NATCHITOCHES, LOUISIANA – Northwestern State University ran the ball all game long against visiting University of the Incarnate Word on Saturday night to the tune of a 49-12 victory on Homecoming at Turpin Stadium in Southland Conference football action.
The game began ominously for the Cardinals (1-6, 1-3) as a strip sack of quarterback
Breylann McCollum (Cibolo/Steele HS) was recovered by Lyn Clark in the end zone for a defensive score for the Demons (3-3, 1-1) with 8:41 left in the first quarter. UIW was unable to move the ball during the first quarter, but the defense forced punts on each of NSU's first two drives.
The second quarter was a different story. The Demons scored on third-and-goal from the 12-yard line when Zach Adkins found Tuff McClain in the back of the end zone with 14:17 left in the half. The Cardinals followed with their best drive of the half thanks to some strong running by
Junior Sessions (Mesquite/Mesquite HS), but it stalled in the Red Zone and the team had to settle for a 22-yard field goal by
Ramon Coto, Jr. (Houston/Westfield HS).
The Demons blitzed the Cardinals over the final 8:06 of the first half. The Demons went 75 yards in five plays and scored on a 40-yard crossing pass from Adkins to Ed Eagan. After a UIW 3-and-out, the Demons went back to work at their own 19-yard line. Garrett Atzenweiler picked up 51 yards on the first play from scrimmage and it would eventually be Adkins hitting Corey Simmons on a quick slant for a 3-yard touchdown pass with 3:37 left in the half.
The Demons scored once more before the end of the half. A fumbled snap by the Cardinals was recovered at the UIW 28-yard line with 45 seconds remaining. Four plays later and Adkins had his third touchdown pass of the half, a 3-yard toss to Cody Jones with 21 seconds left in the half.
The 35-3 deficit the Cardinals faced at halftime did not improve in the second half. The Demons continued to run an efficient offense that rushed for 390 yards on the ground, the most ever against the Cardinals. Atzenweiler led the attack with 146 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. Ronald Green added 96 yards on seven carries and three other players had at least 30 yards on the ground.
In the second half, the Cardinals put together a pair of solid scoring drives. The first came on the team's opening drive of the third quarter after stopping the Demons. They drove into the Red Zone for the second time of the game, but were once again stymied inside the 20-yard line. Coto booted his second field goal of the game, a 30-yarder with 8:38 left in the third quarter.
The Demons tacked on a pair of touchdowns after the UIW field goal to put the game well out of reach. Atzenweiler scored on a highlight film 47-yard run where he hurdled one defender and broke another tackle. De'Mar Llorens added the final score for the Demons on a 1-yard plunge late in the quarter.
The Cardinals received a boost on the final drive of the night when
Jordan Scelfo (Tuscon, AZ/Salpointe HS) got his first real look at quarterback. Starting with the ball at their 5-yard line with 1:57 remaining, Scelfo engineered a fantastic drive.
Joseph Sadler (Devine/Devine HS) opened the drive with a pair of runs to pick up a first down and then Scelfo scrambled for seven more and a late hit penalty moved the ball to the UIW 38-yard line. A 17-yard completion to
John Oglesby (Katy/Seven Lakes HS) and a 22-yard reception by
Taylor Hudson (San Antonio/Harlandale HS) moved the ball to the NSU 23-yard line with four seconds remaining. On the final play of the game, Scelfo hit
Gabriel Taylor (San Antonio/Brackenridge HS) in the end zone for a 23-yard score.
The drive produced a number of interesting stats. Scelfo had his first career completion and touchdown pass on the drive. Hudson recorded his first career reception in four years with the program. Taylor made his first appearance of the season and made his second touchdown grab in three career catches.
The Cardinals finished the game with 267 yards of total offense, but committed four turnovers. They converted 3-of-14 on third downs and had the ball for 27:09. The team was 14-of-29 for 177 yards, two interceptions and a touchdown through the air. Scelfo was the most successful of three quarterbacks going 3-for-3 for 62 yards and a score.
Casey Jennings (Fremont, CA/Washington HS) led the UIW receivers with four grabs for 64 yards while Oglesby added three catches for 29 yards.
The Cardinals picked up 90 yards on 32 carries on the ground. Sessions had another solid performance with 66 yards on 14 carries despite no carries in the fourth quarter.
The defense gave up 581 yards of total offense, but still had some nice plays.
Padyn Giebler (Ivan/Stephenville HS) led the team with 11 tackles and a tackle for loss. Adrian Norwood (Waco/Waco HS) added nine tackles and 2.0 tackles for loss from his safety position. Quadre Washington (Katy/Morton Ranch HS) had the team's only sack of the night while
Corey Lee (Humble/La Porte HS) picked up 2.5 more tackles for loss putting him in double figures for the season.
Coto had a great game until his final extra-point try that he missed. He averaged 49.0 yards on six punts with two inside the 20-yard line. He drilled both of his field goal attempts and averaged 63.3 yards on three kickoffs with one for a touchback.
The Demons finished the game with 30 first downs, converted 7-of-13 third down chances and had the ball for 32:51. In addition to the running game, Adkins had a strong performance through the air. He was 15-of-21 for 159 yards and four touchdowns. In all, the team had 191 yards through the air. Eagan led the team with five catches for 84 yards and a touchdown.
The Northwestern State defense had a pair of sacks and 6.0 tackles for loss. Imoan Claiborne had a strong game with a sack, forced fumble, fumble recovery and an interception. Adam Jones led the team with seven tackles and had an interception.
The Cardinals have a bye week and then return home to play nationally ranked McNeese State on October 25 as part of Homecoming Weekend in San Antonio.
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