SAN ANTONIO — Eric Schmid passed for 370 yards and a touchdown and had one of Sam Houston’s five rushing touchdowns to help the Bearkats beat Incarnate Word 42-14 on Saturday.
Sam Houston (6-0, 6-0 Southland Conference), ranked No. 5 in the STATS FCS poll, went into the game having secured a top-4 seed and a first-round game at home in the FCS playoffs, which begin next Saturday.
Schmid was 25-of-34 passing and added 67 yards rushing on nine carries, including an 11-yard touchdown run.
On the first play of the second quarter, Jequez Ezzard took the handoff on a reverse, broke a couple tackles and scored on a 21-yard run to open the scoring and give the Bearkats the lead for good at 7-0. He finished with seven receptions for 155 yards, including a 68-yard catch-and-run that set up a TD in the third quarter and a 36-yard scoring catch that capped the scoring with 3:24 to play.
No. 25 Incarnate Word (3-3, 3-3) lost three in a row to end the regular season, likely erasing any hope remaining for an at-large berth into the playoffs. The Cardinals lost 75-45 at No. 21 Nicholls on March 27 before last week’s 49-47 loss to Northwestern State on a field goal as time expired.
Cameron Ward completed 32 of 53 passes for 305 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions for UIW. The freshman set a program record with an FCS-leading 24 touchdown passes this season. He threw for a school-record six TDs in a March 20 win over Southeastern Louisiana and tied the mark against Nicholls.
More AP college football: https://apnews.com/tag/Collegefootball
