As the football season nears the midway point, Southland Conference teams enter the heart of their schedules, known as conference play.Several teams open their conference slates this weekend, including the Colonels, who play Stephen F. Austin on Saturday. Colonels head football coach Jay Thomas said the Southland conference is wide open.

“Right now everything is set to go, and everyone is preparing for conference play,” Thomas said. “In the Southland Conference you’ve got to show up and be ready to play every Saturday.”

This season the conference has a seven-team field, compared to the six in years past, and every team brings something different to the table.

Stephen F. Austin

The Lumberjacks are coming off a less-than-stellar 2004 campaign in which they finished 6-5 overall and 1-4 in the Southland Conference. Their record put the Lumberjacks in fourth place out of the six teams in the conference last year.

This season the Lumberjacks enter with a new coach. After firing Mike Santiago at the end of last season, the Lumberjacks hired Robert McFarland to take over.

Currently the Lumberjacks are 3-1 overall, scoring victories over Henderson State, Western Illinois and Southern Utah. Montana State provided the only loss on Sept. 10.

The Lumberjacks came off a bye week last Saturday and open their Southland Conference slate this Saturday at home against the Colonels.

“Stephen F. Austin looks like they’ve got things going,” Thomas said. “I’m sure they’re getting ready for us this week.”

The Lumberjacks lead the series against Nicholls 15-6, including last year’s 41-23 loss to the Colonels.

Northwestern State

The Demons enter the 2005 season under the reign of fourth-year head coach Scott Stoker. The Demons are the preseason favorites to win the Southland Conference.

The Demons are currently 1-2 overall with a victory over Louisiana-Monroe on Sept. 1 and losses to North Dakota State and Louisiana-Lafayette.

The Demons are set to play the Colonels on Nov. 5 at 6 p.m. in Natchitoches.

“Northwestern has always been a tough team to play, and we have to play them on the road, which will make it tougher,” Thomas said.

The Demons lead the overall series 22-10 over the Colonels.

Southeastern

The Lions are the newcomers of the Southland Conference. After finishing last season 7-4 as a Division I-AA independent, the Lions accepted an invitation to join the Southland Conference prior to this season.

Under first-year head coach Dennis Roland, the Lions are currently 1-2 scoring a win over Alcorn State while losing to Northern Colorado and Tulane. The Lions and the Colonels meet on Nov. 12 in Hammond with the all-time series tied 7-7.

Sam Houston State

The Colonels open their Southland Conference home slate against the Bearkats for Family Day on Oct. 15. The Bearkats, who are the defending SLC champions are currently 1-2 with a victory over Bacone College and losses to Division I-A foes Houston and Texas Tech under first-year head coach Todd Whitten.

The Bearkats defeated the Colonels 38-10 last season, but the Colonels lead the all-time series 10-9-1.

Texas State

The Colonels and Bobcats meet every year in what is known as the “Battle for the Paddle” in which the winner wins a paddle with its team’s name and score on it and bragging rights for the whole season.

The Bobcats regained the paddle after a 35-12 victory over the Colonels last season. The Bobcats are currently 3-1 with victories over Delta State, Southern Utah and South Dakota State. The lone loss for the Bobcats came from Texas A&M on Sept. 22.

The “Battle for the Paddle” resumes on Oct. 29 for the Colonels’ homecoming-night game at 6:30. The Colonels lead the all-time series 12-11.

McNeese State

The Cowboys and Colonels renew their rivalry in Thibodaux on Nov. 19. McNeese State head coach, Tommy Tate, is 5-0 against the Colonels after last season’s 30-9 win.

The Cowboys lead the all-time series against the Colonels 20-9 and won the last six in a row against the Colonels. The Colonels’ last win against the Cowboys was on Nov. 21, 1998.

The Cowboys currently have a 1-1 victory with a win over Georgia Southern and a loss to Southern Miss.

This Saturday marks the first conference game of the season for both the Colonels and Lumberjacks. Now that the non-conference schedule is over for the Colonels, every game starting Saturday is a conference game.