Kansas Football Leads Sam Houston State 21-7 At Halftime

Sept. 20, 2008

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas took advantage of two Sam Houston State interceptions and connected on two long pass plays to take a 21-7 halftime lead against the Bearkats at Kivisto Field at Memorial Stadium here Saturday night.

After a scoreless first quarter, Kansas pinned SHSU deep in its own territory. KU junior Darrell Stuckey intercepted a Rhettass Bomar with 10:27 to play in the second quarter and returned the ball 14 yards to the SHSU one-yard line. Jayhawk junior quarterback Todd Reesing scored on the next play, a one-yard plunge, to give KU a 7-0 lead. For Reesing it was his second rushing touchdown of the season and seventh of his career.

On the ensuing possession, SHSU drove to the KU 18-yard line before Jayhawk redshirt freshman Isiah Barfield picked off a Bomar pass and returned it 16 yards to the KU 34. Three plays later Reesing hit junior Kerry Meier on a 68-yard touchdown pass to make the score 14-0 in favor of the Jayhawks at the 7:02 mark. The 68-yard pass was the longest for KU this season and the second longest in the last four years for Kansas (Marcus Henry’s 82-yard TD catch at Oklahoma State last year).

Sam Houston State used a short field for its lone score of the half, a Bomar eight-yard quarterback draw to make the score 14-7 in favor of KU with 1:57 before intermission. The Bearkats only had to drive 36 yards as KU failed on a fourth and inches.

KU then used its two-minute offense to end the first half scoring when Reesing connected with Dezmon Briscoe on a 57-yard touchdown pass. On the play, Reesing scrambled out of numerous Bearkat would-be tacklers before finding a streaking Briscoe behind the SHSU secondary.

Kansas will take a week off before opening Big 12 play at Iowa State on Oct. 4. Game time from Jack Trice Stadium is to be announced.