By BRAD WELBORN, Northwestern State Sports Information
At six years old, catching a fly ball could feel like winning the Super Bowl.
For Camryn Davis, Jake Peveto, Braden Woods and Payne Williams III, those childhood victories came on a baseball field in Natchitoches, where the four played together on the Williams Family Law Firm Sharks.
The teammates spent their afternoons competing, dreaming of playing professional baseball and looking forward to the sno-cones after games and building camaraderie by showing up to games mirroring the signature slicked-back hairstyle of their coach.
Football at the college level wasn’t necessarily part of the plan.
“You couldn’t tell me I wouldn’t play baseball,” Davis said. “Football was nowhere on my mind. I was baseball first.”
None of them could have known where those afternoons would lead.
Now, as Northwestern State celebrates Homecoming week, the former baseball teammates find themselves together again, wearing purple and white and representing the community where they grew up.
Davis and Peveto are receivers, Woods is a defensive end and Williams is a kicker. Each has carved out a role with the Demons, but their connection to NSU extends well beyond the field.
“Growing up here, you see the connection between the university and the city,” Williams said. “I think all of us could see ourselves or thought about playing for NSU one day, and it’s kind of just crazy that it actually happened.”
For Peveto, that connection began early. His father, Bradley Dale Peveto, was Northwestern’s head coach from 2009-12, and Jake learned to ride his bike on the field at Turpin Stadium. As a child, he watched the players and absorbed the traditions. Now, he’s part of them.
“When you get to come back and do it with the guys you grew up with, and you’re actually in those traditions now, rather than just watching from afar, I think that’s a pretty cool experience,” Peveto said.
He also saw firsthand how much the program meant to his father.
“I saw how hard my dad worked here and how much he wanted this place to win,” Peveto said. “I kind of take that same exact goal. I want to come here and win.”
Woods shares that ambition. Growing up attending Demon football games, he dreamed of one day being one of the players on the field. With 17 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, a sack and two quarterback hurries this season, he is now helping lead the defensive effort while hoping to inspire his 8-year-old brother, Nolan, and other young fans like him.
“You definitely come to the football games as kids, and you want to be those guys out there, and actually to have that dream coming true, living out with that dream – it’s crazy,” Woods said.
Woods also remembers when Demon football brought the community together, and he wants to help restore that connection.
“Growing up and seeing this place and what football used to be, I want to get it back there. Back to the culture that was here and in town,” Woods said. “Just everyone wanted to come out to the games and this being like a football town, not just the city with the lights.”
Playing for your hometown brings its own pressure. People who have watched these players grow up also notice when things don’t go well.
“If I have a bad game, everyone knows you,” Woods said. “So, when you go to the store or just out in town, you get an earful of it.”
But that familiarity also gives them another reason to succeed. They are playing for the families, friends, coaches and teachers who have invested in them along the way.
“People who have poured into you your whole life know how bad you want it,” Peveto said. “So, it definitely means a little extra to want to give them something back.”
Williams experienced that connection again this season when he participated in Chris Waddell Day, one of NSU football’s annual community outreach initiatives, at his former school (St. Mary’s), returning to play with students during physical education. Once one of those kids himself, he was now back as a college football player, a reminder of what young people in Natchitoches can aspire to become.
For his father Payne Williams, who coached the four on the Sharks back in 2012 on the baseball diamond, their success reflects not only their talent but also the people who helped guide them.
“Obviously, these kids have great parents and they’ve always been steered in the right direction,” Williams said. “At the same time, they’ve done what they were supposed to do. It’s nice for me to have been a very small part of the success they have earned, but I’ve enjoyed the part I was in.”
He hopes their example inspires the next generation to work hard, listen to their teachers and coaches and believe they can follow a similar path.
“If I work hard and I do what these kids did, maybe one day I can be there,” Williams said.
That message fits naturally into Homecoming week, when Northwestern welcomes alumni, fans and the community back to campus.
For Davis, Peveto, Woods and Williams III, the connection to home never really went away. They once dreamed of playing professional baseball together. Instead, they found themselves reunited on a college football field in the town that helped shape them.
Davis has 11 receptions for 129 yards and a career-high three receiving touchdowns this season. Woods has become a contributor on the defensive front, while Peveto has made his presence felt on special teams coverage. Williams opened the season by making his first five field-goal attempts before an injury against Southeastern sidelined him.
Their paths have been different, but their roots are shared.
As Northwestern prepares to host Nicholls at 2 p.m. Saturday at Turpin Stadium, the four former Sharks will have another opportunity to represent their hometown.
At six years old, catching a fly ball might have felt like winning the Super Bowl. Today, the stakes are different, but the pride remains the same. Pride in their university, their community and the people who helped them get here.
And somewhere in Natchitoches, another group of kids is watching, dreaming about what they might become.