NATCHITOCHES - Northwestern State's No. 1 offensive had the upper hand at the conclusion of Friday morning's practice against the No. 1 defense in a best-of-5 situational drill that focused on third down and short yardage.

Junior running back Sidney Riley had a burst of seven yards on the first play and followed that up with a 12-yard gain two plays later while quarterback Paul Harris completed a pass for a first down as the first offense won the series 3-to-2.

"We came out this morning and fought through a hot day," said head coach Bradley Dale Peveto.  "The heat index was way up there but we got some good reps in and pushed through practice like you're supposed to."

The two-hour session was prelude to Saturday evening's 5:50 scrimmage in Turpin Stadium - the first of three for the preseason.  The event is free and open to the public.

"The first offense really stood out in our third and short yardage drill there at the end," said Peveto.  "They came out and won three of the five situations which focuses on 3rd -and-1, 3rd -and-2, 3rd -and-3, 3rd -and-1, 3rd -and-2.  And the second defense won 4-to-1.  So I was very happy with the first offense and very happy with the second defense.

"Our running backs are coming along well," said Peveto.  "We've got a bunch of them that can play and guys that have different talents.  I think we're going to be able to get the ball in a bunch of running backs' hands.  But if you ask me who is going to get the ball when we need to get a yard, it's Sidney Riley."

The Demons capped off their 10th practice of the preseason with a Friday night practice and will lace it up for the first scrimmage of the season on Saturday evening.

"We're going to go 1s on 2s, 2s on 1s, and 3s on 3s," said Peveto.  "It'll be our first true test.  It'll be very similar to game-like situations when it comes to the coaches off the field, on the headphones, and we'll have referees.  We'll also have some situations in there and work on some special teams."

NSU will field another scrimmage on Saturday, Aug. 20 and again on Wednesday, Aug. 24.  The Demons open the season on Thursday, Sept. 1, at home against Delta State.