Ending his second spring practice in charge of the Northwestern State football program, Blaine McCorkle was looking for continued improvement from one of the youngest teams in the FCS during Saturday morning’s 36th Annual Joe Delaney Bowl spring game.
Mission accomplished.
The offense and defense each made plays in the defense’s 34-19 victory Saturday afternoon.
“I saw continued improvement,” McCorkle said. “Our guys did a great job competing today and we got exactly what we wanted. We had good give-and-take, offense and defense. The 1s and 2s both made plays, so we got what we wanted. We got better all spring and for the most part, came out healthy, which is a good thing.
“We have a long way to go still. We are nowhere near arriving, but we’re definitely on track. For me, that is encouraging, and we’re excited about that.”
In the first half, redshirt freshman running back Jeremiah James from Many made his presence felt on the second series of the scrimmage with a 28-yard run that helped produce a field goal to finish a nine-play drive, highlighting the first half for the offense.
The improved offensive line was evident during the scrimmage, including on that James run.
“One of the main things is people care, and more people are bought in,” offensive lineman Caleb Billiot said. “We come out each and every day and we don’t complain, and we work hard.
“The coaches are always hard on us and as last season showed, we were one of the worst parts of the team. But, you know, we’re here and working hard, getting better every day and I love those guys and how far we’ve come.”
Following halftime, the offense started picking up more chunk plays. Senior transfer quarterback Eli Anderson wasted little time leading his troops to the end zone in the second half.
On the first play from scrimmage in the second half, Anderson tossed a dime down the right sideline to redshirt freshman wide receiver Camryn Davis from Natchitoches Central. He caught it in stride and strolled into the end zone for a 60-yard score.
Davis caught a 50-yarder from fellow redshirt freshman quarterback Abram Johnston on the final drive.
After taking one down the right sideline from Anderson, Davis caught one down the left sideline from Johnson, moving the ball inside the 10-yard line.
But the defense made plays too, forcing a fumble and recovering it in the end zone on a first-and-goal from the 2-yard line to wrap up the spring game.
“We talk all the time about complementary football and that is exactly what we got within our own team,” McCorkle said. “As a whole, the offense probably moved the ball more consistently than they have all spring. They have had their moments, but today was a little more consistent, so that was good to see.
“But the defense responded when it needed to. On the first drive of the game, the offense drives down the field, but the defense gets a stop. Then on the last drive of the game, the offense goes all the way to the goal line, but the defense gets a stop. Overall, I couldn’t be happier with the effort they’ve had to come out here and get better all spring.”
At halftime, McCorkle unveiled the 2025 team captains, voted on by the players — Billiot, defensive end Cam George and linebacker Danny Sears.
“We put in a lot of work this offseason and it has paid off, as you can see,” Sears said. “We’re faster, stronger and more bought in, as you can tell. It was a good showing this afternoon.”
