NATCHITOCHES—The theme of the offseason has been competition.

That theme continued during Saturday's annual Joe Delaney Bowl, which saw each side of the ball make its share of plays.

"The theme of spring has been competition," head coach Blaine McCorkle said. "That is something we really haven't had since I've been here. We've kind of played the best players and that was kind of it. But now, guys are getting older and developing better and we're bringing in talent to compete with them and that is a good thing.

"Competition makes everybody better. You're either going to accept the challenge and fight for your job or you're going to melt away, and a majority of our guys have fought for their jobs, and I am proud of them for that, and I think that will carry over through the summer and preseason."

Following an emotional memorial service for legendary late Northwestern State football coach Sam Goodwin, the Demons took the field with a heavy heart.

"I think today went really good," McCorkle said. "I was proud of what the players did today, but the whole day today was special for Northwestern State with the memorial service for Coach Goodwin before and baseball and softball are playing and there is a big crowd here today all over campus. That part is exciting for the whole university.

"On the field, I was proud of our guys. They worked hard and competed and tried to get better. Sometimes you have those natural mental lulls because you are coming to the end, but I liked what I saw, and I am proud of them."

On the field, it did not take long for redshirt sophomore defensive end Geoffrey Ojeh to make his presence felt at the Delaney Bowl, picking off the second play of the game and returning it inside the 20-yard line.

The defense had the better of it early, as a sack by Natchitoches native linebacker Ben Bienvenu forced a three-and-out on the second one and redshirt senior Kamron Norwood had a fumble recovery in the end zone to thwart the third drive.

A senior leader who was named a team captain once again was linebacker Danny Sears, who was happy with how the defense has progressed through the offseason and into the spring.

"We've definitely played well," Sears said. "We got better as the spring progressed on. From day one, we've focused on all the details. We had a lot of missed tackles last season, so our No. 1 goal going into the spring was tackling. That was our main focus, and I think we got a lot better at that throughout the spring. That was evidenced today as well, as we were all over the place tackling. The defense had a good day."

Abram Johnston, who took home the offensive most improved player award at halftime, converted a fourth down on a pass to tight end Luke Carter, and redshirt freshman running back Trevor Allen Jr. had a 30-yard run down to the 1 on the third possession before a fumble stymied the drive.

It was a good sign of things to come for the running game, as they also had a 36-yard run from Myion Hicks and 30-yarder from Zay Davis.

"I think we have a very deep running back room," Hicks said. "We feed off it. One person may get an explosive and he may come out because he is tired and then another guy finishes the drive. As a running back room, we have a lot of guys who can make plays. The more guys who can create explosives, the easier it is to finish drives."

The run by Hicks, who was voted an offensive team captain along with graduate student offensive lineman Caleb Billiot, set up a 1-yard plunge from Davis, right before halftime.

While Hicks and Billiot were voted the captains on offense, senior linebacker Danny Sears and redshirt senior safety Christian Williams were voted captains on the defensive side of the ball.

"It is truly an honor to be voted as a captain," Hicks said. "I am not the most vocal guy. I am the guy who is going to try to lead by example and do the right things and hold people accountable. I may not be vocal all the time, so the fact I was able to get that honor still with the type of person I am means a lot."

In addition to his role as a captain, Williams was named one of the most improved players on the team.

Following halftime, the offense started with Davis sprinting down the right sideline for 30 yards to the 40-yard line. Johnston followed with a great throw for a 40-yard score, but it was wiped away due to an illegal man downfield penalty, and the defense went on to stop the offense on fourth down.

The day wrapped up on a 42-yard made field goal by Natchitoches native Payne Williams III, sending the Demons to the summer.