The Bears football team came back during the second half of its game against the Northwestern State Demons in Natchitoches, La., on Nov. 5 to win 45-20.
Coach Clint Conque said the team turned things around after halftime because the Bears started focusing and playing the way they are capable of.
“During halftime there was a lot of teaching going on. Not yelling, but we were looking at what we needed to do,” he said. “The guys did some soul searching and through that we started playing better.”
In the third and fourth quarters, the Bears scored a total of 31 points and did not allow the Demons to score a single point in the second half. The Bears’ biggest quarter was during the third, where they had 21 points.
The Bears started off the third quarter with a quick touchdown after the Demons fumbled the kickoff return. Senior cornerback Jeremy Lane fumbled the ball after returning it for 11 yards. Bears freshman wide receiver Al Lasker scooped and scored to tie the game at 20. Freshman kicker Eddie Camara’s point after was good and the Bears took the lead for the first time 21-20.
Conque said Lasker’s touchdown was a huge turning point for the team.
“It just let the air out of the stadium,” he said. “All of the momentum was down on their side and we wrestled it away.”
The Bears had several defensive plays, including another fumble recovery from junior wide receiver Dominique Croom and an interception from sophomore defensive back Marcus Peters.
The Bears defense held the Demons on their next drive and forced them to punt from their own 33-yard line. The Bears took possession at their own 27-yard line and started another drive that led to the second touchdown in the third quarter.
Junior running back Jackie Hinton and freshman wide receiver Dezmin Lewis were the offenses main weapons during the drive as the two combined for 50 yards gained during the drive. That brought the Bears to the Demons’ 25-yard line where senior quarterback Nathan Dick connected with Croom on a 25-yard touchdown reception. Camara’s point after was good and the Bears continued to build on their lead, making the score 28-20.
The Bears once again forced the Demons to punt on their next drive and just like before, the Bears profited by scoring during their possession. The Bears marched down the field over nine plays with a possession time of 4:25 to score off of a one-yard pass to freshman tight end Thomas Hart. The successful point after made the score 35-20.
The Demons were only forced to punt three times, all during the third quarter, but they turned the ball over due to downs as well as fumbles and an interception. The Demons were seven for 16 on third down conversions and were zero for two on fourth down conversions, while the Bears were nine for 17 and one for two on their conversions.
The Bears scored two more times during the fourth quarter. The first three points came in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter. Camara kicked a field goal from 25 yards out to make the score 38-20. The second score came when Peters returned an interception for a 55-yard touchdown. Camara’s point after was good and the Bears took the score to 45-20 with 45 seconds left in the game.
During the game, Dick was 18-34 for his pass completion and he got the ball in the hands of nine different recievers. Dick had three touchdown passes and had a total passing yardage of 217 with his longest pass being 37 yards. Conque said Dick and the receivers have been connecting well in the pass game. He said because of that it has allowed the Bears to open up the run game as well.
Demons junior quarterback Brad Henderson went 22-36-1 during the game and had one touchdown pass. He threw for a total yardage of 248.
The Bears’ final game of the season and final home game will be this Saturday against the Texas State Bobcats. The Bears and Bobcats will faceoff at Estes Stadium with a kickoff time of 4 p.m.
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