Northwestern State (5-2, 1-1) running back Jeremy Lofton finished the game with 144 yards rushing and three touchdowns, while Demon backup quarterback Lester Magee passed for 180 yards as the Northwestern State defeated Nicholls, 47-14, in Nachitiches Saturday. The Colonels (1-5, 0-3) jumped to an early lead in the first quarter when quarterback Josh Son ran the ball four yards for the first touchdown of the game with 8:17 left in the first quarter.
Son scored once more in the first quarter, with 5:59 remaining, when he manned a one-yard touchdown run, which put the Colonels up 14-0. That was the last time that Nicholls would score.
Northwestern’s offense came alive in the second quarter. Jeremy Lofton scored the Demon’s’ first touchdown of the game on a five-yard run at the 13:36 mark in the second quarter, which made the score 14-7.
Demon quarterback Kevin Magee scored with 5:11 left in the second quarter, but the extra point was blocked, and the Colonels held on to a 14-13 lead.
Northwestern took a 19-14 lead in the top of the third quarter when Lofton ran 28 yards for a touchdown, and they did not look back. Lofton ran for another touchdown in the third quarter, with 6:16 remaining, when he ran four yards to put six on the board, which made the score 26-14.
Northwestern’s defense scored the final touchdown of the third quarter, which made the score 33-14, as Kendri Lofton picked off one of Son’s pass for a 41-yard touchdown scamper with 5:01 remaining in the quarter.
Demon wide receiver Nathan Black opened up the scoring for Northwestern in the fourth quarter when he was hit for a 74-yard touchdown pass by Magee. Northwestern runningback Troy Summrall scored the last touchdown of the game on a two-yard scamper.
Northwestern ended up outscoring the Colonels 34-0 in the second half as it scored 47 unanswered points. The Demon defense held the Colonels to 173 yards of total offense, while 166 of those yards came from the Colonels running game.
Colt Coletti led the Colonels in rushing this week with 20 carries for 98 yards, while Son struggled passing the ball. Son attempted nine passes, completed one for seven yards, and threw two interceptions.
The Colonel defense allowed Northwestern to get 361 yards of total offense. The Demons seemed to have an equal balance of the run and the pass as the offense had 180 passing yards and 181 rushing yards.
This week the Colonels will face the Southwest Texas Bobcats for their homecoming and the fourth annual “Battle for the Paddle.” The teams seem to be evenly matched as the Colonel offense puts up 13.5 points per game, while Southwest Texas offense averages about 18.
Southwest Texas garners a 4-3 records, and like the Colonels, is searching for its first Conference win. Can the Colonels pull off their first conference win? Can their offense get back on track after being shutout in the second half of the last game? Are questions that can only be answered Saturday.
