Northwestern State Wins Southland Football Opener.

9/8/2007 5:00:00 AM

NATCHITOCHES, La. ? Northwestern State junior kicker Robert Weeks nailed a 35-yard field goal as time expired Saturday night, lifting the Demons to a 31-28 triumph over visiting Central Arkansas in the Southland Conference football opener for both teams.

The kick validated a comeback from a pair of 14-point first half deficits by the Demons, 2-0 for the first time since 2002. It raised Northwestern’s record in SLC openers to 16-5 while spoiling the first-ever Southland contest for UCA (0-2), which led 14-0 and 21-7 at halftime.

The Demons roared back with 21 unanswered points in the third quarter to take a 28-21 lead. The Bears tied it at 28-all with 7:40 left after a steady 10-play, 69-yard march, their first consistent offensive production since halftime.

Northwestern took the ensuing kickoff and drove inside the UCA 40, but the drive stalled with 3:30 left and Marshal Burton’s 37-yard punt was downed at the Bears’ 3. UCA had to punt back to NSU from the end zone and Jasper Edwards darted 13 yards to set up the Demons at the Bears’ 32 with 1:44 remaining.

Quarterback Germayne Edmond twisted for 12 yards on the first play and the Demons ran only once more before opting to allow the clock to run down to two seconds, bringing on Weeks, who ranked among national leaders last year in a school record-setting 18-of-24 performance on field goals.

He weathered a pair of timeouts by UCA before centering the game-winner between the uprights from the right hash mark, handing Northwestern its first last-play triumph since blocking a TCU field goal to post a 27-24 overtime win over the Horned Frogs in 2001.

"We felt good leaving the game to what Robert did," said sixth-year head coach Scott Stoker. "He’s made pressure kicks before. He is fighting through some adversity (missing a conversion kick in the first two games this

season) but just like our team, he came through under pressure.

"We knew at halftime we had made some mistakes that opened the door for a very good football team to put us in a hole, and UCA did," said Stoker. "We also knew we could come back and win. I don’t know if we would have a year ago, but we’ve grown up and we’ve grown close and that all came together tonight."

Edmond threw for 281 yards, including touchdowns of 30 yards to Dudley Guice and 25 yards to Clay Broyles. Edmond also scored on a 1-yard run among his

52 yards rushing on 11 carries, and ran for a two-point conversion that completed NSU’s comeback and tied the game at 21 with four minutes to go in the third period.

Tailback Byron Lawrence posted his second straight 100-yard rushing game with 110 on 18 carries, including a 46-yard touchdown burst that gave Northwestern its first lead at 28-21 with 1:55 left in the third quarter.

Guice snared 124 yards on six receptions as the Demons rolled up 473 total yards, overcoming a pair of interceptions suffered by Edmond on consecutive passes in the first quarter.

Central Arkansas totaled 353 yards, but only 133 after halftime. The Bears jumped up 14-0 when quarterback Nathan Brown raced 23 yards to make it 7-0 at the 5:15 mark of the opening quarter, and Leonard Ceaser sprinted 33 yards with 54 seconds left in the quarter for a 14-0 advantage.

NSU cut the lead in half immediately. Edmond and Broyles connected on a 35-yard pass on the first play after the kickoff, and NSU got 15 more from a late hit penalty. Edmond then found Guice down the right sideline on a 30-yard touchdown with a half-minute left in the first quarter.

UCA cashed in a bungled punt snap resulting in a 7-yard run by Burton, handing the visitors the ball at NSU’s 35. On the first snap, Brown found Marquez Branson for a touchdown pass to make it 21-7.

The Demons were ignited by a Gary Riggs interception at the UCA 46 on the first play of the second half. NSU surged downfield on six plays and Edmond scored on a 1-yard keeper, but Weeks misfired on the extra point after a holding penalty pushed the kick back to a 30-yard attempt.

The Bears were stymied on a fourth-down gamble at the NSU 28 midway through the third quarter and the Demons roared to life with a 36-yard Edmond-to-Guice pass. Edmond and Broyles connected three snaps later on the 25-yard touchdown, helped by an excellent downfield block by receiver Ben Bailey. Edmond knifed through the middle of the line to notch a two-point conversion and tie it at 21-all at the 4:00 mark of the third quarter.

The Demons took the lead after a three-and-out by the Purple Swarm defense and a punt gave NSU possession at its 45. After a pair of runs by Lawrence brought up third-and-1, he took a handoff over right guard and raced into the clear for a 46-yard TD.

NSU missed a fourth-and-2 at the UCA 31 early in the fourth quarter and the Bears revived. Brent Grimes ran six times for 34 yards, the last his 1-yard touchdown dive, the last of nine straight running plays by the Bears as they knotted the game at 28-all.

Northwestern marched to the 33, but stalled and Stoker decided not to gamble on a fourth-and-5 play. NSU took a delay penalty and Burton’s punt was smothered at the 3 by deep snapper Darius Perkins, penning up the Bears and setting the stage for Weeks’ final-play heroics.

SAM HOUSTON STATE 48, ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO 10

Quarterback Rhett Bomar passed for 257 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 36 yards including another score to lead Sam Houston State to a 48-10 non-conference victory over NCAA Division II Arkansas-Monticello of the Gulf South Conference.

The victory gives Sam Houston State a 2-0 season start for only the seventh time since the Bearkats moved up to the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision in 1986. This is the first 2-0 start for the Kats since their 2001 Southland championship season.

Bomar completed 17 of 26 passes including touchdowns of 7 and 3 yards to tight end Blake Martin and 56 yards to Darnell Jones. Bomar scored SHSU's second touchdown on a 12 yard run.

Jones ended the night with five catches for 104 yards. Justin Wells caught five passes for 69 yards.

Isaiah Sneed led the Bearkat rushing attack with 13 carries for 87 yards.

Chris Poullard and TyMagic Robinson scored TDs on the ground with runs of 5 and 21 yards, respectively.

The Bearkat recovered three Boll Weevil fumbles, each turnover setting up a score.

Sam Houston State travels to North Dakota State next Saturday in thei Bearkats' next action.

NICHOLLS STATE 31, SOUTHERN ARKANSAS 13

The Colonels muscled out 447 yards of total offense while limiting Southern Arkansas to 229 to win their home opener over the Muleriders 31-13 in their first game of the 2007 season in John L.

Guidry Stadium.

It was also their first game playing on the newly installed field named Manning Field Built by AstroTurf.

"It was great to get the win, but we came out the gate slow and struggled early on," said head coach Jay Thomas about the game. "We are going to have to get better and minimize our mistakes, but I am very proud of my guys in how hard they played."

The win marked the ninth straight victory for the Colonels (2-0) in home openers, and Thomas is now 4-0 when debuting in John L. Guidry Stadium.

It also marked the second consecutive year that Nicholls defeated the Muleriders (1-1) in their season home opener. Nicholls is now 25-10 when playing their home opener in John L. Guidry Stadium.

Nicholls started off the scoring in the first quarter when senior Alex Romero put a 41-yard field goal through the uprights to give the Colonels the early 3-0 lead at the 8:22 mark. The Colonels scored two touchdowns in the second quarter with senior fullback Cal Jones running 41-yards to the end zone. Romero tacked on the extra point to make the score 10-0 at the 13:53 mark. The next touchdown for the Colonels in the second quarter came courtesy of a 1-yard run by senior fullback Broderick Cole. Romero added the extra point for the Colonels to take a 17-0 lead at the 10:59 mark. Jones finished the game with 97 yards of total offense and the one touchdown that came in the second quarter.

Cole finished the game with 72-yards rushing and one touchdown, which gave him 1,597 yards for his career and placed him ninth on the all-time list surpassing Yale Vannoy with his performance tonight. The New Orleans, La. native and West Jefferson product also has 138 points to his credit, which places him just two points behind Brian Stopolo for ninth on the all-time scoring list.

After the Colonels took the 17-0 lead, the Muleriders fired back with 13 unanswered points to close out the half only down four points, 17-13.

Southern Arkansas was fueled by running back Steven Ashley who broke free for a 52-yard scamper to pay dirt. Noe Cuevas added the extra point to make the score 17-7 at the 8:54 mark. After some offensive miscues and a resurgence from the Muleriders offense, Josh SanFilippo capped off an 11 play 80-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown dive at the 50 second mark of the second quarter. Cuevas’ point after attempt was blocked, and both teams headed into the locker room with the score 17-13.

Both teams failed to score in the third quarter, but Nicholls found its grove in the fourth as they scored 14 points to ice Southern Arkansas.

Senior fullback Joseph Tobias scored his first touchdown of the year from 2-yards out in the fourth quarter at the 10:58 mark, and so did senior wide receiver Michael Okoronkwo when he caught a 42-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Zach Chauvin at the 6:09 spot. The defense took over from there, and the Muleriders failed to score for the remainder of the game.

Standing out defensively was junior Dwayne Jones, who converted from fullback in the spring to middle linebacker. Jones had a team high tie of 5.5 tackles in the contest with junior defensive back Lance Moore.

Nicholls will be back in action next week as they take to the road to play the Nevada Wolfpack next Saturday September 15. Kickoff is set for

8 p.m. CST with ESPN regional broadcasting the game and Cox Sports Television televising the game locally.

ABILENE CHRISTIAN 45, TEXAS STATE 27

Cameron Luke caught three second-half touchdown passes, capping a career day with six catches and 124 yards, but he was overshadowed as Texas State could not overcome a 28-0 halftime deficit, losing 45-27 to Abilene Christian on Saturday night.

Bradley George threw for 242 yards and two touchdowns while Morris Crosby threw a 52-yard scoring strike, and Stan Zwinggi led the Bobcats (1-1) on the ground with 11 carries for 43 yards and a touchdown.

Abilene Christian (1-1) outgained Texas State 458-to-422 in offense, as Bernard Scott rushed for 137 yards and three touchdowns while catching another score. Billy Malone threw for 227 yards and three touchdowns, including two to Johnny Knox, who finished with eight catches for 164 yards. The Wildcat defense also forced four Texas State turnovers.

Abilene Christian opened the scoring after intercepting a George pass at the Bobcat 29 yard line. On their first play on offense following the turnover, Malone found Knox in the corner of the end zone for a 22-yard scoring strike that made it 7-0 with 8:55 remaining in the first.

Texas State chewed up over four minutes of clock on its next drive but was unable to convert a third-and-long. Andrew Ireland came on to attempt a 46-yard field goal but missed wide left to keep the score 7-0.

The Wildcats stretched their lead to 14-0 right before the end of the quarter with an 11 play, 71-yard drive when Scott went off right tackle for a four yard score.

Another Bobcat turnover at the beginning of the second quarter put Texas State in a deep hole as ACU found itself in good starting field position near midfield. Four plays later, Scott again found the end zone, this time from 33 yards out to make it 21-0 Wildcats less than three minutes into the second quarter.

The Bobcats kept their next drive alive on fourth down when punter Chris MacDonald faked a punt and ran for 23 yards. Texas State's drive fizzled though, as the Bobcats couldn't convert a second fourth down attempt and gave ACU the ball back at its own 30.

After the teams traded punts on their next possession, ACU took over at the Bobcat 33 looking to add to its lead. On third and goal from the 11, Malone found Scott on the left side for the 11-yard touchdown with 3:16 left in the half, and the extra point gave the Wildcats a 28-0 lead they would hold at half time.

Texas State started its comeback attempt with an eight play, 50-yard scoring drive to open the third quarter, capped by a five yard touchdown run by Zwinggi after defensive pass interference gave the `Cats a first and goal.

ACU moved down the field on its next possession looking to answer, but the Bobcat defense held to force a 36-yard field goal by Matt Adams, capping a six play, 46-yard drive and extending ACU's lead to 31-7 with 8:57 remaining in the third.

Morris Crosby brought Texas State within 17 at 31-14 with a pair of spectacular plays. On fourth and two, Crosby ran right, broke a tackle and hurdled another for the first down yardage, and on the next play he caught a flat pass from George behind the line of scrimmage, launching a deep ball to a wide open Cameron Luke for a 52-yard score with 4:55 remaining in the third.

With two minutes to go in the third, ACU faced a fourth-and-one from the Bobcat 43. Scott moved the chains with a two yard run, and on the next play Malone found Knox down the right sideline for a 42-yard touchdown as he fought through pass interference, and the extra point made it 38-14 with only 1:50 to play in the third.

Zwinggi returned the ensuing kickoff 64 yards to the ACU 32, giving the Bobcats a chance to score before the end of the quarter. Facing a fourth-and-10 from the 32, George scrambled left and lofted a pass to a wide open Luke from just behind the line of scrimmage. Texas State went for two, but an incompletion kept the score 38-20 seven seconds into the fourth quarter.

Texas State's defense forced a punt to give the Bobcats the ball back at their own 22 with 11:18 on the clock. After a third down pass to Adrian Thomas that went for 40 yards thanks to a broken tackle, consecutive pass interference calls against ACU put the Bobcats at the 11-yard line. Luke caught his third touchdown, this time from nine yards, to cap a five play, 78-yard drive and bring Texas State to within 11 points at 38-27 with 9:47 to go.

Things looked to turn around for Texas State after ACU faced a third-and-12 from its own 18 yard line and threw an incomplete pass, but Texas State was whistled for defensive holding to give the Wildcats an automatic first down and keep their drive alive. ACU would eventually be forced to punt, but the first down allowed them to take an extra three minutes off the game clock.

When the Wildcats did punt, Alvin Canady muffed the catch for Texas State's third turnover, giving ACU the ball at the Texas State 30 yard line. Two plays later Scott ran 17 yards to pay dirt to all but seal the win, putting ACU up 45-27 with only 5:25 left. The Bobcats had two more possessions in the game, but had a turnover on downs on one possession while throwing an interception on the other before time expired.

Texas State will now take to the road for the next two games, beginning with a 6:00 p.m. game next Saturday at Baylor.

KANSAS 62, SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA 0

For the second consecutive week, the Southeastern Louisiana football team was no match for a FBS opponent, as Kansas manhandled the Lions, 62-0, Saturday night at Memorial Stadium.

The Lions (0-2) managed just 75 total yards on offense and were held to eight first downs in the contest. KU (2-0) rolled up 501 yards of total offense in the contest. The 62-point margin of defeat was tied for the worst defeat in school history, matching last season's loss by the same score at KU's fellow Big 12 member Texas Tech.

Southeastern sophomore quarterback Brian Babin completed 20 of 30 passes for 89 yards. KU quarterback Todd Reesing completed 13 of 23 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns. Brandon McAnderson led the Jayhawks with 60 yards rushing as Kansas out-rushed Southeastern, 222 to -31.

Southeastern forced the Jayhawks to punt on the first two drives. On the Lions' third drive, the center snap sailed over the head of junior punter Cody Samples and out of the end zone to give KU a 2-0 lead.

On the ensuing free kick, Marcus Herford scored on a 74 yard return to give the Jayhawks a 9-0 advantage.

After a nine-play Southeastern march stalled near midfield, Kansas' offense got on the board with a five-play, 83-yard drive. Reesing set up the score, hitting Marcus Henry with a 66-yard strike to the Southeastern 4. McAnderson's first-down carry found paydirt to put the Jayhawks ahead, 16-0.

Southeastern marched into Kansas territory on the ensuing possession, but once again the drive stalled. Reesing led the Jayhawks on a five-play, 93-yard drive capped by a 36-yard pass to Aqib Talib. KU's two-point try failed, keeping the score at 22-0. After a Southeastern punt, McAnderson's two-yard rush sent KU into halftime with a 29-0 lead.

A Scott Webb field goal was the result of Kansas' opening drive. The Jayhawks would find the end zone again with 7:11 left in the third quarter, as Reesing and Dexton Fields connected on a 25-yard strike. Kansas then sacked Babin in the end zone and the Jayhawks' second safety of the game put them ahead, 41-0.

A 23-yard pass from backup quarterback Kerry Meier to Jake Sharp capped the third quarter scoring. In the fourth, Sharp scored from three yards out and Carmon Boyd-Anderson added a two-yard touchdown to cap the scoring.

Southeastern freshman defensive back Jared Byers led Southeastern with seven tackles, followed by freshman linebacker Mark Newbill, senior linebacker Michael Johnson and senior linebacker Antonio Richardson with six stops each. Senior defensive lineman Dwight Womack and freshman defensive back Re'Keem Wilson each were credited with a sack.

Southeastern will open its 2007 home schedule next Saturday, hosting Division II Kentucky Wesleyan at 6 p.m. at Strawberry Stadium.

NORTH DAKOTA STATE 28, STEPHEN F. AUSTIN 19

The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjack football team dropped a heartbreaker Saturday night in Fargo, N.D. SFA came up on the short end of a 28-19 decision against No. 4 North Dakota State in the Fargo Dome. The shorthanded `Jacks fall to 0-2 on the season, while NDSU wins its season opener for the ninth straight season.

The Lumberjacks recorded 333 yards of total offense, including 137 yards on the ground, but the Bison offense was too strong Saturday night. NDSU finished the game with 580 yards of total offense, but it wasn't all smiles for the Bison offensive unit. The Lumberjacks forced North Dakota State into five turnovers, including four interceptions from defending Great West Conference Player of the Year Steve Walker, who threw four picks all of last season.

Senior quarterback Danny Southall carried the load for SFA. He completed 18-of-33 passes for 196 yards. He also led the team with 20 carries for 82 yards, including a long of 26.

Sophomore Contrevious Parks recorded his first start in the SFA secondary and led the team with 12 tackles. Redshirt freshman Terrance Nurse added 10 stops.

The `Jacks will take a week off before returning to the field Saturday Sept. 22, to host Western Illinois. The game against the Leathernecks is slated to begin at 6 p.m. from Homer Bryce Stadium.