NATCHITOCHES – The margins for the Northwestern State football team have shrunk week by week through the first eight weeks of the 2024 season.
 
That razor-thin slice of evidence was on display Saturday afternoon when the Demons saw a couple of gambles go against them and watched visiting Lamar take advantage to set up a 42-10 Cardinals' victory on Homecoming inside Turpin Stadium.
 
"I took a couple of risks today that I probably wouldn't have normally," first-year head coach Blaine McCorkle said. "I'm OK with that, because at this point of the season, why not? We go for it with fourth and a few inches in negative territory – did we get it? I don't know. We'll see what the tape says. We didn't get it, and we put our defense on a short field. Then we tried the onside kick coming out of the half because it was there.
 
"We didn't execute the kick – Evan (Kern) has been really, really good practicing that – we thought it was a sure thing. Again, a decision I made put the defense on a short field. I'll take that. At this point in the year, roll the dice. We're trying to show our kids how to fight. You don't win a fight if you don't throw a punch, and we're trying to throw punches. We're trying to build a program, and part of building a program is teaching guys to get in the ring and take a swing."
 
Those two gambles put the Demons (0-9, 0-4) in less than desirable position to defend a physical Lamar (5-3, 2-1) squad that ran for averaged better than 6 yards per carry in racking up 268 yards on the ground.
 
Coupled with a 7-for-10 performance on third downs, the Cardinals were able to blend that punishing run game with an efficient day from quarterback Robert Coleman, who threw for 202 yards and three touchdowns and added two more rushing touchdowns.
 
With four games remaining in his first season in Natchitoches, McCorkle and his staff began to use their freshman class much more liberally by design against the Cardinals, and the move nearly paid dividends early in the game.
 
After the teams traded punts on their first possessions, the Demons had as many as six true freshmen on the field on their second possession, which resulted in a 14-play, 66-yard drive that advanced as far as Lamar 4-yard line.
 
Northwestern missed a chance to convert and score first as a third-down sack and missed field goal scuttled the drive.
 
"Everybody knows we've had a lot of injuries, but this was by design with four games to go to put some guys in there and see what they could do in the fight," McCorkle said. "The first thing they did was put together probably one of the most impressive drives we've had all year. Unfortunately, we didn't get any points. We took the sack, and we missed the field goal, which is very uncharacteristic of Reed (Honshtein). He probably hits that 99 times out of 100. He's that good. It was disappointing to not get any points, but that second drive of the game -- with six true freshmen in there – to march down the field against a tough, physical defense, that's pretty encouraging, and they did it throughout the game."
 
The Demons' red-zone blues continued with Northwestern trailing 21-0 in the second quarter.
 
For the third time this season, a Honshtein punt led to a fumble that Northwestern recovered in the red zone as Ke'Nard King corralled a muffed punt at the Lamar 14. For the first time this season, however, the Demons did not convert as Dejuan Lewis picked off Quaterius Hawkins in the end zone on the first play following the fumble.
 
"If we make the field goal and don't throw the pick down there, you're looking at 21-17 at the half and a whole different ballgame," McCorkle said. "Those are things you can't do. You can't take the sack when you're down there to push the field goal back. You have to take care of the ball when you have a chance to take a shot after a sudden change. Our margin is so fine, we're not in a place to overcome those things."
 
The Demons capped the half with a quick-strike drive fueled by three chunk plays – two Hawkins passes to Myles Kitt-Denton that totaled 46 yards and a 21-yard Kareame Cotton Jr. rush – that set up Zay Davis' 10-yard touchdown run.
 
Cotton, a junior who has shuffled between wide receiver and quarterback in his Demon career, led the Demons with 40 rushing yards, threw for 92 yards and added a 2-yard reception in a day where he flashed his versatility, filling in at quarterback once Hawkins was injured and unable to return.
 
"I'm proud of Kareame," McCorkle said. "He's practiced one week of quarterback since the spring, because he moved to receiver and really bought into playing receiver. He embraced that move and has done a really good job at that. With our quarterback situation right now with the injuries, we put him back there this week, and he took us down the field. He didn't back down from anything. He played aggressive, and I'm really, really proud of what he did."
 
The Demons will return to action Nov. 9 when they travel to Southeastern. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Strawberry Stadium.