HOUSTON – For the second straight visit to Texas' largest city, the Northwestern State football team put itself in position to score its first road victory of the season.
 
For the second time in three games, the Demons' fourth-quarter push on the road came up just short as Northwestern dropped a 20-17 Southland Conference decision to Houston Christian at Husky Stadium in Houston.
 
"This was a hard one," said second-year head coach Blaine McCorkle, whose team fell 27-24 at Prairie View A&M in suburban Houston on Sept. 27 in its most recent road game. "The guys played extremely, extremely hard for four quarters. They showed a lot of heart. They showed a lot of grit. They continued to be who we expect them to be in that realm.
 
"This one's hard to swallow. We came in here and played a three-point game against a team that put 62 on us last year. There's no consolation in this, but we are getting better."
 
Down 20-10 early in the fourth quarter, the Demons (1-5, 0-2) took advantage of an odd two-play stretch to pull within a field goal.
 
After Houston Christian (2-4, 1-1) failed on a fake punt that gave Northwestern the ball at the HCU 38, the Huskies' Thio Georges intercepted Abram Johnston on the ensuing play before freshman wide receiver Brendan Webb made his second key play of the game.
 
Webb was able to strip Georges during the latter's winding return with offensive lineman Logan Brady recovering for the Demons at the HCU 45.
 
Nine plays later, Johnston rolled right and ripped a 10-yard scoring pass to Ty Moore to bring Northwestern back within seven – the same deficit it faced at halftime.
 
While Johnston's dart finished the drive, it was his running – along with running backs Myion Hicks and Kolbe Burrell – that helped the Demons roll up a season-best 330 yards total offense, 206 of which came on the ground.
 
Johnston finished 15-for-33 passing for 124 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions while leading the Demons with 85 yards rushing on 11 carries. The Demons rushed for a season-high 206 yards with Johnston, Hicks (12 carries, 69 yards) and Burrell (13 carries, 54 yards) carrying much of the load.
 
"Our offensive line is probably our most improved part of the team from last year, and I've said that several times," McCorkle said. "They're still really, really young and really, really small, but they're playing well. I was excited to see what we did in the run game. That's what we want to grow into, and we're just scratching the surface of. There were signs of life, and that's what gives us hope."
 
HCU had rebuilt its 10-point lead behind the second long touchdown run of the game from freshman running back Xai'Shaun Edwards, who ripped off 214 yards on 30 carries including touchdown runs of 52 and 47 yards. The latter came in the third quarter and were the Huskies' lone points of the second half.
 
"You take away those two runs, our defense showed marked improvement tonight stopping the run," McCorkle said.
 
The final 30 minutes followed a back-and-forth, penalty-filled first half that started with the teams exchanging opening-drive touchdowns.
 
Edwards' 52-yard burst up the middle put the Huskies ahead 2:52 into the contest before the Demons answered with their longest touchdown drive in terms of yards this season.
 
Johnston capped the 12-play, 75-yard march with a bit of improvisation, flipping a two-handed chest pass to Webb, who sprawled out in the end zone to cradle his first career reception and first career touchdown.
 
The teams were called for a total of 13 accepted penalties in the first half – a pair of which helped set up the Demons' first lead of the game.
 
"The penalties hurt us early on, but we got that fixed in the second half," McCorkle said. "That just shows where our margin is."
 
With HCU facing a second-and-goal at the 2, the Huskies were called for a false start and a personal foul, pushing them back 20 yards and leading to a missed field goal.
 
Northwestern capitalized on the open door, playing complementary football by building a drive that Cooper Evans converted into points with a 33-yard field goal.
 
"No doubt, we are an improved football team," McCorkle said. "Waiting is extremely hard. We have to wait well and keep working and know that our days are coming. They are, and our kids see it. It's a heartbroken locker room in there right now, because they know it's coming. They want it now, and I hurt for them."
 
The Demons return to action next Saturday when they travel to Hammond to face Southeastern Louisiana. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. inside Strawberry Stadium.