Northwestern State Demon football kicks off their two-game home stretch as they take on University of Tennessee-Martin on Saturday, Sept. 18. Despite past woes against North Texas and Alcorn State, the Demons are looking to shape new fortunes in their attack on the UT Martin Skyhawks.

Students at NSU are eager for purple Saturday nights in Turpin Stadium again.

“I’m excited because I’ve never been to a college football game before and I’m looking forward to dressing up and showing some spirit,” said Trista Sanders, freshman nursing major. With fans in the stands bringing NSU closer to normal, Sanders and other Demon fans await the excitement that comes with Saturday nights in Turpin Stadium.

“I think it’s good for our community,” said Brad Laird, head coach for Demon football. “It’s good for our players to get back into some type of normalcy; playing in the fall for our student body in full force, especially with our first home game this week.”

Kaleb Fletcher will start under center for the Demons, throwing for 326 yards and two touchdowns in two starts at quarterback. Against Alcorn State University, Fletcher threw for 192 yards and one touchdown in the first quarter to wide receiver Kendrick Price.

“I think the way Fletcher’s managed the game and what we want to do all offensively,” Laird said. “He has limited his mistakes, made some good decisions and I think that’ll be big going into this week. And then also being able to stress the ball down the field and being able to hit the big play against the Skyhawks will be swift for him.”

Their last match against UT Martin ended in a 42-20 loss in Tennessee on Aug. 29, 2019. Northwestern State put up a game-high 13 points in the second quarter, followed by points in each quarter except in the second from UT Martin.

Laird claims this Demon squad, while different this year, will try to keep a dominant mentality throughout Saturday’s game.

“It’s gonna be great playing at home, being able to run out to the purple smoke,” Laird said. “When you look at the game itself, you can see some things personnel wise that’s the same, but you’re going to see some differences in both teams as well. So, you know, us being able to be consistent in all three phases is going to be important.”

Demon football fans can find their full schedule with scores and stats of each game here.