Box Score NATCHITOCHES – McNeese State raced to a 35-3 halftime lead and survived a Northwestern State comeback Saturday night as the No. 9-ranked Cowboys topped the Demons 35-28 in a Southland Conference football game with the visitors' Dylan Long running for three touchdowns.

McNeese got a pair of pass breakups to end NSU's only chance to tie or take the lead, getting a fourth-down incompletion from the Demons' 13 and running out the game's final 51 seconds. Each team scored on four straight possessions  -- McNeese on its first four chances of the night, and NSU coming down the stretch in the second half while posting 22 fourth-quarter points.

McNeese (6-2 overall, 4-1 in the Southland) dominated the first half, and was whipped in the second half by the Demons (4-5, 2-3), but beat NSU for the 10^th straight year. The rivals have met annually since 1951.

The Cowboys had a 278-88 yardage advantage at halftime, outgaining NSU 173-7 in the first quarter. But the Demons turned the tables in the second half, outgaining the visitors 287-88 behind the explosive passing combination of quarterback Zach Adkins and receiver Ed Eagan.

Eagan broke the Demons' single-game receiving yardage record, posting 238 yards on 10 receptions, including a 60-yard touchdown in the first minute of the fourth quarter. It overtook the 2001 record day by future NFL receiver Nathan Black, who had 222 yards on 13 catches in a playoff loss at eventual FCS national champion Montana.

Adkins broke a career record and added to another while posting the eighth-best, single-game passing total (338 yards, on 21-of-32 passing with one interception, on a Hail Mary attempt ending the first half) in school history.

His three touchdown passes (60 to Eagan, 3 yards to Cody Jones and 16 yards to Corey Simmons) gave him 22 for the season, topping by one his school mark set last year.

He added to his record for career TD throws (now 43) after last week breaking Don Guidry's record of 38 from 1965-68.

His first TD, the bomb to Eagan, broke Guidry's career record for points responsible for (276), with Adkins finishing the night with 294, including a 2-point conversion toss to Jones.

McNeese's Long scored on runs of 1, 2 and 2 yards and had 88 yards on 22 carries.

For the second straight game, NSU's opponent did not commit a turnover. The Demons ranked second nationally with 22 takeaways entering last week's loss at Central Arkansas, and were fourth beginning Saturday night's contest.

The Cowboys cashed in a fumbled punt early, recovering at the NSU 12 and getting a 10-yard Ryan Ross touchdown run less than four minutes into play. McNeese then scored on drives of 56, 43 and 67 yards, getting two of Long's TD runs and a 4-yarder by Daniel Sams to open a commanding 28-0 lead 32 seconds into the second quarter.

The Demons ended the shutout on the first of two Chris Moore field goals, from 35 yards midway through the second period on NSU's first sustained series of the night. Long's third score came 28 seconds before halftime, capping an 11-play, 74-yard drive for a 35-3 margin.

Moore's 43-yarder midway through the third quarter made it 35-6, and Eagan's long catch and run for NSU's first TD came with 14:13 remaining to cut the deficit to 35-13. With 7:09 to go, Adkins floated a 3-yarder to Jones, then found him on a 2-point pass to draw the Demons within 35-21.

It became a one-score spread with 2:08 left when Adkins scrambled and Simmons improvised to work free on his 16-yard TD, his third in as many weeks. NSU failed on its second onside kick of the fourth period, but used all three timeouts and forced a McNeese punt downed at the NSU 5 with 1:46 left.

But after completing 11 of 12 fourth-quarter passes after a pair of short ones on first and second down, Adkins wasn't able to extend the NSU rally as third and fourth-down throws were broken up.

With Adkins sacked six times, five in the first half, NSU posted a season-worst 37 yards rushing and held possession for only 21:59.