JOURNAL SPORTS
Northwestern State is home for the first time in a month while Grambling plays at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, facing Prairie View in the annual State Fair Classic, and Centenary plays at Atkins Field in area college football contests Saturday.
Louisiana Tech is idle before hosting Army next week.
NORTHWESTERN STATE: The Demons (0-4, 0-1) return home and to Southland Conference play Saturday when they host Southeastern Louisiana (2-2, 0-1) at Turpin Stadium.
Kickoff is 6 p.m. The game can be seen on ESPN+ or heard regionally on Natchitoches-based 100.7 FM KZBL through the BDCRadio.com website or the NSUDemons app.
Northwestern showed plenty of encouraging signs during the final three quarters of last week’s 49-20 loss at Weber State, producing 389 yards of total offense and forcing two turnovers after a blocked field goal returned for a score and a long kickoff return helped the Wildcats snag a 21-0 lead in the first six minutes.
The 389 yards were the most the Demons have produced against an FCS opponent in three seasons under head coach Blaine McCorkle and are the second-most in their past 29 games against FCS competition. A new starting quarterback was a catalyst.
“We moved the ball well on offense we just have to eliminate mental errors and costly mistakes,” Charlotte transfer Zach Wilcke said. “I think it gave the guys a lot of confidence. Just getting in the receiver room and watching film with those guys and seeing what we can exploit each week is going to be big the rest of the way.”
SLU (2-2, 0-1) was surprised in its opener at home by SLC foe Houston Christian 34-28, but last week shocked ULM with a 38-35 win in Monroe.
The Lions are coming off a 38-35 win at ULM, their first victory over an FBS opponent in program history. Southeastern used three takeaways, turning two into touchdowns, while dynamic receiver Dkhai Joseph added a punt return touchdown to help the Lions stun the Warhawks.
“They’re a good football team and have been for a while,” Demons’ third-year coach Blaine McCorkle said. “They’re physical. They’re sound. They know what they want to do and they’re good at it. They’ve got great personnel and extremely well coached.”
GRAMBLING: After two home wins over lower division teams and a bank-account boosting drubbing at TCU, the Tigers are back in the DFW metroplex to kick off their Southwestern Athletic Conference slate with a big test.
Defending SWAC champion Prairie View (1-3, 1-0) and Grambling (2-1) collide Saturday at the Cotton Bowl.
The Tigers have a balanced offense averaging 447 yards, but haven’t closed the door on a four-quarterback competition for the starting job. But they have a multi-pronged running game.
“It’s no secret what I’m going to do – we’re going to run the rock,” said Grambling coach Mickey Joseph in a midweek interview.
Prairie View has non-conference losses to Tarleton State, Baylor and Stephen F. Austin, but blasted nearby SWAC rival Texas Southern 52-14 in its second game.
“The West Division championship runs through PV,” said Joseph, whose first two teams have fallen to the Panthers. “This is two good teams who will get after each other.”
CENTENARY: The Gents shoot for their first win in three starts Saturday evening at 6 when a fledgling Schreiner Mountaineers squad visits Atkins Field in the “Military Heroes Game.”
Centenary held a 14-12 halftime lead, but was overwhelmed afterward last Saturday in a 46-14 loss at East Texas Baptist.
“We must fix the mistakes from last week and prepare for a very talented and well-coached Schreiner team,” said Gents coach Byron Dawson. “It’s going to take great preparation, focus, and four quarters of effort to get the job done.”
Schreiner (2-1) is in its first year of football and opened with a thrilling 33-27 win over Austin College. After losing to Oklahoma Panhandle, the Mountaineers posted a 31-28 victory over Southwestern.
Saturday’s game will honor military members and veterans while raising funds for The SEAL Legacy Foundation. Led by Centenary’s Kappa Sigma fraternity, the Military Heroes Game brings together students, student-athletes, alumni, faculty and staff, and the Centenary College Choir in support of veterans and military families. Kappa Sigma has already raised $10,000 toward a $30,000 fundraising goal for the event with T-shirt sales at the game adding to the total.
A slideshow honoring veterans will be shown on the video board before kickoff. During halftime, the Centenary College Choir will perform “Salute to the Armed Forces.”
Centenary alumni will also provide free hot dogs at the game. Donations to The SEAL Legacy Foundation fundraising effort can be made through Kappa Sigma.
Live stats and live video are available for the game at the links below:
STATS: https://www.gocentenary.com/
VIDEO: https://flosports.link/4pWO02I