That close, but no cigar

Demons score 31 in the second half, but Ole Miss holds on, barely, to prevail 38-31. So many plays could have changed the outcome ... but credit the tremendous effort and heart shown by the Demons, players and coaches, to rally from a 17-0 first-quarter deficit. That's got to pay dividends at some point, hopefully in the last two games against our two biggest rivals.

Nice drive, 38-24 with 7:53 to go

It's not over. These guys will not quit. A crisp drive downfield ends with Edmond sweeping in from 4 yards out, diving for the pylon and getting it, at the expense of his hurt left shoulder. Now Ole Miss faces a third-and-10. A stop here, a quick score, who knows ...

It turns that fast

So from celebrating in the west end zone, the Demons are now defending the sunny east end zone. A third down pass was deflected at the line, and intercepted inside the 10 by a defensive lineman. One play later, Green-Ellis scores on a 4-yard run and it is 38-17, not 31-24. As Charlie Brown says, arrrrrrrrgh.

Brutal penalty wipes out a TD

A blocking in the back penalty on the punt return, not a block that triggered the return, wipes out a sensational 88-yard punt return touchdown by Jasper Edwards. Wow, what if the field goal in the first half was good and that flag wasn't dropped. You would see the Demons 34-31 up right now in the fourth quarter. That close ...

31-17

Weeks splits the uprights on a 43-yard field goal to open the fourth quarter.

Start the fourth with a long field goal try

Robert Weeks will try a 42-yard field goal to open the fourth quarter. a fumble on a scramble by Edmond on first down, a blitz into a Byron Lawrence run on second down and a scrambling pass to Seastrunk on third down left the Demons in this situation.

Tough call, but NSU bounces back and is moving

An obscure offensive pass interference call on a big gainer inside the Rebels 35 by Kedrin Seastrunk, and NSU has to punt. The defense does well, Ole Miss punts, and NSU has it at the 32 with 2:54 to go in the third.

Here's a big gainer over the middle, Edmond to Seastrunk for 29 yards, and NSU is at the Rebs' 37.

Jump ball goes to Rebs, 31-14

Ole Miss' Shay Hodges wins a jump ball on third down in the end zone, with his 6-1 frame and a well thrown pass from Brent Schaeffer proving too much for 5-9 Demon cornerback Kasey Brown. Ole Miss reopens a 17-point advantage, 31-14, just four minutes after NSU was within 17-14. They still haven't stopped us, let's see if NSU can keep the production going.

Tough call

Demons perfectly execute a screen pass on their first play after the kickoff, and there's a controversial fumble by true freshman Sterling Endsley at the end of a play out to the NSU 42. The scoreboard replay seems to show Endsley down and the ball popping out, but the replay official upholds the call and Ole Miss gets a big turnover.

With former starter Brent Schaeffer in the game, two poor passes are followed by a third-down completion to the NSU 28.

Ouch

The Demons' attempt at a pooch kickoff went too deep, and Rebels star ree, near receiver Mike Wallace weaved through coverage for a 78-yard touchdown on the return. The big plays by big-time SEC athletes are the difference. Ole Miss, 24-14. Demons back on offense, if they can keep it rolling, it's not like the Rebs have moved the ball recently on offense themselves. Now, how will the Demons respond to the Rebels' response?

Earlier this week, on Wednesday, Coach Stoker had the team scrimmage most of practice, nearly 80 snaps. They worked on "sudden change" situations and responding to them. Here's one!

TOUCHDOWN

A strong throw from Edmond on the post to Adam Varnado, a 15-yard touchdown for the Demons, and with 9:29 to go in the third, Demons within 17-14.

Varnado made a lovely juggling catch of a ball that was slightly tipped by the defender. Two TDs in the first 5:31 after halftime, another defensive stop and who knows!

Interception and here come the Demons!

A tipped pass and good coverage by Patrick Chitman get an interception by the true freshman from Shreveport at the Ole Miss 37, three plays after the kickoff. A big run down to the 26, and NSU is first-and-10 at the 26. A pass to Clay Broyles gives the Demons first down at the 15. Boy, that missed 41-yard field goal looks large now, as that and a touchdown would have the Demons tied at 17...

Broyles and Guice were both banged up on the play. Here's a motion penalty as Demetrius Bell flinched on what was going to be the speed option. That's just the third penalty, for 14 yards, against NSU. Don't you love SEC officials? First and 15 at the 20. Edmond on the QB draw darts and fights to the 15. Second-and-10, in the red zone. Big series here!

Mississippi vs. Ole Miss, Demons on the board

Two nice pass plays after a good kick return by Gary Riggs, and the Demons are inside the Ole Miss 30. Edmond is willing to look downfield, and here's a reverse to Dudley Guice, 29 yards for the touchdown, a great offensive play call and a very well executed play.

Guice is from Fayette, Miss., and scored here last year on a 4-yard catch. Riggs began his career as an Ole Miss signee. You know they have to be pumped! 17-7 just two minutes into the second half.

Third quarter will begin with the ball

Can Byron Lawrence get a fourth straight 100-yard rushing game, and become the 10th player in school history to get 1,000 yards in a season? Will the Demons convert yards gained into points? Can they continue to stifle the Ole Miss offense, which got just 65 yards, 41 on a last second pass, in the second quarter?

Demons get the ball to begin the second half. We'll see soon enough if they can get on the board and cut into the 17-0 deficit.

Edmond back in, and scampers for the first

Demons working from out of the shawdow of their own goalposts ... OK, the shadows are coming from the other end zone and I am speaking figuratively, but a first down and the spread draw nets another. Demons at their own 33 in the final minute of the half. Now, a dump pass to Patrick Earl gets NSU to the 47.

Branch in the game for NSU

Drew Branch enters the game as the Dmeons take over at their own 40, down 17-0 midway through the second. Lots of room for Byron Lawrence to run, and the Demons move downfield, but stall and a 41-yard field goal is wide left by Robert Weeks.

Drive inside the 30, but ...

The Demons offense shows some spark, moving inside the Ole Miss 30, but Edmond loses the ball when hit while apparently getting a first down at the 25, and the Rebels recover to halt the first scoring chance of the day for NSU.

End of a bad quarter, down 17-0

Ole Miss hit a couple more big plays and used superior speed and blocking on the edge to go up 17-0 late in the first quarter. Ole Miss has 222 yards thanks to those big plays.

Edmond in

Edmond is in for the third series, and Byron Lawrence gets a 6-yard gain on first down. Edmond takes the keeper for 10 and the first down. Rebels are giving up 200+ on the ground per game and the Demons now seem eager to test them there.

Goalline stand

Rebels get a beautiful leaping catch, then a long run just outside the 10, but the Demons stiffen and force a 24-yard field goal to move Ole Miss up 10-0. Demons have not completed a pass as Germayne Edmond has been off the mark so far. Will we see Drew Branch? He had an MRI on his left knee on Tuesday, but appeared fine warming up. He is not nearly as mobile as Edmond, which has Coach Stoker reluctant to use him against an aggressive defense. Ole Miss's defensive coordinator is very aggressive, and we know first half -- he's former NSU DC John Thompson.

No dice, but nice by Guice

Demons miss connections on a skinny post route on first down that could have been a big gainer, and have to punt. Dudley Guice, the intended receiver on first down, makes a big impression on fourth down with a vicious hit on the punt return. But Ole Miss sneaks the fullback into the flag and gets 18 yards, then runs the trap play for a 41-yard Benjarvis Green-Ellis touchdown run. Five minutes in, and Ole Miss leads 7-0.

Kickoff surprise

Demons won the toss and will defer, so they kick off and try a quick kick to catch the Rebels unaware. Ole Miss scrambles to recover, and the Rebs take over at their own 40.

The team drove down from Olive Branch this monring, about a 45-minute cruise, escorted by four Mississippi police units and our own Super Trooper, Steve Pezant. Stark contrast to our winding, unescorted journey through Boston neighborhoods to reach the field at Northeastern in September. Yes, I do love college football in the Deep South, and it does have its cultural comforts.

We're at the capital of tailgating, the legendary Grove, just outside the stadium. Several people wearing purple were checking it out in the hours before kickoff.

Evidently, a lot of Grove denizens are staying at their parties. This is a very sparse crowd in 60,000-seat Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

Sorry for the late start. Needed some tech support to get the wireless going. Good news is, the Demons got a nice third-down pass breakup by Mack Dampier and are forcing the Rebels to punt.

Coach Stoker said watch early for some special plays. We've already seen one on the opening kickoff. Expect another on the opening offensive series for NSu, which wil start just inside the Demons' 15.

Practicing by the moonlight...

I arrived in Olive Branch (where the Demon football team is staying) this afternoon. I relaxed and got a little work done in the room, and then as dusk settled, I decided to walk around in the cool evening. The Whispering Woods Hotel is flanked by what was a terrific, championship-level golf course. The course is no longer functioning, instead it remains a skeleton where one can imagine where holes used to be and how you would attack the course.

So as I walked outside in the fading light and as the fog started creeping up, I saw silhouettes of people, large people standing in what once was a fairway.

I walked closer to investigate and came upon the Demon football team going through its walk-through in the twilight. They were standing in what I supposed to be a long par-5 and perhaps the 17th or 18th hole. As it got darker and darker, the coaches and players finished up the walk-through and I figured what iron I would need to get it from the offensive players to the now-barren green.

I guessed 8-iron...

Demon baseball takes on team of 8-year olds during Homecoming weekend

Members of the Northwestern State Demon baseball team met some youthful competition last weekend when it faced off against the Natchitoches Lightning – an 8-year old squad - in a six inning contest.

Demon head coachoach J.P. Davis and his squad had its hands full with the fiery boys from Natchitoches.

The match up saw the Lightning take an early 2-0 lead in_the top of the first with the Demons being held scoreless in the bottom half_of the frame.

The teams traded runs in the second and third innings before holding each other scoreless until the last inning.

In the top of the sixth the Lightning plated two runs leaving the Demons looking at a 6-2 deficit going into their last at-bat.

The Demons came on strong with hit after hit to close to within one run when an unfortunate attempt at an inside the park homerun was halted as the last out was made at home plate.

The Natchitoches Lightning's 6-5 victory over the Demons left the guys in purple vowing to get revenge upon their next meeting.

The Natchitoches Lightning players and coaching staff would like to thank the Demons for helping them close out its fall schedule.

Nall back in business, near home

Craig Nall is about to join the Houston Texans and it's a real good fit.

The Demons great, who shattered records in the 2001 season and was also a two-time NCAA qualifier in the javelin during the spring in 2001 and 2002, is going to be signed by the Texans tonight.

Starter Matt Schaub took a blow to the head in Sunday's loss at San Diego and his status is in doubt for the upcoming game at Oakland. The Texans did not have a No. 3 quarterback in camp, but worked out Nall after he was a surprising cut by the Bills just before the season opener in September.

Craig was brought back by the Bills after their starter, J.P. Losman, was hurt, but when Losman was able to come back, Buffalo let him go again. Nall's workout in Houston was impressive enough that the Texans told him they would probably give him a call if they had a need. They did as of yesterday, and tomorrow, he's an NFL player four hours away from home.

The good fit comes in because the Texans offensive coordinator is former Green Bay head coach Mike Sherman, who drafted Craig in 2002 and knows what the Texans have picked up.

Doug Ireland, SID