NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Neither team will finish with a winning record, but wrapping up the season with a victory in the annual "Battle for Chief Caddo" rivalry game is incentive aplenty for Northwestern State and Stephen F. Austin in a Saturday afternoon Southland Conference football matchup at SFA's Homer Bryce Stadium.
 
"It's always a great game to play, the kind of game that stays with you the rest of your days," said fourth-year Demons' coach Jay Thomas. "Once you've been involved in the NSU-SFA game, you know you're part of something special. There's no better feeling as a competitor than to stand next to the Chief after winning this game, because there is so much tradition involved and it's the last game until next season, and for the seniors, it's the last game they'll ever play."
 
Kickoff is 3 p.m. between the injury-riddled Demons (1-9 overall, 0-8 in the Southland Conference) and SFA (4-6, 3-5). The Lumberjacks have lost five of their last six while the Demons have dropped their last five. NSU won last year's "Battle for Chief Caddo" 33-17 in Natchitoches, the second time in three seasons the Demons prevailed in a series dating back to 1924.
 
The teams play for the largest trophy in the sports world, a 7-foot-6, 320-pound statue of a mythical Native American that pays homage to the heritage of the hometowns of both universities. That tradition began in 1961 with the Demons holding a 30-19-1 advantage in the trophy series.
 
Last week, SFA fell at Houston Baptist 31-24 while No. 1-ranked, unbeaten Sam Houston State scored 21 unanswered points in the second quarter en route to a 48-16 victory over NSU. Bearkats coach K.C. Keeler was impressed by the Demons, despite the final score.
 
"Obviously Northwestern State hasn't had the season they wanted to, but every tape you looked at, they played everyone tough into the second half. It's a matter of not having enough bodies," he said.  "We knew we were going to get a heck of a game. I thought their kids played really hard and they were the first team to take a lead on us all season long. The quarterback (J.D. Almond) took some shots and stood in there tough and led his team, and really impressed me."
 
Almond threw for 195 yards on 17 of 35 aim, including a 79-yard touchdown bomb to Bobby Chan-Chan. De'Mard Llorens ran for 114 yards on 13 carries, notably a 14-yard touchdown run that lifted the Demons to a 13-7 lead.
 
Llorens climbed into NSU's top 10 in career rushing yardage. His 2,287 yards on 431 carries (a 5.3 average per carry) is 147 shy of ninth place. The senior is tied for fifth in school history with 24 rushing touchdowns. He leads the Southland in rushing average (84.3 in all games, 99.3 in conference games).
 
He is among 21 seniors capping their Demon careers. Nine are, or have been at some point, starters this season, six on offense. NSU will return as many as 59 letterwinners in 2017, including 36 (20 on defense) who have started at least once this season.
 
The senior class also features two receivers who rank in the Demons' career top 10 for receptions. Shakeir Ryan will finish second all-time and enters the SFA game with 140 catches, 37 behind the record set by 2015 senior Ed Eagan, now with the Buffalo Bills. Tuff McClain entered the top 10 last week and has 96 receptions.
 
The Demons got sophomore cornerback Ike Warren back on the field last week for the first time in seven games after an ankle injury. His return to action was remarkable as he picked off two passes and broke up two more.
 
Senior safety Adam Jones will start his 41^st career game at SFA. He was the last Demon to intercept two passes in a game, doing it in the 30-27 win at Louisiana Tech in 2014.
 
Jones is fourth on the squad with 54 tackles, trailing only three juniors: linebacker Nick Pierotti (77), safety Austin Balthazor (67) and linebacker Koby Welch (56). Senior JeMarcus Marshall, playing with five different injuries, tops the defensive front with 40 stops.
 
The Demon Sports Network radio broadcast flagship station is 100.7 KZBL FM in Natchitoches, with affiliate stations News Radio 710 in Shreveport, 105.5 FM KBUCK of Alexandria and 103.1 KWLA serving Many and Leesville. Veteran announcer Patrick Netherton does the play by play, with analyst Richard deVargas taking to the sideline Saturday to provide reports and on-field interviews at halftime and after the game. Their broadcast starts at 2:30.
 
The game will also be carried on ESPN3 with SFA providing the announcers.