THE OFFICIAL HOME OF McNEESE ATHLETICS

NATCHITOCHES - McNeese's two touchdowns in the first four minutes of the third quarter coupled with five takeaways helped lead the Cowboys to a 24-21 win over Northwestern State here Saturday afternoon in a typical McNeese-NSU rivalry game.
 
The win was the second straight Southland Conference victory for the Cowboys as they improve to 3-4 overall while evening their league record to 2-2. NSU fell to 0-7 and 0-4 in the conference.
 
Freshman wide receiver Kevin Rideau from Westlake, making his first collegiate start, accounted for 101 receiving yards on two catches, including a 37-yard touchdown grab and a 64-yard catch and run, both coming in the first part of the third quarter with the Cowboys trailing 7-3.
 
His 64-yard grab on a slant route set up a 6-yard touchdown run by Omiri Wiggins which gave the Cowboys the lead 10-7 at the 13:12 mark of the third, then after McNeese forced the Demons in a three-and-out and punt, quarterback Jake Strong marched the Cowboys down the field on two plays - a 26-yard completion to Smiley Edwards then a 37-yard touchdown to Rideau to make it 17-7 with 11:22 to play in the quarter.
 
Strong finished the game completing 18 of 28 passes for 282 yards and a touchdown with an interception, that coming late in the second quarter with the Cowboys threatening with the ball at the NSU 4.
 
Hutch Swilley led McNeese with 70 yards rushing on 14 carries with a touchdown coming on a 2-yard run with 14:52 to play in the fourth quarter to put McNeese up 24-7. Wiggins added 50 yards rushing on 16 carries. As a team, McNeese totaled 397 offensive yards while the Demons finished with 369.
 
McNeese got on the board first after a 20-yard field goal by Deaglan Camron made it 3-0 just 46 seconds into the second quarter. The Demons went up 7-3 following a 34-yard touchdown pass from Zach Wilcke to Amaaz Eugene.
 
The Cowboys scored 21 straight second half points before the Demons closed the gap on a 12-yard run by Wilcke then a 28-yard pass from Wilcke to Zay Davis with 17 seconds left to close the gap to 24-21.
 
McNeese recovered an on-side kick by the Demons to run out the clock.
 
The Cowboys were flagged 11 times for 138 yards in the game while the Demons were called for eight penalties for 73 yards.
 
The win marked the fourth straight for the Cowboys over the Demons
 
Next up, McNeese will continue its month-long road trip at UIW next Saturday at 4 p.m.