# 2022 Sam Houston Bearkats football team

The 2022 Sam Houston Bearkats football team represented Sam Houston State University as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by ninth-year head coach K. C. Keeler, the Bearkats compiled an overall record of 5–4. Sam Houston played home games at Bowers Stadium in Huntsville, Texas.
The 2022 season was the program's last season as a member of the WAC as the Bearkats joined Conference USA in 2023.

## Offseason
### Transfers
#### Outgoing

| Player | Position | Destination |
| Kamren Washington | DL | Memphis |
| Ramon Jefferson | RB | Kentucky |
| Princeton Pines | IOL | Tulane |
| John Mathis | DL | Incarnate Word |
| Eleasah Anderson | OT | Western Michigan |

#### Incoming

| Player | Position | Previous Team |
| Al'Vonte Woodard | WR | Texas |
| Chris Murray | DL | TCU |
| Jordan Yates | QB | Georgia Tech |
| Toby Ndukwe | EDGE | SMU |
| Lloyd Murray Jr. | DL | Colorado |
| Simeon Evans | QB | Army |
| Ellison Hubbard | DL | Colorado State |
| B.J. Foster | S | Texas |

## Schedule

Sam Houston and the WAC announced the 2022 football schedule on January 12, 2022.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 3 | 11:00 a.m. | at No. 6 (FBS) Texas A&M* | Kyle FieldCollege Station, TX | SECN | L 0–31 | 97,946 |
| September 10 | 6:00 p.m. | Northern Arizona* | Bowers StadiumHuntsville, TX | ESPN+ | L 3–10 | 7,117 |
| September 17 | 6:00 p.m. | Texas A&M–Commerce* | Bowers StadiumHuntsville, TX | ESPN+ | W 27–17 | 8,675 |
| October 1 | 2:30 p.m. | vs. Stephen F. Austin | NRG StadiumHouston, TX (rivalry) | BSSW/ESPN+ | W 17–16 | 26,826 |
| October 15 | 5:00 p.m. | at No. 23 Eastern Kentucky* | Roy Kidd StadiumRichmond, KY | ESPN+ | W 25–17 | 13,187 |
| October 22 | 8:00 p.m. | at Utah Tech | Greater Zion StadiumSt. George, UT | ESPN+ | W 18–13 | 2,719 |
| October 29 | 6:00 p.m. | at Tarleton State | Memorial StadiumStephenville, TX | ESPN+ | W 40–21 | 20,237 |
| November 12 | 12:00 p.m. | Abilene Christian | Bowers StadiumHuntsville, TX | ESPN+ | L 28–45 | 7,592 |
| November 19 | 12:00 p.m. | Southern Utah | Bowers StadiumHuntsville, TX | ESPN+/ATTSN | L 7–17 | 7,059 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time |||||||

## Game summaries
### at No. 6 (FBS) Texas A&M

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bearkats | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| No. 6 (FBS) Aggies | 7 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
at Kyle Field • College Station, Texas
* Date: September 3
* Game time: 11:00 a.m. CDT
* Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 81 °F (27 °C) • Wind: N at 4 miles per hour (6.4 km/h)
* Game attendance: 97,946
* Referee: Kyle Olson
* TV announcers (SECN): Dave Neal (play-by-play), Deuce McAllister (analyst), and Andraya Carter (sideline reporter)
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | SHSU | TAMU |
| First downs | 10 | 23 |
| Plays–yards | 55–198 | 67–387 |
| Rushes–yards | 27–107 | 32–110 |
| Passing yards | 91 | 387 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 14–28–1 | 23–35–2 |
| Time of possession | 27:37 | 32:23 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Sam Houston | Passing | Jordan Yates | 14/28, 91 yards, 1 INT |
| Sam Houston | Rushing | Jordan Yates | 14 carries, 60 yards |
| Sam Houston | Receiving | Noah Smith | 4 receptions, 35 yards |
| Texas A&M | Passing | Haynes King | 20/31, 364 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT |
| Texas A&M | Rushing | De'Von Achane | 18 carries, 42 yards, 1 TD |
| Texas A&M | Receiving | Ainias Smith | 6 receptions, 164 yards, 2 TD |

### vs Northern Arizona

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Lumberjacks | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| Bearkats | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
at Bowers Stadium • Huntsville, Texas
* Date: September 10
* Game time: 7:00 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Clear • Temperature: 88 °F (31 °C) • Wind: N at 4 miles per hour (6.4 km/h)
* Game attendance: 7,117
* Referee: Matt Jones
* TV announcers (ESPN+/ATTSN): Tom Franklin (play-by-play) and John Harris (analyst)
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | NAU | SHSU |
| First downs | 20 | 15 |
| Plays–yards | 77–314 | 60–252 |
| Rushes–yards | 35–59 | 34–141 |
| Passing yards | 255 | 111 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 28–42–1 | 13–26–1 |
| Time of possession | 33:51 | 26:09 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Northern Arizona | Passing | RJ Martinez | 27/41, 214 yards, 1 INT |
| Northern Arizona | Rushing | Kevin Daniels | 17 carries, 47 yards |
| Northern Arizona | Receiving | Hendrix Johnson | 8 receptions, 101 yards |
| Sam Houston | Passing | Jordan Yates | 13/26, 111 yards, 1 INT |
| Sam Houston | Rushing | Jordan Yates | 18 carries, 74 yards |
| Sam Houston | Receiving | Ife Adeyi | 5 receptions, 62 yards |

### vs Texas A&M–Commerce

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Lions | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 17 |
| Bearkats | 3 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 27 |
at Bowers Stadium • Huntsville, Texas
* Date: September 17
* Game time: 6:00 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Party cloudy • Temperature: 86 °F (30 °C) • Wind: S at 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h)
* Game attendance: 8,675
* Referee: Marcus Thornton
* TV announcers (ESPN+): Randy McIlvoy (play-by-play) and Shea Walker (analyst)
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | TAMC | SHSU |
| First downs | 14 | 27 |
| Plays–yards | 57–223 | 74–347 |
| Rushes–yards | 32–54 | 47–246 |
| Passing yards | 169 | 101 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 13–25–1 | 11–27–1 |
| Time of possession | 28:03 | 31:57 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Texas A&M–Commerce | Passing | Zadock Dinkelmann | 13/25, 169 yards, 1 INT |
| Texas A&M–Commerce | Rushing | Zadock Dinkelmann | 15 carries, 20 yards |
| Texas A&M–Commerce | Receiving | Andrew Armstrong | 7 receptions, 104 yards |
| Sam Houston | Passing | Jordan Yates | 5/14, 63 yards, 1 INT |
| Sam Houston | Rushing | Zach Hrbacek | 19 carries, 131 yards, 1 TD |
| Sam Houston | Receiving | Cody Chrest | 4 receptions, 55 yards, 1 TD |

### vs. Stephen F. Austin (Battle of the Piney Woods)

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bearkats | 0 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 17 |
| Lumberjacks | 3 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 16 |
at NRG Stadium • Houston, Texas
* Date: October 1
* Game time: 2:30 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: None (indoor stadium)
* Game attendance: 26,826
* Referee: Jeremee Tate
* TV announcers (ESPN+): Randy McIlvoy (play-by-play), Taylor McHargue (analyst), and Deephi Sidhu (sideline reporter)
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | SHSU | SFA |
| First downs | 20 | 17 |
| Plays–yards | 71–299 | 74–397 |
| Rushes–yards | 31–111 | 37–144 |
| Passing yards | 188 | 253 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 14–40–2 | 19–37–1 |
| Time of possession | 24:49 | 35:11 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Sam Houston | Passing | Keegan Shoemaker | 14/40, 188 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT |
| Sam Houston | Rushing | Keegan Shoemaker | 9 carries, 56 yards |
| Sam Houston | Receiving | Noah Smith | 5 receptions, 71 yards, 1 TD |
| Stephen F. Austin | Passing | Trae Self | 17/34, 239 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT |
| Stephen F. Austin | Rushing | Jerrell Wimbley | 6 carries, 66 yards |
| Stephen F. Austin | Receiving | Moe Wedman | 1 receptions, 85 yards, 1 TD |

### at No. 23 Eastern Kentucky

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bearkats | 10 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 25 |
| No. 23 Colonels | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
at Roy Kidd Stadium • Richmond, Kentucky
* Date: October 15
* Game time: 2:00 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Sunny
* Game attendance: 13,187
* Referee: Brad Carrell
* TV announcers (ESPN+): Greg Stotelmyer (play-by-play), Jim Tirey (analyst), and Wes Chandler (sideline reporter)
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | SHSU | EKU |
| First downs | 19 | 18 |
| Plays–yards | 78–321 | 62–338 |
| Rushes–yards | 45–194 | 25–104 |
| Passing yards | 127 | 234 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 13–33–0 | 21–37–0 |
| Time of possession | 34:38 | 24:42 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Sam Houston | Passing | Keegan Shoemaker | 13/31, 127 yards, 1 TD |
| Sam Houston | Rushing | Zach Hrbacek | 17 carries, 111 yards |
| Sam Houston | Receiving | Noah Smith | 4 receptions, 36 yards |
| Eastern Kentucky | Passing | Parker McKinney | 21/37, 234 yards, 2 TD |
| Eastern Kentucky | Rushing | Braedon Sloan | 10 carries, 62 yards |
| Eastern Kentucky | Receiving | Jyran Mitchell | 4 receptions, 69 yards |