Continued improvement on both sides of the ball highlights Delaney Bowl

NATCHITOCHES, La. — Throughout the spring season, Northwestern State has aimed to improve each day and each week.
NSU has done just that, as evidenced by the annual spring game, the Delaney Bowl, as each unit made big plays during the game.

“Over the 15 days of practice, if you were to see practice No. 1 and practice No. 15, it doesn’t even look like the same football team,” head coach Blaine McCorkle said. “Guys have worked hard and bought in and taken coaching. They’ve taken a lot of pride in getting better every day and constant and continual improvement. We still have a long way to go, but we have gotten better as a team over 15 days, and I am pleased with that.”

While the offense had its moments, the defense continued its dominant spring performances in scrimmages with a strong first half showing, holding the offense to just 17 yards on 16 plays in the first three possessions, with 16 of those yards coming in drive No. 2.

“The defense came out with a lot of tenacity,” junior linebacker Cadillac Rhone said. “We showed a lot of energy, a lot of effort, controlling the line of scrimmage up front. We have to tackle better, but the energy and effort was great.”

The offense began to get going in its fourth drive, starting with an impressive 25-yard carry by Zay Davis. The run was designed to go to the right, but Davis spun and reversed field, sprinting near midfield.

A pass to Amaaz Eugene and 14-yard burst from Kennieth Lacy pushed the ball down to the 34, but a pair of sacks derailed the drive.

The offense recorded its only points of the morning on its fifth drive, highlighted by back-to-back receptions by Ray Mckneely-Harris. The first came on a screen for 26 yards to erase a 2nd-and-21. Chance Newman connected with Mckneely-Harris on the second one in the seem to put the offense into the red zone.

Mckneely-Harris finished with the two catches for 61 yards.

The offense settled for a 37-yard field goal from Evan Kern to put points on the board.

“The biggest thing we saw is that we have to get a bit more consistent on offense,” Newman said. “We saw some spurts where there is potential with the offense. Once we can get consistently good blocking that front seven because that defense did a heck of a job, once we get that worked out, we’ll be able to get more consistent play out of the offense.
Newman, whose only pass went for 35 yards, was rewarded for his leadership by being named a team captain during halftime of the scrimmage.

He was joined by Cadillac Rhone and Blake Gotcher as captains.

The defense started the scrimmage off strong, and it ended the day with an exclamation point.

On the final drive, the offense started at its own 46, but only went backward from there.

After causing two negative yardage plays on the first two plays of the drive, the defense forced its only turnover of the game.

DJ Johnson picked off a JT Fayard pass over the middle and took it all the way down to the 5-yard line.

“It was great to end the scrimmage off with a pick,” Rhone said. “I wish DJ would have returned it for a touchdown, but he cut back and was tackled. But it was great to see the defense that was out there making plays.”

Energy was in the crowd, and McCorkle knows how important it is to bring NSU back to being a winner.

“It’s very encouraging to see so many people in the crowd,” McCorkle said. “Sometimes you have to go through some hard times to realize how important some things are to you. It just shows you how many people love and believe in this place and want to see it come back to life and be what it used to be. This is a special place.”

Scoring Summary
Evan Kern 37 FG

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING (19-10) – Zay Davis 1-25; Kennieth Lacy 5-24; Kyron Angeletti 1-11; Chance Newman 3-4; Liam Cohen 1-(-2); Team 1-(-7); Kareame Cotton Jr. 1-(-9); JT Fayard 1-(-10); Kekahi Graham 3-(-12); Quaterius Hawkins 2-(-14).
PASSING (9-15-1, 84, 0 TD) – Newman 1-1-0 35; Graham 3-6-0 32; Fayard 2-5-1 11; Hawkins 3-3-0 6.
RECEIVING (9-84) – Ray Mckneely-Harris 2-61; Amaaz Eugene 2-16; Micah Jernigan 1-4; Cotton 1-3; Lacy 1-2; Dane Wallace 1-2; Angeletti 1-(-4)

DEFENSIVE STATISTICS
Cadillac Rhone 4 tackles, 2 sacks; Chancellor Owens 4 tackles, 1 sack; Kamarion Ivory; 4 tackles; Jordan Banks 3 tackles, 1 TFL; Jeremiah Keppard 3 tackles; Blake Gotcher 2 tackles, 1 sack; Johnny Mitchell 2 tackles, 1 sack; Isaiah Robinson 2 tackles; Danny Sears 2 tackles; Connor Norcross 2 tackles; DJ Johnson 1 INT; Keshawn Reed 1 tackle, 1 sack; JaMarion Bonner 1 tackle, 1 TFL; Ara Rauls III 1 tackle; Justus Joseph 1 tackle; Perry Taylor 1 PBU