Published: October 29, 2009 11:39 pm      

Southland Notebook: Demons’ record could be deceiving

Northwestern State getting better despite 0-7 start

Northwestern State decided it was time to go in a different direction with its football program at the end of last season. The Demons didn’t renew head coach Scott Stoker’s contract and hired former LSU co-defensive coordinator Bradley Dale Peveto to turn things around.

So far, it has been tough sledding for Northwestern State. The Demons are 0-3 in Southland Conference action and 0-7 overall.

Peveto’s bunch is struggling on both sides of the ball. The Demons’ are only averaging 13.9 points per game, while giving up 41.9.

But taking a closer look at Northwestern State’s schedule, the guys in Natchitoches, La., have been fighting an up hill battle.

The Demons played two solid Football Bowl Subdivision teams in Houston and Baylor. Well, the Bears had a promising season going until they lost star quarterback Robert Griffin for the season in the 68-13 win over Northwestern State.

The Cougars rolled past the Demons 55-7, but are ranked in the top 25 and have two impressive victories over Oklahoma State and Texas Tech. The only blemish on Houston’s schedule is a loss to UTEP.

So throw those two Northwestern State losses out the window.

The Demons other two nonconference games this season where against Football Championship Subdivision teams. Grambling, which is receiving votes in the top 25 poll, topped Northwestern State 38-7, while North Dakota held off a fourth-quarter rally to escape Natchitoches with a 27-20 win.

To start SLC action, the Demons played one of the hardest schedules in the league, just ask Sam Houston State. Northwestern State opened with Central Arkansas and McNeese State, which the Bearkats did the previous two seasons.

The Demons went 0-2 this year. Sam Houston State was 0-4 with the same schedule in 2007 and 2008.

Northwestern State lost to Texas State last week to drop to 0-7, but the Demons gave the Bobcats all they could handle.

Peveto decided to give true freshman quarterback Paul Harris a shot and the Demon offense had one of its best offensive games of the season. Harris threw for 117 yards and rushed for 118 more as Northwestern State racked up 402 yards of total offense.

The game wasn’t decided until Texas State stopped the Demons on fourth down at the Bobcat 39-yard line with 32 seconds left to preserve a 20-17 victory.

“Our guys were just devastated after the game,” Peveto said in a release. “It was an awesome effort. We didn’t always make the plays, but we always were busting it and we did give ourselves a chance to win. There wasn’t a man on the team who didn’t believe we weren’t going to win until they finally stopped us in the last minute on their side of the field.”

The Demons 0-7 record could be deceiving, so the Bearkats will need to be on top of their game Saturday night at Bowers Stadium. If not, Northwestern State could be celebrating its first win.



SLC cross country championships — Members of the Sam Houston State men’s and women’s cross country teams will head to Corpus Christi on Saturday to compete in the 45th annual Southland Conference cross country championships.

Clint Anders, Joey D’Eramo, Travis Kocurek, Patrick Krol, Julius Michael, Matt Stephenson, Ray Venegas and Blake Woolums will try to improve on the Bearkat men’s fifth-place showing in 2008.

Competing for the SHSU women, who placed eighth last year, will be Sara Collazos, Kelli Fitzgerald, Victoria Gemeny, Haley Peddy, Haliegh Pustka, Crystal Santos and Megan Williams.

The men will run a five-mile course starting Saturday at 8:30 a.m. The women will compete on a six kilometer course with the race to start at 9:15 a.m.



Punishment upheld — The NCAA Division I Infractions Appeals Committee announced Thursday that it will upheld the punishment handed down to the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi volleyball and men’s tennis programs.

Back in March, the NCAA found the Islanders guilty of recruiting violations and using an ineligible student-athlete. The volleyball team and men’s tennis squad are banned from participating in the postseason for a year, will be placed on probation for four years and will have scholarship reductions.

The Islander men’s basketball program has also been punished with recruiting restrictions for making impermissible phone calls to recruits.

According to a story by the Associated Press, “the NCAA says A&M-Corpus Christi let a volleyball player compete during her sixth year, a year beyond the five-year period allowed. The school also was accused of giving a men’s tennis player $1,500 in impermissible financial aid.”