By Brad Welborn, Northwestern State Assistant Sports Information Director; featured photo by Chris Reich, NSU Photographic Services
COMMERCE, Texas – Northwestern State struggled to find offensive consistency in its Southland Conference opener Saturday night, unable to sustain the momentum created by a handful of explosive plays in a 38-14 loss to East Texas A&M at Memorial Stadium.
The Demons (0-3, 0-1) flashed the ability to make big plays on both sides of the ball, but East Texas A&M (1-2, 1-0) consistently answered those moments and pulled away in the second half.
“We were in the game for the majority of the night, but it separated there late,” head coach Blaine McCorkle said. “We didn’t do a lot to help ourself out. We lost two interceptions due to penalties. We didn’t tackle real well and we never could find enough consistency on offense to finish drives. We had moments where we moved the ball but just couldn’t finish.”
Northwestern State’s two touchdowns came on big plays, with the first coming from the defense late in the opening quarter.
After the Demons forced a pair of stops on consecutive Lion possessions, Ben Bienvenu gave NSU its first boost of the game. He forced a fumble with a sack on third-and-long leading to a punt that put momentum on the Demon sideline.
While the offense failed to produce any points, the defense remained locked in leading to the first big play of the night.
A failed option exchange in the ETAM backfield led to a loose ball that bounced into the hands of Geoffrey Ojeh, who was in the right place at the right time. Ojeh scooped up the fumble and raced 37 yards in the opposite direction for a touchdown, giving the Demons a 7-0 lead.
Six plays later, the Lions answered.
Dynamic receiver Micah Simpson took an end-around 50 yards to the end zone, tying the game and starting a stretch of three straight scoring drives for East Texas A&M. The Lions added a 42-yard field goal and a one-yard touchdown run to take a 17-7 lead midway through the second quarter.
Northwestern State responded with another explosive play.
On third-and-10, Zay Davis took a screen pass and sprinted down the right sideline for a 60-yard touchdown, the perfect play call that caught the Lions in a blitz.
It was the longest completion of the season for the Demons and Davis’ second 60-yard play of the season after he broke a 60-yard run against Louisiana Christian in the season opener.
The score gave Northwestern State a burst of momentum, and the defense quickly fed off it by forcing a three-and-out on the Lions’ next possession.
The Demons, however, could not capitalize offensively.
After Northwestern State went three-and-out on its ensuing possession, East Texas A&M needed just four plays to find the end zone again, extending its lead to 24-14 heading into halftime.
The Demons’ defense came out of halftime with a determination to keep the game within reach. NSU recorded three tackles for loss on East Texas A&M’s opening drive of the third quarter, with five different players combining to make the plays and force another Lions punt.
“We called a really aggressive game on defense,” McCorkle said. “That’s what I wanted us to do. The guys tried to answer that and that’s why there were essentially four turnovers. They went after it and tried to execute. That burned us a couple times on some big plays for them but you live by the sword and die by it with that style. We have to take chances and get guys free to make plays.”
Once again, the offense was unable to turn the defensive stop into points.
The Demons punted seven plays later, and East Texas A&M answered with a 42-yard touchdown pass to extend its lead.
It was a recurring theme throughout the night as Northwestern State made plays but struggled to turn them into sustained momentum.
The Demons appeared to come up with two interceptions in the second half, but both were negated by penalties. A pass interference penalty wiped away one interception early in the third quarter, while a roughing-the-passer penalty negated another in the fourth.
East Texas A&M took advantage of the second reprieve, turning the extended possession into a touchdown that pushed its lead to 38-14 with seven minutes remaining.
Despite the final margin, the defense limited the Lions to 148 yards of total offense in the second half, forced one turnover and came close to creating two more.
The Demons, however, were unable to generate enough sustained offense to overcome the deficit created during the first half.
Northwestern State returns to action next Saturday with its final non-conference game of the season, traveling to Weber State. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. CDT.