Photo: Two-year captain Danny Sears (9) leads Northwestern State out of the locker room and onto the field prior to a game.

Credit: Chris Reich, NSU Photographic Services

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NATCHITOCHES – Head coach Blaine McCorkle has often referred to linebacker Danny Sears as Mr. Northwestern State football.

It’s a fitting description for a player who has spent five years representing the Demons, wearing the purple and white with pride and embracing the responsibility that comes with being a leader in the program.

Tough. Consistent. Hard-working. People-focused.

For Sears, being a Demon has never been just about what happens between the lines. It’s about showing up every day, doing things the right way and understanding that representing Northwestern State means being part of something bigger than yourself.

And that connection started long before he ever put on a Demon uniform.

Sears’ father, Ken, played football at Northwestern State, while his older brother, Kenny, was a quarterback for the Demons in the late 2010s. Growing up, Danny looked up to his brother, watching him play, following in his footsteps and the reason he wears the No. 9 jersey today.

The family’s connection to Natchitoches began even earlier. When Hurricane Katrina forced the family to evacuate its home in Covington in 2005, they spent time in Natchitoches. The community made an impression on Kenny, who eventually jumped at the opportunity to play for the Demons.

That experience helped shape Danny’s own connection to the university.

“Watching him play here and seeing the role he had, I really wanted to be the exact same person, especially as a little kid,” Sears said. “Coming to Turpin on Saturday nights and watching those games, when I got my first offer and it was from Northwestern State, I committed within the first two days. I had a couple of other coaches reach out after that, but I flat out told them, ‘I’m a Demon.’”

The decision had been made long before that first offer arrived. Sears had even written it in his high school notebook: I need to get the Northwestern State offer.

Five years later, Sears has become the kind of player he once watched from the stands.

A two-year captain, Sears will make his 30th career start for the Demons when Northwestern State hosts HCU in Saturday’s regular-season home finale at 1 p.m. at Turpin Stadium. It will also be his 25th consecutive start, a testament to the consistency and dependability that have defined his career.

This season, Sears has established career highs with 67 tackles, leading the team and 12th most in the Southland Conference, and five tackles for loss. He has recorded at least three tackles in every game, reaching six or more stops eight times.

A two-time Phil Steele Preseason All-Southland Conference selection, Sears has also excelled in the classroom. He earned his degree in sports and recreation management from NSU last year and is completing a master’s degree in health and human performance. He is a four-time member of the Southland Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll and earned spots on the 2025 Southland Conference All-Academic Team and College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team.

But the numbers and accolades only tell part of the story.

Ask Sears what toughness means, and his answer has little to do with the physical attributes typically associated with a linebacker.

“The thing that has stood out to me the most and something I use in my everyday life is Coach McCorkle’s definition of toughness,” he said. “That’s getting up out of bed, putting two feet on the ground and going to work every single day. That’s the real tough guy.”

The message stuck with him from the first time he heard it.

No matter what time the alarm has gone off or what the schedule called for that day, Sears knew what was expected. Get out of bed, put two feet on the ground and get to work.

That kind of mindset has carried him through five seasons that have included a fair amount of adversity for the program and himself, from the cancellation of the 2023 season, to a coaching transition and multiple position coaches and new teammates along the way.

Through all of it, Sears has remained a constant.

His approach to leadership has been rooted in setting an example, doing the right things consistently and being someone his teammates can depend on.

With five years of college football experience and lessons learned from multiple position coaches, Sears understands that leadership isn’t always about what you say. Sometimes it’s about the standard you establish through your actions.

“I think of two things,” Sears said when asked how he hopes to be remembered as a player, person and leader. “The ability to be an everyday guy. Being able to come in no matter what our record is, no matter what the results are, and putting your head down and going to work. Not be pouty. Not blame other people. And the other is the mentality of never giving up. No matter what. Regardless of the record or the score of the game or whatever is going on. At the end of the day, the one thing you can hang your hat on is the effort you gave.”

That commitment has been easier to maintain because of the people surrounding him.

Sears points to his family as his biggest support system, remembering his first time running onto the field at Turpin Stadium and immediately searching the stands for his mother, father and brother.

They haven’t stopped showing up since.

“I remember running out and immediately looking into the stands to find my mom, dad and brother,” Sears said. “They’re my biggest support without a doubt and have been along with me through this entire journey, the adversity. They’re my first people I go to, and they’re here every single game, home or away. They find a way to be there because they know how much it means to me being able to put on these colors.”

Beyond his family, Sears believes the Natchitoches community is a major part of what makes Northwestern State special.

It’s the same connection that first drew his brother to the university and ultimately helped keep Danny committed through the difficult stretches.

“Obviously you’ve got the team within itself and that brotherhood, but it’s so much more than that,” he said. “It’s the support staff around us. It’s the people who own restaurants in town. They all have it in their hearts to take care of us. I think that is something so rare and so special. When you get here and you get a grasp of the community and the support that they have for us, it’s something really special.”

Saturday’s matchup with HCU carries another small connection to the Sears family. Kenny threw a touchdown pass against the Huskies, then known as Houston Baptist, during his playing days at Northwestern State.

Now, as Danny prepares for his final regular-season home game, he has the opportunity to add another chapter to a family history that has been intertwined with the Demons for years.

He’ll look into the stands and find the same people who have supported him from the beginning. He’ll run onto the same field where he once watched his brother play. And he’ll represent the same university he wrote about in a high school notebook before he ever received an offer.

McCorkle’s nickname for Sears may be Mr. Northwestern State football, but the linebacker has a much simpler idea of what he hopes his legacy will be.

Show up. Do the work. Never give up.

NATCHITOCHES – The Northwestern State men’s basketball team’s home opener went, in many ways, the same way the finale of its season-opening, three-game road trip had.

The one key difference for the Demons was the result.

Northwestern’s offense came to life late Tuesday night on Mike McConathy Court at Prather Coliseum as the Demons pulled away from visiting Millsaps for a 77-49 victory.

“I’m proud of the win,” fourth-year head coach Rick Cabrera said. “It’s hard to win at this level, so we’ll take every win we can get. It was a slow-paced game I didn’t like our first half. The zone slowed us down, and we weren’t able to get enough stops to get into transition.”

Despite a first half where the Demons (1-3) shot just 35.7 percent from the field – including 1 for 7 from 3-point range – Northwestern’s defense stood tall, holding the Majors to 33.3-percent shooting.

Millsaps, which played the game as an exhibition, entered the game having shot nearly 46 percent in its first two games of the season this past weekend at the Rhodes College Classic in Memphis, Tennessee.

The sluggishness continued into the first 10 minutes of the second half, which allowed Millsaps to cut the Demon lead to 10 with 10:56 remaining.

From there, Northwestern did to the Majors on Saturday.

The Demons clamped down defensively, holding Millsaps to 1-for-16 shooting across the final 10:56 of the game. Millsaps missed 15 straight shots from the field before Samuel Holt laid in a second-chance basket at the buzzer.

“Coach preaches (defense) all the time,” said junior point guard Kai Simpson, whose 17 points led five Demons in double figures. “Most of the time in practice, that’s where the emphasis is. Even though your shot may not be falling or I’m turning the ball over, I try to play hard on defense every day.”

The point of offensive emphasis for the Demons in the second half was working to their size advantage. After scuffling around the rim in the first half, Northwestern found its offensive touch in the final 20 minutes.

During the second half, Northwestern outscored Millsaps 22-2 in the paint, thanks to a balanced frontcourt effort.

Sophomore forward Isaiah Vick tallied a double-double in his Demon home debut, scoring 12 points and grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds. Senior forward Kordrick Turner added 11 points to match his career high while Jayden Nesbitt (6 points, 1 block) was active and effective in a short period of time on the floor.

“I will say there were a little bit of nerves for everybody,” Vick said. “We’re learning from every game, finding out who we are as players and as a team. I feel like we learn a lot from every game.”

Doyle Brown and Antoine Almuttar rounded out Northwestern’s five double-figure scorers, marking the first time since a Jan. 3 win against LSU-New Orleans for the Demons to have that many reach at least 10 points.

Overall, nine of the 11 Demons who appeared in the game scored as Northwestern eventually solved Millsaps’ zone, shooting 59.1 percent in the second half.

“Credit to those guys,” Cabrera said. “They gave us a spark. Antoine’s a defensive demon. Armon (Almuttar) is a tough dude. I should have played Jayden more in the first half. We have a three-big rotation, and sometimes you can’t play all three in a half, but I’m proud of him not letting it faze him. He came in to earn his minutes, and he did that.”

The Demons return to action Saturday when they face Little Rock. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Jack Stephens Center.

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Photo: Northwestern State’s Nathan Ojukwu (13) and Antoine Almuttar trap Millsaps’ Davion James during Tuesday’s win against the Majors. Credit: Chris Reich/NSU Photographic Services 

NATCHITOCHES – The Northwestern State men’s basketball team opens its home schedule Tuesday night in a position it has yet to find itself in 2026-27.

After three games against mid- and high-major competition to open the slate, the Demons return home to Mike McConathy Court at Prather Coliseum to face Division III member Millsaps in the first meeting between the programs.

Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. with the game airing on ESPN+. It also marks the beginning of the Northwestern State’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee’s food drive to benefit the Natchitoches food pantry.

“It was a gauntlet of a three-game road swing,” fourth-year head coach Rick Cabrera said of opening the season against Baylor, Mississippi State and Murray State. “We don’t cry about spilled milk. I scheduled it that way, and I think we learned a lot about what it takes to be locked in every possession, every game, to try to win on the road.”

The Demons (0-3) enter Tuesday’s matchup as the higher-division team for the first time this season.

The three-game road trip allowed Northwestern to see how it measured up against teams with superior size.

“I’ll be honest, going into those games, I thought our frontcourt would have an issue, because they’re on the smaller end of those bigger guys,” Cabrera said. “They held their own. DT (Dionjahe Thomas) and Kordrick (Turner) rebounded at a high clip. Kordrick scored when he was able to score. Kordrick made the passes out of the post against the bigger guys. DT had some spots where he’s getting to that next level of what we expect from him.”

Turner, a senior from Sulphur Springs, Texas, leads the Demons in rebounding at 5 per contest. He matched his career high with eight rebounds in Saturday’s loss at Murray State, the preseason Missouri Valley Conference favorite, while adding a season-best eight points on 4-for-6 shooting.

Turner, a 6-foot-6, 240-pounder, turned in those numbers against a Racers’ front line that featured a pair of 6-9 defenders and two others who stand 6-8. Turner’s physical transformation has been on display in the Demons’ first three games as well.

“He really committed himself from March until now,” Cabrera said. “He really tightened his body up. He plays with a good pace. He’s never fatigued. He’s a second-year JUCO player, so he’s one of those guys who aren’t rattled in the situations we’ve been in.”

Millsaps (2-0) swept two games at the Rhodes College Classic in Memphis, Tennessee, scoring wins against Eureka College and Austin College by an average of 21.5 points.

Jaxon Toney powered the Majors, averaging 11.5 points and 11 rebounds per game after notching a 13-point, 15-rebound double-double in Sunday’s win against Austin.

Four Majors enter the game averaging at least eight points per game after the weekend sweep.

“We’re excited to play a really good team in Millsaps,” Cabrera said. “They had a good year last year (15-11), and they’re off to a 2-0 start this year. They’re a very athletic, disciplined-type team, but our guys are hungry for a win.”

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Photo: Kordrick Turner has enjoyed a solid start to the 2026-27 season. Credit: Chris Reich/NSU Photographic Services 

NATCHITOCHES – In continuing its tradition of honoring those who serve in the nation’s Armed Forces, Northwestern State University recognized the military service of Staff Sergeant (SSG) Rebecca Maurer as the honorary captain during its football game against the University of Texas – Rio Grande Valley Nov. 7.  

Maurer was born and raised in Bossier City and enlisted in the Louisiana Army National Guard in 2020. Following Basic Combat Training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, she then successfully Advanced Individual Training as a 68W, combat medic specialist at Fort Sam Houston, Texas.

Her first assignment was to 2nd Squadron, 108th Cavalry Regiment in Shreveport, where she served as a Squadron Aid Station medic, responsible for daily medical operations, emergency trauma and medical readiness. 

In 2023, SSG Maurer was selected for the competitive Active-Guard-Reserve (AGR) program and was assigned to Detachment 2, A Company, Recruiting and Retention Battalion as recruiter for the Louisiana National Guard. Currently, she supports her battalion as a National Guard Recruiting and Retention Noncommissioned Officer focused on recruiting the best candidates Louisiana has to provide from Northwestern State University.

 SSG Maurer:

Staff Sergeant (SSG) Rebecca Maurer, center,  was guest captain at the NSU Demons’ Nov. 7 football game.  She was escorted on field by U.S. Army Captain Armando Lopez, head of NSU’s Department of Military Science, and NSU President James Genovese. 

NATCHITOCHES, La. — The St. Mary’s Tigers have earned the No. 5 seed in the Louisiana High School Athletic Association’s Division IV Select football playoff bracket, securing a first-round bye.

The LHSAA released its playoff brackets following the conclusion of the regular season.

With the first-round bye, St. Mary’s will advance directly to the regional round, scheduled to begin November 19.

The Tigers will face the winner of the bi-district matchup between No. 12 Ascension Episcopal and No. 21 Central Catholic.

Bi-district playoff games are scheduled for November 12-14.

St. Mary’s enters the postseason following a 42-36 victory over district opponent Montgomery in its regular-season finale.

The Tigers will now have an additional week to prepare as they look to advance in the Division IV Select playoffs.

Photo: Antonio Hall returned a kickoff 93 yards for NSU’s lone touchdown against UTRGV on Saturday.

Credit: Chris Reich, NSU Photographic Services

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NATCHITOCHES – Northwestern State struggled to overcome an early deficit and a series of costly turnovers Saturday as UTRGV turned three interceptions into a pair of defensive touchdowns on its way to a 52-7 victory at Turpin Stadium.

The Vaqueros (5-5, 3-4) entered the game ranked third nationally with 12 interceptions and added three more against the Demons (0-10, 0-7), returning two for touchdowns. UTRGV scored 24 points off Northwestern State turnovers, using the takeaways to maintain control throughout the afternoon.

“It was a bad day at the office,” head coach Blaine McCorkle said. “We came out flat and I didn’t have us ready to play. That’s on me. Gave up too many big plays early, got in a big hole fast and that hole was too big to get out of even when we did start to recover a little bit. Turnovers for the second time in four weeks have really killed us.”

The Vaqueros needed just two plays to take the lead. Safety TJ Neal intercepted a pass and returned it 53 yards for a touchdown less than a minute into the game, giving UTRGV an early 7-0 advantage.

NSU held the ball for more than six minutes on its ensuing possession but managed just 37 yards before punting. The Demons’ next two drives also ended in punts as UTRGV added three consecutive offensive touchdowns to build a 28-0 lead just 12 seconds into the second quarter.

The second interception proved especially costly. After moving into UTRGV territory, a deflected Zach Wilcke pass landed in the hands of safety Alijah Prosser, who returned it 90 yards for another defensive touchdown.

The Demons answered with their biggest play of the game on the ensuing kickoff.

Antonio Hall returned the kick 93 yards for a touchdown, giving Northwestern State its first points of the afternoon and its first kickoff return for a score since Myles Ward accomplished the feat in 2018.

“He’s a talented athlete and capable of making those plays,” McCorkle said. “He’s been out of the lineup for a few weeks with injuries and he’s finally getting his body back and ready to go. When he’s healthy he’s fully capable of that, so that wasn’t a surprise to any of us at all.”

The NSU defense forced a punt on UTRGV’s next possession, but another interception halted the Demons’ following drive. The Vaqueros turned the takeaway into a 40-yard field goal as time expired in the first half, taking a 38-7 lead into the break.

Northwestern State’s defense opened the second half with two stops, keeping UTRGV off the scoreboard in the third quarter. The Demons also put together one of their longest drives of the afternoon, moving 88 yards on 12 plays before an incomplete pass on fourth down ended the possession at the Vaqueros’ 3-yard line.

An errant snap on the next NSU possession resulted in the Demons’ fourth turnover of the game and another opportunity for UTRGV to capitalize.

Five Demon drives lasted at least 10 plays, including three in the first half and two after halftime. Two ended with interceptions and two more ended on failed fourth-down attempts, leaving NSU without points on any of those possessions.

Despite the difficult afternoon, McCorkle said he continues to see growth in his players beyond the results on the field.

“Our guys are disciplined and they’re growing up and they’re becoming men,” McCorkle said. “At the end of the day that’s what we want to do. Everybody wants to hear ‘you’ve got to win,’ and you do. My job is to win football games. The guys know that. We’re not right now, but we’re getting a lot of things done other places that will help us win football games eventually.”

Northwestern State closes its regular-season home schedule next Saturday when it hosts HCU at 1 p.m. at Turpin Stadium.

MURRAY, Kentucky – For much of Saturday night’s matchup with Murray State, the Northwestern State men’s basketball team was a free-flowing, efficient offense.

Down the stretch, however, the Racers were able to interrupt that flow and pulled away for a 93-71 victory inside the CFSB Center in the first matchup between the teams in program history.

“I’m really proud of our guys,” fourth-year head coach Rick Cabrera said. “We put ourselves in position to win the game. I’ve got to give credit to Murray for sticking with the game plan, making big shots and getting stops. Our defense was really good for a strong period of time, especially our switching defense. They are an NCAA Tournament-type team. I think we’ve had the toughest week of Division I teams with who we’ve played in seven games.

“To finish it with a lot of promise is something we can learn from.”

Through the first 30-plus minutes of the game, the Demons (0-3) and Racers (2-0) were locked in a see-saw battle with no team building more than an eight-point edge.

The first half of the final 20 minutes saw the Demons erase an eight-point deficit to take a pair of leads, including a 62-60 edge with 11:10 to play after Kai Simpson completed a three-point play.

In returning to his home state, Simpson led Northwestern State with 24 points as one of three Demons to reach double figures.

“He was a stud for us, and he’s been a stud for us since he got here,” Cabrera said. “He didn’t play well against Mississippi State, and we had a tough film session. I got on him pretty good, but I also let him know he has to be who he is. Guys like him are going to have to make tough shots, because they’re going to be scouted hard.”

That would be the final lead of the night for Northwestern, which was playing without three rotation players because of injury.

The Demons carried over a strong first-half offensive performance in which they shot 55.6 percent from the field (15-for-27) into the second half.

When Simpson took the game into the under-12-minute media timeout with a layup, Northwestern was shooting 59.5 percent from the field. Following the timeout, the Demons finished the game 1-for-10 from the field.

“Our main dudes were playing heavy minutes, and it turned into some tough shots and missed defensive assignments,” Cabrera said.

Despite that, Northwestern sank a season-best 50 percent of its shot and was 7-for-12 from 3-point range.

Defensively, the Demons locked down on the Racers’ 6-foot-9 forward Roman Domon, who led Murray State with 22 points in its season-opening win against Tennessee State.

While Northwestern frustrated Domon into a 4-for-16 night from the field – including misses on all eight of his 3-point attempts – Brayden Shorter more than picked up the slack.

Shorter delivered 20 of his game-high 29 points in the second half, leading a long-range barrage from the Racers, who were playing their first game in the renovated CFSB Center.

Shorter hit five of six second-half 3-pointers as Murray State buried 14 of its 32 3-point attempts as a team after Baylor and Mississippi State had combined to hit 17 in the Demons’ first two games.

Joining Simpson in the Demons’ double-figure scoring group were Nathan Ojukwu (15 points, team-high six assists) and freshman Antoine Almuttar (10 points).

Almuttar’s twin brother, Armon, hit the first 3-pointer of his collegiate career in the first half, giving the Demons an early 8-6 lead as part of an 8-3 run that led to NSU’s largest lead of the game.

“Those two guys,” Cabrera said of the Almuttars, “I tell the staff, ‘I just love coaching them.’ They feel like they’ve been playing college basketball for two or three years. They compete. They don’t smile on the court. It’s all business. Those are the guys you enjoy coaching.”

The Demons return to Natchitoches for their home opener Tuesday against Millsaps. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. on Mike McConathy Court at Prather Coliseum.

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Photo: Nathan Ojukwu set career highs in points (15) and assists (6) at Murray State on Saturday. Credit: Chris Reich/NSU Photographic Services 

NATCHITOCHES, La. — The Natchitoches Central Chiefs closed out their 2026 football season Thursday night with a 42-28 loss to the Huntington Raiders at Independence Stadium in Shreveport.

The Chiefs led 21-14 at halftime, but Huntington rallied in the second half to secure the district victory.

Natchitoches Central finished the season with a 1-9 overall record and a 1-5 mark in district play.

In other local high school football action Friday night, the St. Mary’s Tigers defeated district opponent Montgomery 42-36 to close out their regular season.

The Lakeview Gators also wrapped up their regular season Friday, falling to Ringgold 44-8.

STARKVILLE, Mississippi – Sluggish offensive starts to each half forced the Northwestern State men’s basketball team into an uncomfortable position Thursday night.

Coupled with a Mississippi State front line that controlled the offensive glass, the Demons were unable to overcome the tough stretches, falling to the Bulldogs, 82-44, inside Humphrey Coliseum.

“If I would have told you that we would have held them to 40 percent (shooting) from the field and 28 (percent) from 3, and we lost by 38, you wouldn’t have believed it,” fourth-year head coach Rick Cabrera said. “But they had 20 offensive rebounds and 25 second-chance points.”

The Demons (0-2) did not score in the first five minutes of the game, negating a stronger defensive start than Northwestern had in Monday night’s season opener at Baylor.

Despite the slow start in which Northwestern missed its first six shots and committed a turnover, the Demons trailed by six after Arne Osojnik and Doyle Brown sank consecutive 3-pointers a little more than seven minutes into the game.

The Bulldogs (2-0) swung momentum in their favor with a 13-3 run across the next 5:45 seconds, building a double-figure lead they would not relinquish.

Mississippi State stifled the Demons defensively as Osojnik’s and Brown’s 3s on consecutive possessions marked the only time Northwestern hit field goals on back-to-back possessions in the half.

“I give credit to their defense, but we have to do a better job of making it easier,” Cabrera said. “We have a team of 14, but when two of your best drivers are sitting in dress clothes, that matters. Hopefully. we’ll get them back soon. We needed them against a team that pressures and has length and size on the perimeter. Our guys fought and competed. It just wasn’t good enough.”

The Demons had their chances to cut into the Mississippi State lead throughout the first half, earning 16 free throws in the first 20 minutes.

However, Northwestern knocked down just seven freebies, leaving them unable to slice into the Bulldogs’ advantage – one that was build thanks to strong work on the offensive glass.

Mississippi State used its superior size to corral 10 offensive rebounds in the first half, turning those into 17 second-chance points.

The Bulldogs continued to crash the offensive glass in the second half, grabbing 10 more of their own misses and turning them into eight points.

Mississippi State outrebounded Northwestern, 50-34, and owned a 25-9 advantage in second-chance points and a 30-18 edge in points in the paint.

The offensive rebounding skewed the Demons’ defensive numbers as Northwestern limited a Bulldog team that scored 106 points on 58.3-percent shooting Monday against Tennessee Tech to 82 points on 40.6-percent shooting.

“Our initial defense was really good,” Cabrera said. “When it hit the rim, it’s not that our guys weren’t there fighting for it. They just do a great job of attacking the offensive glass.”

Much like the first half, the Demons were unable to get their offense untracked in the second half.

The Bulldogs scored the first seven points of the half before Kordrick Turner turned an offensive rebound into the Demons’ first points of the break.

The bucket began a 6-2 spurt for Northwestern, which shot 30 percent for the game. After hitting 4 of 8 3-pointers in the first half, the Demons were shut out from beyond the arc on seven second-half tries.

For the second straight game, Kai Simpson led the Demons in scoring with 13 points while Josh Hubbard paced a balanced Bulldog attack with 15 points as three Mississippi State players reached double figures.

Twelve Bulldogs scored, with nine tallying at least six points.

The Demons cap their season-opening, three-game road trip Saturday night at Murray State. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. inside the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky.  

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Photo: Kai Simpson led Northwestern State with 13 points at Mississippi State on Thursday night. Credit: Chris Reich/NSU Photographic Services