After losing 31-7 on the road to the Nicholls Colonels last week, the McNeese Cowboys returned home to a week 10 matchup with Northwestern State. The Demons took the lead just a handful of minutes into the game before the Pokes completely took over and ended up winning 50-3. The victory elevated McNeese to 3-6 on the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
It was a weird start in Lake Charles with a pair of turnovers. On the second play of the game, Northwestern State went no huddle, and Javon Davis intercepted quarterback Abram Johnston on his first pass attempt. McNeese returned the favor in the same way, with Jake Strong throwing a pick to Kaden Mackey, who returned the football 39 yards to the Cowboy 26.
Northwestern State set up its offense in prime territory and moved the chains after Camryn Davis had a four-yard run on 3rd & 1. Kolbe Burrell lost three yards on a rush, and Johnston threw two incompletions, leading to a 33-yard field goal by Grayson Lytton.
McNeese responded with a 10-play, 75-yard drive to take its first lead. The Pokes began to lean on the run game, keeping it on the ground six times as Bryce Strong highlighted the drive with a 26-yard run. Coleby Hamm finished it off with a one-yard touchdown and elected to go for two with kicker Fabrizio Pinton unavailable. The try was successful, putting the Cowboys up 8-3 with 6:45 left in the first quarter.
The Pokes extended their lead less than two minutes into the second quarter after three drives resulted in punts. The running back Strong had another big 24-yard run to jumpstart the possession and move the ball to the Demon 41-yard line. Three plays later, the quarterback Strong carried the rock and ran past everyone, going into the endzone untouched for the 35-yard score.
Following another three-and-out by Northwestern State, McNeese swiftly scored its third touchdown. Tre’Vonte Citizen bounced outside and ran down the sideline for a 34-yard gain and made a heroic effort to reach paydirt from 10 yards out a couple of plays later. The Cowboys were ahead 22-3 with 10 minutes to go in the second quarter.
McNeese scored one more time before the break; this time, it was Devin Lippold who carried the ball in for the two-yard touchdown. Another duo of 20+ yard runs led to the overwhelming lead for the Cowboys. Burrell had a couple of carries for 52 before the two minute timeout, but the Demon offense failed to move the chains and turned the ball over with 23 seconds left.
Head coach Matt Viator’s group was up 29-3 at the half.
Not much changed in the second half. Both teams went three-and-out before McNeese struck again. Jonathan Harris received a touch pass from Strong and had nothing but daylight, going 23 yards to the house to go up by 33.
In the back half of the third quarter, Northwestern State fumbled twice on the same drive. Johnston fumbled on a 12-yard gain after Mark Fielder punched the ball out. Trevor Allen Jr recovered the loose ball for the Demons, but they wouldn’t get lucky a second time. Backup quarterback Eli Anderson rushed up the middle and had the ball jarred loose, and Phillip Bradford fell on it at the McNeese 47-yard line.
It only took six plays for the Pokes to score another touchdown; this time, it was Hamm, who sandwiched himself in for the one-yard score. To begin the drive, Strong connected with Matthew McCallister for a 36-yard hookup to set up shop in the red zone.
McNeese went on to score one more time. Jaylen Thompson capped off an 11-play, 75-yard drive with a nine-yard touchdown run, the team’s sixth of the night.
When the clock hit all zeros, the Cowboys officially earned their third win of the season by taking down the Demons 50-3 at home.
BIG NUMBER: 178
There wasn’t much Northwestern State did well on offense on Saturday. The Demons recorded just 178 yards of offense, 11 first downs, and turned the ball over twice. Their only scoring drive came when they began at McNeese’s 26-yard line. The Cowboys totaled 461 offensive yards and had 21 first downs in the win.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Phillip Bradford
No Masey Lewis, no problem. Phillip Bradford stepped up nicely, recording six tackles, five of which were solo, and he recorded 4.5 tackles for loss. That performance was solidified with two sacks as McNeese moved to 3-6 with the 50-3 win over Northwestern State.
UP NEXT: The McNeese Cowboys will go on the road to take on the East Texas A&M Lions. Kickoff from Memorial Stadium in Commerce, Texas, is scheduled for 4:00 PM on Saturday, November 8th.