Albert Hewitt
Contributing Writer
The Demons traveled down to Thibodaux this past Saturday to take on the Nicholls State University Colonels. The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks are the official rivals for Northwestern State University, but the Colonels are a close second.
This matchup is commonly known as the battle to see which school is the “real” NSU.
The Demons went into Saturday’s game fresh off their bye week.
“We had a great week of rest as we are able to return some guys to the lineup this week that had been injured,” head coach Brad Laird said in a press conference prior to the game.
The Demons went into Saturday’s game in search of their first win this season. Although the Demons have had many positives to take away from each game, they have struggled to close out their opponents.
The Demons had a slow start in the opening quarter as they found themselves down 14 points going into the second quarter.
Before the half, running back Jared West put the Demons on the board as he ran for one yard to score his third touchdown of the season.
The Demons came out of the half stronger.
Quarterback Shelton Eppler, who finished with four touchdowns and 387 passing yards, threw two touchdowns in the third quarter. He was able to connect with wide receivers Quan Shorts and Gavin Landry to bring the Demons within ten points of the Colonels going into the fourth quarter.
Eppler did not stop there. After the Colonels were able to find the endzone early in the fourth, Eppler responded with a touchdown of his own. He found wide receiver Akile Davis in the endzone for his third passing touchdown of the day. Davis only needed one hand to bring in the touchdown pass as he finished with 155 receiving yards on seven receptions.
Eppler would find Short again late in the fourth to score, but the two touchdown runs by Nicholls in the final quarter kept the Demons out of reach.
The final score was 45-35.
The Demons return to Turpin Stadium this Saturday for homecoming where they will take on the Central Arkansas Bears. Kickoff is at 6 p.m.
