Box Score NATCHITOCHES – Third-ranked Sam Houston State didn't play for the FCS national championship season last January by accident, and with 19 starters back from that team, the Bearkats looked primed to make another deep run in the playoffs as they beat Northwestern State Saturday afternoon in Turpin Stadium.
 
“We got whipped by a real good football team, in all three phases. I'll just call that like it is,” said Demons' fourth-year coach Bradley Dale Peveto. “They made the plays and we didn't. We'll be rooting for them to go deep in the playoffs again and I will be very, very surprised if they don't.”
 
The game had some highlights by the Demons (4-6), who put up the most points the Bearkats (8-2) have allowed in five games.
 
“We played extremely hard. The effort I saw watching tape was extremely good, could not ask for better,” said Peveto.  “We had a great 82-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by (true freshman) Ed Eagan. Defensively, I thought we did a really good job of defending the option.
 
“They did not hurt us with option or wildcat, which is something they've done to nearly everybody for two seasons.  Our Achilles' heel was the deep shots. We wanted to make them throw it to beat us, and congratulations to them, they did that. We had breakdowns in coverage that cost us,” he said.
 
Bearkats quarterback Brian Bell broke open a 7-7 game with three second-quarter touchdown passes of 50, 38 and 10 yards. He was 15 of 20 for 225 yards by halftime and departed the game with three minutes to go in the third quarter  after Sam Houston had salted away the eventual 52-17 triumph.
 
Northwestern wraps up its season Saturday afternoon at 3 on the road at Stephen F. Austin in the annual renewal of the “Battle for Chief Caddo,” the largest trophy in sports. The 7-foot-6, 320-pound statue of a mythical Native American salutes the common heritage of the two communities, Nacogdoches and Natchitoches, which are home to SFA and NSU. The tradition began in 1961 and the trophy has been in SFA's hands for the past three seasons.
 
“We're going to get the Chief, and finish on a great note. We're going to have a great week of preparation, a fun week, and it's going to be fun to bring the Chief home to Natchitoches,” said Peveto, who has plenty of background in the rivalry, starting his Division I coaching career as an assistant at SFA from 1988-91, spending three outstanding seasons at NSU in 1996-98 and now wrapping up his fourth year as the Demons' head coach.
 
“I've been involved in this as an assistant coach on both sides. I've been on top and I've been on the other end of the score. Both schools love this rivalry, and it's what's good about college sports. The Chief Caddo tradition always makes it a very exciting game that both sides think about for the entire year. Adding in the fact that it's the last game for both teams, and the final one for your seniors, and it's the one that lingers in the memory for a long time,” he said.
 
Both teams will bring 4-6 records into the contest. SFA was beaten 42-27 at Southeastern Louisiana Saturday night, getting outscored 22-7 after halftime. The Lumberjacks dumped the Demons 33-0 to end last season.