NATCHITOCHES – Fans of Northwestern State and Southern were streaming into the parking lots around Turpin Stadium on Friday, stoking the excitement of Saturday night's 6 o'clock renewal of an in-state rivalry between two tradition-rich schools.
 
Tickets go on sale at the ticket office in the NSU athletic fieldhouse at 9 a.m. Saturday. Just over 3,000 seats at $20 each remain available for 15,971-seat Turpin Stadium. They can also be purchased before 2 p.m. Saturday online at NSUDemons.com/Tickets, said NSU athletic ticket manager Kyle Barnard.
 
The institutions are two of the three oldest public universities in Louisiana. Southern was founded in 1880, and Northwestern State was formed as the Louisiana State Normal School, designed to train teachers, in 1884. Each features a renowned marching band, NSU's 300-plus member Spirit of Northwestern and Southern's Human Jukebox.
 
The Demons (1-0) play host to the Jaguars (0-1) at Turpin Stadium for the first time since 2000. The teams last met in Shreveport in 2002, a 30-21 NSU win that knotted the series at 5-5, including three straight Demon victories. All but the last matchup were season-opening contests.
 
Northwestern posted a 23-17 road victory last Thursday at Missouri State. Southern was beaten 62-13 at Houston last Friday night.
 
Nobody with the NSU football program was putting any stock in the final score of the Jaguars' opener.
 
“These guys are very well coached. They're really fun to watch. They play very clean, very aggressive football,” said Demons' head coach Thomas. “Their offensive sets are sharp. They throw it well, they run it well, on defense they hustle to the ball, and they're good in the kicking game.
 
“With them opening up against a team the caliber of Houston, you can't draw a good comparison to this game, but watching the tape, you can see the caliber of their execution, the level of their talent, the quality of their coaching – it's all very good,” said Thomas.  “It was 13-9 well into the second quarter. Throw in the fact that it is a much-anticipated in-state rivalry and all the makings are there for a very good game here Saturday night.”
 
Plenty of Demons have watched Southern play, but probably nobody more than senior defensive back Calvin Morton, a Baton Rouge-Glen Oaks product.
 
“Growing up in in Baton Rouge, my whole family, my mom, my grandparents graduated from Southern. I was wearing blue and gold since I was little. It's crazy I get to play against them. My family, they're Demon fans now, so they're going to be wearing purple,” said Morton.
 
Two other NSU seniors, both natives of the Jackson, Miss., area, have attended plenty of Southern games in their hometown – and have been blown away by the SU band and fan base.
 
“I'm from Jackson, and it's a big deal for Southern to come there for the battle of the bands between the Sonic Boom of JSU and the Human Jukebox. So I've always seen them play, and it's an honor to have the opportunity to play them,” said linebacker Pat Black, who had a team-high 11 tackles last week. “One of the reasons I love college football is the chance to play in front of packed stadiums like we will have Saturday night.”
 
Demons defensive end Keland Johnson couldn't help but get a little wistful about the pageantry around the matchup, considering his love for marching bands.
 
“Southern brings a great crowd. Their fans always outnumbered Jackson State's fans in Jackson. I grew up watching Southern a lot, watching their band. It was a great experience,” he said.  “I was in the band until the 10th grade, and that was a possible future for me until football took over and I was carrying a helmet instead of a horn.
 
“I really want to see the halftime show. I'm going to try not to sneak out to watch it,” said Johnson. “But they have a very good team and we will be focused on winning the game. If somebody will tape the halftime show, I would love to watch that later.”
 
There are Demon alumni high in the Southern athletic ranks.
 
Southern director of athletics Dr. William Broussard played in this rivalry, as an All-America center for the Demons, in the late 1990s, starting in 1998 and 1999.  Broussard, a four-year letter winner (1996-99) beginning as a preferred walk-on, was a member of Northwestern State's 1997 and 1998 Southland Conference championship teams. He is one of the more decorated football figures in school history, combining his championship rings, being one of nine Demons to have won All-America honors in two separate seasons, and being a 1999 National Football Foundation National Scholar-Athlete, one of only three in school history.
 
Both of Southern's head basketball coaches, Roman Banks and Sandy Pugh, were star players at NSU. Banks played point guard for the Demons from 1987-92, scoring the clinching points in a Dec. 7, 1988 win over Kentucky in Rupp Arena and setting a career assists record, while Pugh was the Gulf Star Conference MVP in 1987 and was a graduate assistant coach in 1989 when the Lady Demons earned an at-large NCAA Tournament appearance.