Saturday, November 17, 2007

Halftime and that is a smile on the Chief

Demons gave up a long TD pass just before the half, or Chief Caddo would be grinning at the chances he will be liberated from the Lumberjacks in a half. NSU leads 21-6.

In the other NSU-SFA clash today, over in San Antonio, the news is not as good. The Ladyjacks are in control, up 14-9 in game three after sweeping the first two against the Lady Demons today in the semifinals of the SLC Volleyball Tournament.

Watch next week for a Demon Dust column about the story behind the story of NSU's first-round upset of third-seeded UTA.

For now, let's watch to see if the Demons can continue to hold the upper hand over the Lumberjacks. SFA will get the ball first. THe wind is whipping to the north, so it will be an interesting call to see if NSU takes the wind in the third or the fourth quarter.

NSU's offense did stall to some degree midway through the second quarter when offensive tackle Justin Featherly turned an ankle. The quarterback crisis has gotten all of the attention, but the offensive line situation is also dire. Key reserves like Noel Moore, Dustin Blessing and Patrick Smith are either out or hobbled. Blessing replaced Featherly. Smith already has had surgery.

The first few series of the second half will probably determine whether this one is going to be a comfortable win or if NSU will have to have another nailbiter on its hands. The other two conference wins, both at home, came by a field goal, and the loss to Texas State also came by a field goal, so if the Turpin track record holds ... maybe it would be a good idea to take the wind in the fourth quarter, after all.

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