NATCHITOCHES -- Northwestern State resumes Southland Conference play in the hunt for a league title, with two home games in its last three outings, beginning Saturday afternoon at 3 with a matchup with explosive Central Arkansas.

The game is "Heroes Day" and "NSU Faculty/Staff Day" along with "High School Seniors Day." Military, police, firefighters and emergency responders who show ID cards or are in uniform can buy up to four $5 tickets at the gate to the stadium. The same deal is extended to NSU faculty and staff. Discounted tickets are available to all participants in NSU's "Senior Day" with nearly 1,000 students from around the area spending the morning and afternoon on campus.

The contest at NSU's Turpin Stadium will be shown regionally on Southland TV, including local affiliate KPXJ 21 in Shreveport. The Demons (5-3 overall, 3-1 in the Southland) and the Bears (6-3 overall, 5-1 in the Southland) each have won three straight games entering the contest.

They are tied in the loss column, one behind unbeaten Sam Houston, in the Southland standings. Saturday's game is the last league outing for UCA and the penultimate contest of the season for the Bears, who finish next week at home vs. Texas State.

The Demons beat the Bobcats 23-10 on the road in a rugged game last week while the Bears ran roughshod over Southeastern, leading 48-10 going to the fourth quarter.

Saturday will be the fifth meeting between NSU and UCA. The first and last matchups were exciting, down to the last play Demon victories, while the middle two were Bears blowouts.
Robert Weeks' 35-yard FG on the final snap won the 2007 game 31-28 in Turpin Stadium for Northwestern. Last year, the Demons rallied from a second-quarter 10-0 deficit, while Rumeall Morris ran for 122 yards including a 58-yard TD, and NSU stopped a last-gasp UCA drive inside the 20 on the final play of a 24-19 victory in Conway.

UCA blasted NSU 42-6 in 2008 and came to Turpin to blank the Demons 34-0 a year later in Bradley Dale Peveto's first season as head coach.

Coaches on both sides have coached for the other team recently.
 
NSU offensive coordinator and QB coach Todd Cooley came to the Demons after four years (2005-08) as OC at Central Arkansas, where he was part of a program that had a 35-13 record. In his last year, 2008, UCA averaged 37.5 points and converted 48 percent of third downs. 
 
UCA has two former Demon coaches on the staff. Receivers coach Matt Kubik joined the Bears last December after four years with NSU. Assistant head coach/running backs coach Slade Nagle, a good friend of Kubik's, joined the UCA staff at the same time after two years at Texas State. Before that, Nagle spent seven years on Scott Stoker's staff at NSU. 
 
Lining up in the offensive backfield last week for the first time since high school, senior TE Justin Aldredge provided scoring punch at tailback. His 33-yard TD run with 4:55 left gave NSU a welcome cushion in the 23-10 win at Texas State. It was not, however, his first TD run for the Demons. He had a 3-yard score from a tight end/slot position against Nicholls as a sophomore.

Aldredge began his Demon career as a defensive back, then a linebacker. After his freshman season, he was moved in spring practice to tight end and became the starter. Since then, he has caught a pass in 29 of his 30 games, missing only in last year's Texas State game. He had a 17-game string of receptions entering that game, and since then, he has caught a pass in the last 12 games.

Northwestern is very good in the red zone this season.

Last week, the NSU defense denied Texas State on all three of its red zone trips, coming up with two fumbles and taking over on downs at the 13. Opponents have scored on a league-low 68 percent of their red zone (26-38) – including the Demons making stops on 10 of the last 17 over the last five games.

Offensively, the Demons have scored on 80 percent  (20-25) of their trips inside the 20 in eight games.

NSU leads the Southland, in conference play, in red zone execution on both sides of the ball.  The defense boasts a 50 percent success rate, holding foes to only  seven scores in 14 trips inside the 20.

The NSU offense has a 94.1 percent success rate, scoring on 16 of 17 visits to the Red Zone in Southland play. The only stumble so far was a fumble at Lamar's 8.
 
Northwestern has allowed only seven touchdowns in its last five games, and only six in the last four Southland Conference games. Since the start of league play, NSU is allowing only 12.8 ppg with a high of 20 by McNeese. The Demons' league yield of 13.5 points per game is second to the 8.2 permitted by Sam Houston.
               
NSU is allowing only 76.5 yards rushing to Southland foes. The Demons' overall yield of 121.6 yards per game ranks 25^th nationally. Their overall pass efficiency defense rating of 113.2 ranks 22^nd in FCS.