Demons staging first ‘preseason game’ Saturday morning

NATCHITOCHES – Competition ramps up Saturday morning for the Northwestern State football team as new head coach Brad Laird sends the Demons through the first of three “preseason games” during camp.

Kickoff, literally, is 9:30 at Turpin Stadium when NSU will stage a five-minute period of kickoff coverage, the first of a series of special teams periods interspersed between competitive 11-on-11 team periods. Nearly all of the action will be “live,” with tackling, said Laird.

“It’s been a good week (of five practices),” he said, “and we look forward to finalizing it and making it a great week Saturday.”

When the Demons’ preseason schedule was issued last month, Laird decided to use the “preseason games” label in lieu of “scrimmage” to note the most physical, competitive sessions in August.

In high school, you scrimmage other teams and you have jamborees before the season starts,” said Laird, who was head coach at his alma mater, Ruston High School, for four seasons. “In the NFL, you have exhibition games. So for us, this is preseason game number one. We’re going to have three of them and compete in game situations, see what we do in the heat of battle.”

NSU should run 100 offensive snaps Saturday morning, he said, some of it in flowing game action and in other cases, scripted settings.

“We’ll present a lot of different situations: moving the ball, down-and-distance, coming out, red zone, goalline, two-minute, and other scenarios. We’ve hit on them in practice and now we’ll go through them in live competition,” he said.

“That’s how we learn the mental aspect,” said Laird. “For example, you have to understand the critical nature of third down, defensively getting off the field, and offensively, extending drives. Our guys go through situational drills but actually experiencing the consequences reinforces how important third downs are.”

Fans attending should enter Turpin Stadium on the east side, due to renovations on the west side that have closed a quarter-mile portion of Caspari Street.

Gates on the east side and at the southeast corner of the stadium, nearest the athletic fieldhouse, will be open for fans to use. There is no parking permitted near the southeast gate.

The Demons will take Sunday off, then get back to practice with morning (9:15) sessions next week, except for a 6:15 Thursday evening practice, before the second preseason game next Saturday morning.

Construction results in only east side access this month for Turpin Stadium

Fans attending Saturday morning’s Northwestern State football intrasquad preseason game should enter Turpin Stadium on the east side, due to renovations on the west side that have closed a quarter-mile portion of Caspari Street.

The Demons kick off their competition at 9:30 a.m. after taking the field at 9 a.m. for warmups. Gates on the east side and at the southeast corner of the stadium, nearest the athletic fieldhouse, will be open for fans to use.
There is no parking permitted near the southeast gate.

The west side lower deck of the stadium, which has chairback seats, is open for fans, along with the east side grandstands. Caspari Street runs directly behind the west side of the stadium.

The construction project includes resurfacing Caspari Street and parking areas adjacent to the stadium, and will be completed before NSU’s home opener Saturday, Sept. 8 against Grambling.