Sept 28, 2002
LAKE CHARLES, La. - B.J. Sams collected a school-record 316 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns Saturday to lead second-ranked McNeese State to a 38-13 non-conference football victory over Western Kentucky University at Cowboy Stadium.
Scott Pendarvis was 13-of-16 for 203 yards and Vick King added two rushing touchdowns to help the Cowboys (4-0) avenge last year's 21-0 defeat at the hand of the Hilltoppers (2-3). In fact, MSU has not lost a regular-season contest since that day.
Sams gave McNeese a 7-0 lead with a 23-yard catch from Pendarvis at 12:54 in the opening quarter, capping a six-play, 67-yard drive. He also scored the game's final points with a 59-yard punt return for a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter, ending the night with 111 yards on six receptions, two punt returns for 89 yards, 108 yards on four kickoff returns and an 8-yard run.
"He's very good, he's quick and can run after the catch," said WKU head coach Jack Harbaugh. "If you don't get your people around him, he will turn a 5-yard pass into a 25-yard gain.
"They were a better football team than we were tonight. This team is physical enough and tough enough to have a chance to win the championship in Chattanooga."
The Cowboys doubled their lead on a 2-yard run by King with 3:58 to go in the first before Western mounted a drive to get on the board. Jason Michael scored from 1 yard out on a fourth-down quarterback sneak to cap an 11-play, 69-yard march that made the score 14-7 with 13:45 to go in the first half.
The Toppers then stopped McNeese on its next drive, keyed by a Jon Drummond forced fumble that pushed the Cowboys back to their own 5-yard line, but WKU was called for roughing the kicker on fourth down, giving MSU a first down. McNeese took advantage of another personal foul penalty in driving 79 yards over nine plays, building a 21-7 lead when Jacob Prim scored from 1 yard out.
Western then responded with its longest scoring drive of the season, using 17 plays to burn over nine minutes off the clock before Peter Martinez kicked a 29-yard field goal with 48 seconds remaining to make the score 21-10.
But, the Hilltoppers went 3-and-out on their first possession of the second half and watched as the Cowboys took a 28-10 lead on an 8-yard scoring run by King.
Brian Lowder intercepted a Pendarvis pass -- the first of his career -- and returned it 18 yards to the MSU-10 late in the third quarter, but WKU had to settle for a 27-yard field goal from Martinez for its final points.
"We moved the ball a little, but the yards were hard to come by," Harbaugh said. "We did have three sustained drives in the first half, so there were some good things."
King finished with 78 yards as the Cowboys amassed 188 yards on the ground and 391 total.
Jon Frazier led WKU with 68 yards on 19 carries -- the third time this season he has paced the Hilltoppers -- while Maurice Bradley added 42 and Michael 30. Michael was also 6-for-10 for 60 yards through the air, with Casey Rooney collecting three catches for 39 yards to lead Western's receivers.
Martinez' two field goals and an extra point gave him 203 points in his career, making him the sixth player in school history to surpass 200 points. He has hit at least one three-pointer in nine of the last 10 games dating back to last season.
Ryan Garrison had a game-high 12 tackles for McNeese, with Cedric Lars and Roderick Royal chipping in with 10 apiece. Erik Dandy made a team-high 11 stops -- his fourth consecutive game in double figures -- for Western, while Drummond posted a season-best 10 tackles.
WKU concludes a stretch of facing three straight ranked opponents Saturday when the Hilltoppers return to Gateway Football Conference action with a 4:05 p.m. (CDT) kickoff against No. 6 Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls.
"This is an unbelievable stretch we're in, looking at Kansas State, Western Illinois, Youngstown State and an undefeated team here tonight," said Harbaugh. "But our guys will prepare for the game coming up, and we'll go up to Iowa and play our tails off."
-- WKU --
