Box Score NATCHITOCHES – Northwestern State's football team channeled some Muhammad Ali and Tiger Woods gamesmanship Saturday to prevail 23-10 in a rugged non-conference battle at Texas State.
 
Coming up with four red zone stops, including fumble recoveries at the 12 and 4 yard lines to preserve a precarious seven-point lead midway through the second half, the Demons' defense played its version of Ali's famous “rope-a-dope” strategy.
 
On offense, NSU (5-3) hardly had its A-game but in vintage Woods style, rose to the occasion late for a winning finish. Overcoming a mid-game swoon, the Demons' ball-movers roared to life down the stretch, driving 80 yards in 10 plays to a crucial 33-yard Justin Aldredge touchdown run for a 13-point lead with 4:45 to go, then draining the final 3:31 off the game clock by picking up two more first downs after the defense halted on downs what turned out to be the Bobcats' last threat at the NSU 13.
 
“When you're in a dogfight, a good team finds ways to make plays to win, and that's what we did,” said Northwestern coach Bradley Dale Peveto. “Our offense came up huge when we needed it. We got a great defensive performance, all but one play. Offensively we started fast but struggled in the middle, then dominated the fourth quarter with the game on the line.”
 
While the game didn't impact the Southland Conference standings, the outcome bolstered the Demons heading into a key showdown at home in Turpin Stadium Saturday afternoon at 3 against Central Arkansas. NSU and UCA are the only two SLC squads with just one league loss, and the Demons control their own destiny with a win over UCA setting up a shot at the league lead in a Nov. 12 visit to undefeated Sam Houston State.
 
“Just a huge win for us against a very good, extremely well-coached team,” said Peveto. “We won a four-quarter game on the road, one that easily could have gone the other way except for the effort our guys gave. We came out of the open date week and didn't lose our edge. Now we've won three straight games and we also know we have to be much better to succeed in the next three games and win a Southland Conference championship.”
 
Defensive coordinator Brad Laird's unit forced four turnovers and allowed only one touchdown, on an 82-yard run in the first half. While the Bobcats posted 177 yards and 12 first downs in the second half, they did not score.
 
“Texas State had sustained a couple drives on us, did it with a faster tempo, and our kids never gave in. We kept tackling with numbers, and finally got the ball loose and got the momentum switched,” said Laird.  “In the fourth quarter, it was crunch time and we watched 10 of the 15 minutes from the sideline. You play great defense from the sideline. You give up no yards, no points. Credit Coach Cooley and the offensive unit for doing a great job.”
 
Offensive coordinator Todd Cooley had praise for his players overcoming a skid which saw them produce only 40 yards and no first downs after a fast start in which the Demons built a 14-0 first-quarter lead on a 47-yard Phillip Harvey touchdown run out of the wildcat formation, and a 36-yard TD pass from Brad Henderson to Louis Hollier. In the fourth quarter, NSU posted seven first downs and 142 yards on 23 snaps, converting 6-of-7 third downs.
 
“When we had to do it, our guys stepped up and made plays. We had to help out our defense and we finally did,” said Cooley, who cited the 10-play drive producing Aldredge's scoring run as one of the top 2-3 marches he's seen in his playing and coaching career.
 
“T.C. Henry started the drive with a great catch, one of those special plays. Brad Henderson made some good throws, Rumeall Morris and D.J. Palmer each had good runs in that drive, Louis Hollier had a good catch, Justin Aldredge had a good catch and obviously had a special run, and the offensive line did a good job. It was a great time to get it together,” said Cooley.
 
“Then after the defense made yet another stop, we're backed up against the goalline and don't want to give it back to Texas State. We made a great scramble, pass and catch between Brad and D.J. (15 yards) to convert the third and long, just a huge play. Brad did a nice job of eluding the rush. D.J. did a good job of coming back to get the ball and making the catch,” said Cooley, who eschewed the chance to grind time off the clock with a running play that had a slim chance to converting the third and 12 from the NSU 11.
 
“They had taken a time out (their last) so we had a chance to talk about the play call, and Coach Peve said if we felt good about it, to do it, and we did. We wanted to keep those defensive guys off the field. They were tired and had done a good job, and we wanted them to be able to watch for a while longer,” said Cooley.