Sam Houston's special teams shine in 21-17 win over Oregon State

CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) — Mabrey Mettauer threw a touchdown pass and the Sam Houston special teams scored two second-half touchdowns to help the Bearkats beat Oregon State 21-17 on Saturday night and snap an eight-game losing streak.

Sam Houston (1-8) avoided the first 0-9 start to a season in program history and Bearkats first-year coach Phil Longo got his first win as a head coach since Nov. 12, 2005, when he was at La Salle.

Mettauer hit Chris Reed for a 35-yard touchdown with 1:14 left in the second quarter that trimmed Sam Houston’s deficit to 17-7 at halftime. Tim Burns Jr. returned the opening kickoff of the second half 98 yards for a touchdown and Lyric Smith blocked a punt that Brody Henderson scooped up and ran 31 yards for a TD that gave the Bearkats a 21-17 lead with 8:29 to play.

Sam Houston had just eight first downs and was outgained 474-157 total yards.

Anthony Hankerson had 33 carries for 166 yards and two touchdowns for Oregon State (2-7) and David Wells Jr. had nine receptions for 112 yards. Gabarri Johnson was 28-of-39 passing for 283 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions.

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