NATCHITOCHES – Northwestern State not only hit its stride offensively Saturday at Nevada, the Demons took quantum leaps forward with a performance that ranks among the most productive in school history.
 
Slowing down the Wolf Pack's prolific attack, something the Demons (1-2) managed for nearly the entire first half, proved unsustainable in a 45-34 loss, much to NSU coach Bradley Dale Peveto's chagrin.
 
The decisive plays sandwiched around halftime. NSU moved up 13-10 on a 34-yard John Shaughnessy field goal 49 seconds before the break, but Nevada swept downfield 75 yards and posted a 25-yard touchdown pass with four seconds showing to edge ahead 17-13. The Demons drove the second half kickoff 75 yards, but Brad Henderson's quarterback sneak from the 1 turned into a fumble returned out of the end zone 52 yards, and 247-yard rusher Stefphon Jefferson bolted 48 yards on the next snap for a 24-13 Nevada lead.
 
“If we don't give up the late one at the end of the half, and offensively we get the score on the quarterback sneak, we're fighting to win or maybe even holding on to win at the end,” said Peveto. "It's progress. It's not satisfying but it is encouraging."
 
Henderson nearly broke Bobby Hebert's single-game passing (364) and total offense (465) yardage school records set in 1980. He threw for 357 and ran for a career-best 102 on eight tries, mostly quarterback draws. NSU's 585 total yards were its best since 2002. The Demons' 31 first downs were tops since 1997 and just two shy of the single-game mark of 33 set in 1981. NSU's scoring total topped what Cal (24) and South Florida (32) managed against Nevada (2-1), as the Demons posted 235 more yards than the Bears did at home  on the Wolf Pack in falling 31-24.
 
NSU advanced on 63 percent (12-19) of its third downs and had only two three-and-outs. Junior receiver Louis Hollier had a career game with eight catches for 107 yards, including a diving one-handed stab of a 41-yarder. True freshman tailback Daniel Taylor scored for the second straight game on a darting, reverse-the-field 40-yarder on which he seemed pinned on the Nevada sideline on a sweep, but dodged defenders and broke clear arcing toward midfield.
 
“A bunch of different players contributed. We really spread it around. We wanted to attack the perimeter and we did. I was really, really proud of Brad Henderson stepping up with a performance that ranks right at the top in our record books. When your name is alongside Bobby Hebert and Craig Nall, as a quarterback that's tall cotton. He competed even better than his stats show, and that's the hallmark of a quality quarterback,” said Peveto.
 
Eight different ballcarriers and 11 different receivers contributed to the production. Top-grading offensive linemen were junior tackle Blayne Cole (84 percent) and junior center Warren Jones (81 percent) in a contest where four starters played at least 94 snaps (including penalty plays) as NSU ran 89 plays (averaging 6.9 yards).
 
This came from a unit that struggled to average 177.5 yards in its first two outings.
 
“Can't tell you how proud I am of our offense. They were slow starters the first two games but Saturday we saw how special they can be,” said Peveto. “That's not a run-of-the-mill football program we played, that's a perennial bowl contender with a College Football Hall of Fame coach (Chris Ault). (NSU offensive coordinator) Todd Cooley's game plan and play calling were excellent, and our team played extremely well the entire night.
 
“Defensively, we played as well as we could have in the first half until the last minute, especially the last play of the half. They were 0-5 on third downs. We won time of possession and until that touchdown we gave up only 10 points. That was winning defensive football against that level of offense.
 
“In the second half we did not execute nearly as well defensively. We weren't assignment sound with our gaps, didn't tackle as well, and they made plays as a result. They invented the Pistol offense and looked like it. They got it to the second level very quickly and it cost us,” said Peveto.
 
The Demons took Sunday off, as usual, and will convene with coaches Monday evening. They hit the practice field again Tuesday to begin preparing for Saturday evening's home game with Mississippi Valley State.