Sam Houston State-Richmond Game Moved To Waco, Will Play Friday Night

The​ ​Week 1​ ​game​ ​between​ ​Sam​ ​Houston​ ​State​ ​and​ ​Richmond​ ​has​ ​been​ ​moved​ ​from Huntsville​ ​to​ ​Baylor’s​ ​McLane​ ​Stadium,​ ​due​ ​to​ ​Hurricane​ ​Harvey.​ ​The​ ​city​ ​of​ ​Huntsville​ ​received more​ ​than​ ​20​ ​inches​ ​of​ ​rain​ ​forcing​ ​classes​ ​to​ ​be​ ​delayed​ ​at​ ​SHSU​ ​until​ ​September​ ​5,​ ​2017. This​ ​game​ ​joins​ ​a​ ​long​ ​list​ ​of​ ​cancellations​ ​and​ ​relocations​ ​across​ ​Southeast​ ​Texas​ ​from Texans​ ​vs​ ​Cowboys,​ ​LSU​ ​vs​ ​BYU,​ ​and​ ​​ ​on​ ​down​ ​to​ ​high​ ​school​ ​and​ ​youth​ ​games.

Sam Houston State & Richmond will play their season-opening football game at McLane Stadium on Friday night.https://t.co/lNIGKcxleo

— Baylor Athletics (@BaylorAthletics) August 29, 2017

The​ ​game​ ​will​ ​be​ ​free​ ​of​ ​charge​ ​to​ ​all​ ​fans​ ​looking​ ​to​ ​attend​ ​and​ ​Baylor’s​ ​staff​ ​has​ ​offered​ ​to volunteer​ ​in​ ​organizing​ ​the​ ​game.​ ​SHSU​ ​athletic​ ​director​ ​Bobby​ ​Williams​ ​said in a release from the school​, “I​ ​want​ ​to​ ​give ‘thanks’​ ​to​ ​Baylor​ ​Director​ ​of​ ​Athletics​ ​Mack​ ​Rhoades,​ ​and​ ​everyone​ ​at​ ​Baylor​ ​for​ ​their​ ​help​ ​in making​ ​this​ ​game​ ​happen.”​ ​The​ ​game​ ​will​ ​kickoff​ ​at​ ​6:00pm​ ​Friday​ ​night​ ​and​ ​will​ ​be a​ ​marquee​ FCS matchup.
Both​ ​teams​ ​are​ ​ranked​ ​in​ ​the​ ​top​ ​10​ ​in​ ​the​ ​FCS​ ​Coaches​ ​Poll,​ ​with​ ​SHSU​ ​at​ ​#3​ ​and​ ​Richmond at​ ​#7.​ ​The​ ​game​ ​was​ ​originally​ ​supposed​ ​to​ ​aired​ ​on​ ​ESPNU,​ ​but​ ​now​ ​new​ ​broadcast​ ​coverage is​ ​being​ ​worked​ ​out.​ ​SHSU​ ​Associate​ ​AD​ ​Greg​ ​Hinze​ ​and​ ​Richmond​ ​Interam​ ​AD​ ​David​ ​Walsh did​ ​an​ ​outstanding​ ​job​ ​working​ ​together​ ​to​ ​make​ ​this​ ​game​ ​happen​ ​according​ ​to​ ​Bobby Williams.

The two schools have split the​ ​the​ ​past​ ​six matchups​ with ​five​ ​of​ ​those games​ ​decided​ ​by​ ​10​ ​points​ ​or​ ​less​ ​and​ ​​three​ ​games​ ​decided​ ​by​ ​six ​points​ ​or​ ​less.​ ​SHSU​ ​coach K.C.​ ​Keeler​ ​has​ ​a​ ​lot​ ​of​ ​respect​ ​for​ ​Richmond​ ​coach​ ​Russ​ ​Huesman.​ ​In​ ​an​ ​interview​ ​with​ ​JP McBride​ ​of​ ​The Huntsville Item, Keeler​ ​referred​ ​to​ ​Huesman​ ​as​ ​“one​ ​of​ ​the​ ​best​ ​defensive​ ​minds​ ​in​ ​the country​ ​at​ ​any​ ​level.”

One​ ​of​ ​the​ ​matchups​ ​in​ ​this​ ​game​ ​will​ ​be​ ​Richmond​ ​QB​ ​Kyle​ ​Lauletta​ ​was​ ​the​ ​secondary​ ​of Sam​ ​Houston State,​ ​who​ ​has​ ​three​ ​new​ ​starters​ ​this​ ​season.​ ​Lauletta​ ​threw​ ​for​ ​3,022​ ​yards​ ​and​ ​24 touchdowns​ ​last​ ​season​ ​and​ ​had​ ​a​ ​completion​ ​percentage​ ​of​ ​63.​ ​In​ ​the​ ​last​ ​regular​ ​season game​ ​against​ ​William​ ​&​ ​Mary​ ​Lauletta​ ​tore​ ​his​ ​ACL​ ​and​ ​missed​ ​all​ ​of​ ​the​ ​Spiders​ ​playoff​ ​games.

Sam​ ​Houston State’s​ ​defense​ ​will​ ​be​ ​lead​ ​by​ ​strong​ ​safety​ ​Adrian​ ​Contreras​ ​and​ ​cornerbacks​ ​Darius Mouton,​ ​a​ ​UNLV​ ​transfer,​ ​and​ ​freshman​ ​Jaylen​ ​Thomas.​ ​The​ ​free​ ​safety​ ​position​ ​will​ ​be​ ​played by​ ​senior​ ​Joshua​ ​Price,​ ​a​ ​transfer​ ​from​ ​Southern​ ​Nazarene.

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