.
“They for sure have two threats in the backfield,” Keeler said. “I like their running back, but their quarterback is the guy we have to contain.”
One way the Huskies could look to get their offense rolling is by playing with the double-edged sword that is Bearkat junior defensive end P.J. Hall. Hall has a knack for pressuring the quarterback, but if he gets too aggressive, it could leave a run lane open for the scramble prone quarterback or running back.
“They will try to step around P.J. for sure,” Keeler said. “We have to be careful with a spy option, because of how athletic their quarterback is. If the spy is not more aggressive than the quarterback, there is no point in spying. We have to be careful for sure.”
The HBU defense has looked much improved over the last two weeks, and they will need as much confidence as they can muster, as the Bearkat offense has been on a roll to start the season.
Aggression has been the name of the game for the Husky defense, with seven forced fumbles and 6 sacks through the first three games
“We have to focus on ball security this week,” Keeler said. “If we start turning the ball over, they can get all the momentum, and with their win streak, it will be hard for us to win.”
The hot Huskies look to shut down SHSU and not let history repeat itself. The Bearkats have only allowed 14 points to the Huskies across the teams last three meetings.
The Southland Conference showdown will take place on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Husky Stadium in Houston, TX.