NATCHITOCHES – With two of the greatest teams in school history in the spotlight, the Northwestern State football team will try to take a page from their storylines by winning the homecoming game in Turpin Stadium when Houston Baptist visits Saturday for a 6 p.m. Southland Conference kickoff.

The Demons will be honoring the 1988 and 1998 Southland Conference champion football teams, both led by the legendary Sam Goodwin. On Saturday, stars from each team, 1988 receiver Floyd Turner and 1998 cornerback Jermaine Jones, will be inducted into the N-Club Hall of Fame. Both teams will be recognized on the field during the contest.
 
"When you get those teams back, it's going to be great to hear the stories," head coach Brad Laird said. "You're going to hear about overcoming adversity, and that is what makes winning the conference championships that much more gratifying.
 
"You'll see some good football players coming back to Northwestern State. Coach Goodwin did such a great job of getting those guys on campus. He had a keen eye for recruiting and it showed in the success throughout his career."
 
While the legendary championship teams, both which made playoff runs, will be celebrated, the 2018 Demons have their best chance for victory in a month, having ended a grinding string of three straight games against teams ranked in the FCS top 15.
 
Last Saturday, NSU (2-5 overall, 1-4 Southland Conference) fell behind when Central Arkansas scored on three of its first four series and the Demons could never recover in a 38-17 loss in Conway. The Bears moved up from No. 15 to 13 in this week's FCS Top 25.

Houston Baptist (1-6, 0-5) has five consecutive losses after a season-opening win over Southwest Baptist. In the last outing against Stephen F. Austin, the Lumberjacks blew the game open in the third quarter and won 42-14.

The NSU-HBU matchup should be a high-scoring affair, as Houston Baptist has an offense that averages 32 points per game and has scored at least 27 in five of its seven games. But, as good as HBU is offensively, it has struggled mightily defensively. The Huskies have allowed 47 points per game, which is the worst in the conference and 120^th in the country.

The Demons are sixth in the country in passing yards per game and tops in the Southland Conference. But after not playing at UCA due to a concussion, starting quarterback Shelton Eppler's status for Saturday's game is in doubt. If he is out, sophomore Kaleb Fletcher could make his first career start.

In relief of the injured (concussion) Clay Holgorsen last Saturday, Fletcher took over late in the first quarter and completed 16-of-29 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown.

"I give Kaleb a lot of credit for what he did with the limited time practicing," Laird said. "I thought he made some good decisions and protected the football. As we move forward, he is going to get more of those reps during practice."

Regardless of who is playing quarterback, NSU has one of the best receivers in the FCS, Jazz Ferguson. His 108-yard outing against UCA was his fifth game with at least 100 yards receiving, which breaks a tie with Pat Palmer for most games of at least 100 yards receiving in a season in NSU history. Ferguson is 11^th in the FCS in receiving yards per game (108.9) and 17^th in receiving touchdowns (6).

Ferguson's 762 yards in a season moves him into fifth all-time for single season receiving yards in school history. He is just 182 yards behind Nathan Black's 2001 season mark of 944 for most in NSU history.

This week will also mark the return of senior offensive lineman Chris Zirkle, who has missed the first seven games of the season with a shoulder injury he suffered late in the 2017 season. He was a second team All-Southland selection and was named 2017 All-Louisiana first team.

"What a leader he has been for this football team in a role that can be tough to lead from," Laird said. "The players rally around him. He just brings a different air to the offense. I'm really excited for him to be able to play.

"It's been tough for a guy who's started for three years to have to sit and watch."

With a new NCAA redshirt rule, Zirkle will be able to play the final four games of the season and still maintain his senior year of eligibility for 2019.

Defensively, sophomore safety Hayden Bourgeois is second in the FCS and tops in the Southland with five interceptions. Five players have at least two sacks for the Demons, led by senior Obinna Iheoma with three. Junior defensive tackle O'Shea Jackson tops the team with seven tackles for loss, with senior defensive tackle Zak Krolczyk right behind him with six.

Junior linebacker Quindarrius Whitley continues to pace the team in tackles with 51. Bourgeois has 49 and junior safety Ryan Reed is third with 45.

The banged-up Demons defense was without senior defensive tackle Jalon Sangster (concussion) against UCA, but that opened the door for sophomore defensive tackle Damian Thompson to play a significant amount of snaps (44, grading 90 percent) as he earned the team's defensive Most Valuable Player award for the game.

"I feel I did a pretty good job," Thompson said. "The teammates help me out a lot. It's really tough losing a lot of people at one time, but just have to step up and do what we're supposed to do."

On special teams, junior punter Parker Pastorello is a weapon for the Demons. His average of 41.9 yards per kick is threatening the single season school record of 42.6 set back in 1965 by Wayne Walker. Against UCA, he booted five inside the 20, including one at the 2.

"I give a lot of credit to our strength and conditioning staff," Pastorello said. "They came up with specific workouts to try to build my leg strength and that has helped a lot this year."

Quarterback Bailey Zappe leads HBU's offense, throwing for 263.7 yards per game and 18 touchdowns, which is tied for the fourth most in the FCS and his 1,846 passing yards ranks 14^th.

"If you look at what they do offensively, it starts with Zappe," Laird said. "You saw him get better last year. He's a great leader and he runs what they do offensively very well."

Wide receiver Jerreth Sterns has become a top target for Zappe. In his last three games, he has caught 26 passes for 299 yards with three touchdowns. His surge has the freshman 10^th in the conference for receiving yards and his 5.8 catches per game ranks fourth.
 
The Huskies have some playmakers on defense. Sophomore linebacker Langston Tunson leads the conference in tackles per game and is sixth in tackles for loss per game. Fellow linebacker Caleb Johnson is fifth in the conference in tackles per game and is 11^th in tackles for loss per game.

The Demon Sports Network broadcast team of Patrick Netherton and Tony Taglavore will call the game, starting with a 30-minute pregame show at 5:30. The network flagship station is 100.7 FM KZBL in Natchitoches with 101-7 FM and 710 KEEL AM in Shreveport, KBUCK 105.5 FM in Alexandria and 103.1 FM KWLA in Leesville-Many as affiliates. Free audio is available at NSUDemons.com.

A live Demon TV stream with Demon Sports Network audio can be purchased through NSUDemons.com.

The Demon Sports Network broadcast and live stream is also available anywhere on the new Northwestern State athletics app. The free app, which is available for both Apple and Android devices, houses news, videos, schedules and in-app streaming for Northwestern State athletic events.

Next week, the Demons return to the road with a trip to Texas to take on Abilene Christian Nov. 3 at Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium. The last home game is Nov. 10 against McNeese.