Purple takes Northwestern State's Delaney Bowl 23-22
NATCHITOCHES, La. - Northwestern State football team got everything it could
out of Thursday night's 23rd Annual Joe Delaney Bowl spring game, all the way
down to Lesley Deamer's final-play, fourth-down tackle that handed the Purple
team a 23-22 victory over the White in a controlled scrimmage.
The Purple squad, the defensive unit, picked up two points
on the play by making a fourth-down stop (fourth-and-1 near midfield, in an
end-of-game competition period) and overcame a late rally by the White squad.
The contest capped 15 spring workouts by Northwestern and included 60 scrimmage
plays and five 12-play pass skeleton (7-on-7) competition periods, along with
extensive special teams work.
Senior quarterback Brad Henderson was named the Delaney Bowl
Offensive Most Valuable Player after hitting 19 of 28 passes for 183 yards and
a touchdown, including pass skel action. Junior safety Bert White (nine
tackles, two pass breakups) won the Defensive MVP award. Senior kicker John
Shaughnessy, who hit field goals of 22 and 35 yards in the scrimmage, took the
Special Teams MVP honors.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Grant Chiasson ran for a
14-yard touchdown and Shaughnessy added the extra point in a red zone drill to
break a 15-all tie with only the end-of-game competition remaining. The Purple
did not allow a first down in eight plays, four each by the first two units,
and picked up eight points to rally for the win.
Deamer, a senior defensive tackle, stacked up sophomore
quarterback Don Canyon for no gain on fourth-and-1 on the game's decisive play.
"We got in 60 plays from scrimmage, and the outcome came
down to the final snap," said fourth-year coach Bradley Dale Peveto. "Hard to
beat that. We were limited with having only eight offensive linemen, and we
couldn't go 11-on-11 as much as we wanted, but with the pass skel and the
special teams work we got, we had a very productive two-hour work night, and
the scoring system gave us a chance to make it fun. It was. The Demons won."
Canyon was a contender for MVP honors with 159 yards and two
touchdowns on 19 of 29 aim. Chiasson also was in the mix with 10-of-14 aim for
114 passing yards and three touchdowns in pass skel to go with his running TD
that helped him lead all ball carriers with 36 yards on four tries.
Senior receiver Phillip Harvey topped the pass grabbers with
56 yards on six snags, while senior Clifton Brown was close behind with 62
yards on five catches, including a 20-yarder from Henderson in pass skel.
Other touchdown catches were by Trevor Goodie on a 13-yarder
from Canyon, and from Chiasson for 9 yards to Rakheem Mitchell, and 10 yards
each to Rondarious Morris and Jamarcus Williams.
Pushing for Defensive MVP accolades were senior linebacker
Reggie Toomer (eight tackles), senior defensive end Wade Williams (five
tackles, a sack and a tackle for loss), and junior safety Calvin Morton (four
tackles, two pass breakups, a blocked punt). Cortez Paige had an interception
and two tackles.