Spanish Scholar Joins NSU for Study of Suicide Risk Among College Students
Northwestern State University’s Department of Social Work and Computer Information Systems program are hosting Professor Jose Emiliano Ramirez Garcia of the University of Alicante, Spain, as a visiting scholar this semester. A clinical social worker and educator whose recent work has centered on suicide prevention training for teachers, police officers, firefighters and social services professionals, Ramirez Garcia will study suicidal ideation and protective factors among college students, collecting and analyzing surveys, reviewing literature and designing a focus group. Social Work Department Head MaryAnne Candley said the collaboration allows researchers to compare cultural influences on suicidal ideation among American and Spanish students. Candley and Computer Information Systems Professor Begoña Pérez-Mira will take part in the research, which draws students from both disciplines to examine whether risk and protective factors are perceived differently across fields. Ramirez Garcia will also guest lecture at two student seminars, one on the use of dolls and stuffed animals as a therapeutic technique and one on the study’s methodology. NSU and the University of Alicante established an exchange agreement several years ago promoting international study and collaborative research.
Music Faculty Showcase Set for Sept. 1
The Department of Music at Northwestern State University will present its annual Faculty Showcase at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 1, in Magale Recital Hall. Faculty from the voice, strings, winds, keyboard and percussion areas will perform, including Paul Christopher, Sofiko Tchetchelashvili, Oliver Molina, Andrew Blair, Steven Wimberley, Leah Forsyth, Paul Forsyth, Douglas Bakenhus, Stephen Clark, Andrej Kurti and Chialing Hsieh. Admission is free and open to the public. A livestream will be available at nsula.edu/livestream.
Big Love Sporting Clays Benefit Saturday
The fourth annual Big Love Sporting Clays Benefit will be held Saturday, Aug. 29, at the Natchitoches Shooting Range, 652 Tauzin Island Road, benefiting the Child Advocacy Program of Cane River Children’s Services. Registration opens at 8 a.m., with a mandatory shooter safety class at 9 a.m. and lunch and awards at noon. Entry is $125 for individuals and $500 for a four-person team, with adult and youth divisions. Sponsorships are available at the $1,000, $2,500, $5,000 and $10,000 levels. Contact Billy Ebarb at 318-451-0747, Nolton Causey at 318-663-4964, Angie Courville at 318-663-1971 or Jennifer Karle at 318-652-1777.
What if one concert could bring together people who love classic hymns, contemporary Christian music, love country music by artists like Dolly Parton, Alison Krauss, Brooks & Dunn & Jelly Roll, those who love Southern Gospel and traditional Black Gospel, along with those who grew up listening to the Eagles, the Beatles, James Taylor, STYX and classic rock?
There’s one that can.
It’s an Amazing! Rhythm Disciples (ARD) concert.
The Disciples’ mantra is “Familiar Music. Timeless Message.” They like to describe their concerts as seven very accomplished musicians with very diverse backgrounds coming together to make “A VERY Joyful Noise!”
ARD was born in Natchitoches, Louisiana, in the fall of 2024, when seven musicians who also happened to be friends came together to play music, have fun and praise God—and ended up forming a unique music ministry.
“It all came together very quickly and very organically,” said bassist Keith “Don’t call Me Shirley” Shirley. “We were just jamming around and having fun. We would play a Southern Gospel song, then a contemporary Christian song, then a country song, then a classic rock song. Sometimes we would almost accidentally mash them together, look at each other and say, ‘Hey, that works!’”
Shirley gives credit where he believes it belongs.
“We knew the good Lord had His hand in this from the get-go,” he said. “The blending of the various musical styles—or ‘mashups,’ as we call them—came together so naturally and so quickly that we knew God was doing something.”
Don’t let all the joking fool you. There is an extraordinary amount of musical experience on an ARD stage.
Among the Disciples are four members of the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame, current and former church music directors and ministers, and musicians holding at least five music degrees, including a doctorate. Violinist Andrei Kurti studied at the Moscow Conservatory and has performed at Carnegie Hall and in concert halls throughout Europe.
Altogether, the group stopped counting after passing 300 years of combined musical performance experience.
But ARD is difficult to put into a musical box.
“I don’t think you can pigeonhole us as a Gospel group or even simply a Christian music group,” said vocalist Julia Brown. “What we see happening over and over at our concerts is that folks who don’t normally listen to Christian music hear us play a classic rock song or even a current country song reinterpreted through the lens of faith, and they think, ‘Hey, I know that song!’ Before they know it, they’re hearing a contemporary Christian song or a Southern Gospel song and finding that they like it, in spite of themselves.”
“Familiar music is the bridge, and Jesus is where the bridge leads.”
The Amazing! Rhythm Disciples have performed at churches of various denominations, non-denominational churches, festivals and other events. Along the way, they have watched people of different generations, races, backgrounds and faith traditions come together to laugh, cry , praise and sing along while hearing a message centered unmistakably on Jesus Christ.
“We take music people know, along with humor and fun, and use it to open the door,” said one of the Disciples. “Then we walk through that door with them. And no one receives a bigger blessing than us.”
That connection is at the heart of an ARD concert.
“We’re constantly striving to connect with someone in the audience and convey the message that no matter what problems you’re having in your life, you don’t have to face them alone. There’s strength and hope in Jesus. If we reach one person, it’s all been worth it.”
After a recent Disciples concert at a church, an elderly lady approached the group with just one word to describe what she had experienced:
“Joyous.”
The band couldn’t have asked for a better description.
ARD believes sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ doesn’t have to be somber. There can be laughter. There can be great music. There can be familiar songs, unexpected arrangements, stories, memories and plenty of fun.
And there can be joy.
That’s why the Amazing! Rhythm Disciples plan to keep doing exactly what they set out to do:
Making a VERY Joyful Noise!
THE AMAZING! RHYTHM DISCIPLES Familiar Music. Timeless Message. Making a VERY Joyful Noise!
Friday night lights are almost back, and the Natchitoches Parish Journal is preparing to kick off another season of its popular High School Football Pick ’Em contest.
With the 2026 high school football season less than a week away, the NPJ will officially open online picks on Monday, Aug. 31. The weekly contest gives local sports fans an opportunity to showcase their football knowledge by predicting the outcomes of 10 selected high school matchups across Natchitoches Parish and the region. The first week of action wraps up Friday, Sept. 4.
Each week, the top predictor will win a $100 cash prize and have their photo published in the Journal.
Get ready to see who is truly the best football picker in Natchitoches Parish—picks open next Monday!
To help make this contest a success, the Natchitoches Parish Journal is offering premium sponsorship opportunities for local businesses. Ad placements are featured directly between the listed weekly matchups, guaranteeing high visibility in front of engaged local readers throughout the season. To reserve your spot, call or text the NPJ at 318-500-3336 or 318-540-4142.
Contest Rules & Details
Anyone is eligible to participate for free, and each week’s winning participant will win a $100 prize. Each week, the winner will be the participant with the best record out of 10 selected high school football games. Ties will be broken by two separate tiebreakers consisting of guessing the total points scored in two designated weekly contests. The picker with the closest score, without going over, is the winner. All decisions by Management/NPJ are final. The contest can be modified and/or cancelled without notice to the public.
The only persons not eligible to participate are the publisher, the publisher’s immediate family, and regular content contributors to the Journal as determined by Management/NPJ.
There is no entry fee. All contest decisions by Journal management are final. Weekly winners will be notified on Mondays and must agree to have their photo published in the Journal.
Every participant receives a free subscription to the Journal, delivered directly to their inbox daily at 6:55 a.m.
Ben McLaughlin begins his third year as head coach at his alma mater tonight leading the NAIA Louisiana Christian Wildcats into Turpin Stadium to play the Division I FCS Northwestern Demons. (Photo courtesy LCU Athletics)
By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports
Northwestern State football coach Blaine McCorkle told the Demon Quarterback Club lunch crowd Wednesday that he’s seen some predictions picking NAIA power Louisiana Christian to beat his team in tonight’s 7 p.m. season opener at Turpin Stadium in Natchitoches.
The Wildcats have won their Sooner Athletic Conference championship twice in three years, and return 18 of 22 starters from last year’s 8-3 team under third-year coach Ben McLaughlin.
The Demons are still recovering from having their 2023 season halted with four games to go, and a complete rebuild since McCorkle stepped into the rubble that December. Northwestern was winless in his first season, and 1-11 last year, breaking an overall 17-game skid in its opener but missing three last-minute chances to do any better last fall.
Maybe this isn’t a typical NCAA Division I (FCS) against NAIA matchup, but McLaughlin isn’t buying that rationale.
“If anybody’s picking us to win they’re trying to fire up Coach McCorkle and his guys,” he said, laughing. “Now I have supreme confidence that our guys are going to play to win the game. If they were going to play the Dallas Cowboys, I’d expect our guys to feel that way.
“You can’t get on that bus to beat a Division I team. To win any game, especially a big game like this, you’ve gotta win a half, and to do that, you’ve gotta win a quarter, and to win a quarter, you’ve gotta win a few drives, and to do that, you’ve gotta win some plays.
“We’re telling our guys go up and have fun. Enjoy the atmosphere, the ESPN cameras, and every snap, try to whip the guy in front of you. If you can beat him more than he beats you, you can win some plays and you can win a game. Just go play football.”
Against a lot of Demons who they’ve seen before, in high school. Both teams have rosters filled with Louisiana products.
“A lot of these guys have been high school teammates or opponents of their players. We’re saying, ‘you probably beat him some in high school, so know that you’re just as good as a lot of their players are individually,” said McLaughlin.
“We all know the Division I offensive linemen are a different size, and there’s a lot (of NSU advantages) that’s common sense, but our players are really good too. They believe they’re going to win a lot of reps, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
In the grand scheme, both coaches want to see their teams play well. A loss would obviously be a disaster for the Demons, but not necessarily for the Wildcats, who have been pounded in their last two season openers by NSU’s Southland Conference cousins Houston Christian (70-7 in 2024) and McNeese (54-9 last fall, in a game that was 17-9 midway through the second quarter).
“If we win this game, and it’s the biggest win in school history, and we lose the rest of them, this season is a failure. If they beat us by 50 and we win the rest of our games, it will be the best season in school history,” said McLaughlin. “Keep this in perspective. I want our kids to play to the standard we want to play, and if we’ve played our tails off, I can sleep well.”
The Wildcats have an extra edge. New defensive backs coach T.J. Hersey has been alongside McCorkle for the past six years, as a player at Division III Belhaven and for the past two years as a graduate assistant coach with the Demons.
“Blaine recommended him and any time a coach vouches for a player he’s been around four seasons as a player and then as a graduate assistant coach, you know it’s a home run. It will be a cool experience for him to be a full-time coach across the field from the man who coached him and gave him his first job,” said McLaughlin, who did not back away from acknowledging Hersey’s insight has been extremely beneficial in game preparation this week.
“Yes sir, that’s exactly right, yes sir,” he said.
The Demons have developed a young but pretty experienced roster, with 56 returning letterwinners, most second and third-year players. But only seven have started at least a full season.
The Wildcats, however, return 10 offensive starters from a unit that averaged 36.5 points and have eight defensive starters and their punter/kicker back, along with a dozen other veterans.
Among other players: Centenary transfer running back Obadiah Butler, who averaged 110 rushing yards in conference games last fall, and 2024 Shreveport-Bossier Journal high school Player of the Year Brandon Henderson, a receiver from Woodlawn High.
“We’re an anomaly right now. We’ve got a lot of old guys, which is rare in college football these days,” said McLaughlin. “We’re one of the few old teams around, so that’s nice. On paper, this could be a team that can take another step in the right direction. Everybody celebrated last season, and they earned it, but we’re not talking about that any more.”
Along with reviving a series dormant since 1968, tonight’s game is a financial windfall for LCU with the guarantee check it gets for visiting the Demons, just like the ones each of the last two years from HCU and McNeese.
“I thank Coach McCorkle so much, because this allows us to function financially in a way that makes our kids feel they’re a real college football program. We take this (revenue) and pour it right back into them to make their football experience at Louisiana Christian University. That is the Number 1 reason we’re doing this,” said McLaughlin.
The fourth annual Big Love Sporting Clays Benefit will take place Saturday, Aug. 29, at the Natchitoches Shooting Range to support the Child Advocacy Program, a division of Cane River Children’s Services.
The community fundraiser raises funds to help prevent and address child abuse through competitive shooting, fellowship, food, raffles, an auction, and prizes.
Registration opens at 8 a.m., followed by a mandatory shooters safety class at 9 a.m. The event concludes with lunch and awards at noon.
The competition features adult and youth divisions. Participants can register individually or enter a four-person team. Individual shooters who sign up without a group will be matched with others on the day of the event. Teammates will shoot together at all stations, with both individual and team scores tracked throughout the competition.
Entry fees are $125 for individual shooters and $500 for a team of four. Corporate, business, and individual sponsorships are also available at the $1,000, $2,500, $5,000, and $10,000 levels.
The Natchitoches Shooting Range is located at 652 Tauzin Island Road in Natchitoches.
For early registration benefits, registration forms and payments can be mailed to P.O. Box 2453, Natchitoches, LA 71457.
BATON ROUGE, La. — The University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors will consider several items involving Northwestern State University and Louisiana Tech University when it meets Thursday, Aug. 27, in Baton Rouge.
The board meeting is scheduled for 11 a.m. at 1201 North Third St.
For Northwestern State, the agenda includes approval of a contract for Jason Anderson as head softball coach.
NSU also has two items before the Facilities Planning Committee.
The university is asking the board to approve renaming the Health and Human Performance Building as the Kinesiology Building.
A second request would name a laboratory in that building the “Roper Biomechanics and Movement Analysis Lab.”
Louisiana Tech has several items on the agenda, including three athletic employment contracts. The university is seeking approval of contracts for Brooke Stoehr, head women’s basketball coach; Halle McClintock, assistant track and field/cross country coach; and Adam Schwartz, assistant men’s basketball coach.
Louisiana Tech also has three Facilities Planning Committee requests.
The university is seeking approval to name two laboratory spaces in Nethken Hall the “Gayle Magee Red Circuits Laboratory” and the “Smoak Power Laboratory.”
Another request would authorize Louisiana Tech to enter into a ground lease with the Louisiana Tech University Foundation for renovation of a vacant building at 818 California Ave.
Louisiana Tech is also asking for authorization to obtain an appraisal and pursue the sale of the university’s undivided one-half interest in certain real estate in Rayville.
Several systemwide issues on the agenda could also affect both Northwestern State and Louisiana Tech.
The Academic and Student Affairs Committee will consider system universities’ promotions in faculty rank and recommendations for tenure, as well as academic planning documents.
The board will also consider the UL System’s fiscal year 2027-28 capital outlay budget request and each institution’s five-year capital outlay plan. Those plans generally identify major construction, renovation and infrastructure priorities universities are seeking to advance through the state capital outlay process.
The Finance Committee will present the UL System’s proposed fiscal year 2026-27 operating budgets, including organizational charts, mandatory undergraduate and graduate attendance fees and scholarships. The board is also scheduled to receive a report on internal and external audit activity covering June 2 through Aug. 5 and a recap of the 2026 regular legislative session.
The Aug. 27 agenda also includes personnel actions and reports from the UL System president and board chair.
Friday night lights are almost back, and the Natchitoches Parish Journal is preparing to kick off another season of its popular High School Football Pick ’Em contest.
With the 2026 high school football season less than a week away, the NPJ will officially open online picks on Monday, Aug. 31. The weekly contest gives local sports fans an opportunity to showcase their football knowledge by predicting the outcomes of 10 selected high school matchups across Natchitoches Parish and the region. The first week of action wraps up Friday, Sept. 4.
Each week, the top predictor will win a $100 cash prize and have their photo published in the Journal.
Get ready to see who is truly the best football picker in Natchitoches Parish—picks open next Monday!
To help make this contest a success, the Natchitoches Parish Journal is offering premium sponsorship opportunities for local businesses. Ad placements are featured directly between the listed weekly matchups, guaranteeing high visibility in front of engaged local readers throughout the season. To reserve your spot, call or text the NPJ at 318-500-3336 or 318-540-4142.
Contest Rules & Details
Anyone is eligible to participate for free, and each week’s winning participant will win a $100 prize. Each week, the winner will be the participant with the best record out of 10 selected high school football games. Ties will be broken by two separate tiebreakers consisting of guessing the total points scored in two designated weekly contests. The picker with the closest score, without going over, is the winner. All decisions by Management/NPJ are final. The contest can be modified and/or cancelled without notice to the public.
The only persons not eligible to participate are the publisher, the publisher’s immediate family, and regular content contributors to the Journal as determined by Management/NPJ.
There is no entry fee. All contest decisions by Journal management are final. Weekly winners will be notified on Mondays and must agree to have their photo published in the Journal.
Every participant receives a free subscription to the Journal, delivered directly to their inbox daily at 6:55 a.m.
With high school jamborees and Week Zero college games, including a noteworthy Thursday night reunion in Natchitoches, football finally is here.
Too soon to tee it up, with temps in triple digits?
Nope. Do right and hydrate. That advice is free and important for everyone not pulling on a helmet at the games.
Those band members and cheerleader and pom-ponners, the dance line girls (and boys), and their coaches and coordinators, and everybody in the stands, won’t have hard-working trainers walking up with water bottles and sports drinks to guzzle.
Zig Ziglar said this long ago: “If it’s to be, it’s up to me.” Since he was Alabama born and spent all his days south (Mississippi, South Carolina) and southwest (Dallas), except those traveling to spread his motivational messages, Zig should have added, “… to keep wetting the whistle while watching and cheering.”
Maybe they didn’t write that part of it down. Or nobody was taking notes at the tailgating party.
Stay thirsty, my friends. For victory, and for cold drinks. Do not let a concession stand line discourage you. Whoever is running it needs your money to support their good cause, and you need what they have to pour.
We all need the football. People who don’t begin to understand the game enjoy the spectacle of it, the social aspects of tailgating, and take on the responsibility of pulling on the school colors from head to toe even if they can’t name two players in their team’s uniforms or they think that NIL means nonexistent.
As in, “chances for survival were slim, almost nil.”
Which applies to college football as we’ve known it. The rules of the game haven’t changed much, but the rules of the sport have.
NIL has made it worthwhile for NFL rookies to retreat to better paying gigs at Big College U. LSU’s Lane Kiffin is not the only college coach scouting pro preseason rosters to identify first-year fellows who aren’t going to make an NFL roster but would happily collect six figures to play a dozen or more games back where they were stars.
Hate the idea, but admit it, in the depths of your fandom, would you rather have some of those guys playing for your team, or against it?
The Southeastern Conference fired out a statement Monday decrying this latest development, because SEC presidents and administrators know they’re staring at another court case that’s going to drag on indefinitely. Tuesday, they issued an edict that the SEC won’t allow pros to retreat to their teams, but expect more tremors around this topic or the next few to boil up.
Give me high school ball, along with colleges within a short drive from your front door. NIL is in play for the teams in those stadiums, too, but on a much smaller scale. Tolerable to consider.
High school football has its own special magic and traditions. One is developing right here with the second annual Battle on the Bricks NRMC Jamboree Friday and Saturday at NSU’s Turpin Stadium, with five matchups of area teams.
Monday’s press conference promoting the event provided a showcase for coaches and a couple of senior student-athletes from the participating schools to show their optimism for what’s about to unfold. The young men were well chosen to represent not only their teammates, but their student bodies and their communities.
Jamborees this weekend have a variety of matchups, especially in the Battle on the Bricks. It starts Friday afternoon with two programs trying to get going in the right direction when Pickering plays Lakeview at 4 o’clock. The last game Friday night that won’t matter in the grand scheme, but will be a farewell fight. The Tigers from LaSalle and the Tigers of St. Mary’s have squared off for decades as district foes, but realignment has halted that series, after this collision.
Saturday night’s finale at 7 pits two teams that got hot in the second half of last season, Natchitoches Central and Leesville. The Chiefs and Wampus Cats put a lot of points on the board last season and figure to do the same this tie around.
A night earlier, Turpin Stadium will usher in north Louisiana college competition when Louisiana Christian rides 58 miles up I-49 to play Northwestern for the first time in 58 years.
Was a rivalry when TVs were black and white. Will be simply a neat reunion Thursday night, one that’s clear of court injunctions with the only fireworks going off when the Demons take the turf.
It’s been too long … since LC and NSU met, and since last football season.
Kordrick Turner will return for a Northwestern basketball team that will play 15 games at home this season. (NSU photo by CHRIS REICH)
The Northwestern State men’s basketball team has set its 2026-27 home schedule, announced by fourth-year head coach Rick Cabrera on Tuesday.
With nine non-conference matchups, the home portion of the Demons’ 32-game slate is set and features 15 games on Mike McConathy Court at Prather Coliseum.
The 15 games are the most home contests for the Demons since the 2014-15 season.
Season tickets for Northwestern men’s and women’s basketball will go on sale next month. Single-game tickets will be placed on sale Oct. 1. Ticket information for all Northwestern athletics can be found at www.NSUTickets.com.
The Demons will play four of their 10 non-conference games at home, highlighted by a three-game homestand from Nov. 20-Dec. 1. Northwestern opens that stretch by hosting UT Arlington on Nov. 20, followed by the first meeting between the Demons and new Division I member West Florida (Nov. 25).
Northwestern wraps up its home stretch by hosting Ecclesia College on Dec. 1.
The Demons’ home opener comes Nov. 10 when they host Millsaps College after a three-game road trip to begin the season.
Northwestern opens the season Nov. 2 at Baylor before traveling to Mississippi State (Nov. 5) and Murray State (Nov. 7). The Demons also have non-conference road matchups at Little Rock (Nov. 14) and Grand Canyon (Dec. 8).
The final road game of the non-conference season comes after the Demons’ Dec. 5 Southland Conference opener at Lamar.
“We have put together another challenging non-conference schedule with a good mix of opponents that will prepare us for Southland Conference competition,” Cabrera said. “Our home non-conference schedule brings back a former Southland rival (UT Arlington) and a new Division I opponent (West Florida). We are excited for every opportunity to take the floor, especially the 15 times we will do so in front of our home fans.”
The cast of “Steel Magnolias,” from left: Dolly Parton, Sally Field, Olympia Dukakis, Shirley MacLaine, Julia Roberts, and Daryl Hannah. The 1989 film was shot on location in Natchitoches. (Photo courtesy of TriStar Pictures)
Long before she was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame or celebrated globally as a cultural icon, Dolly Parton made an indelible mark on the brick streets and riverbanks of Natchitoches.
When filming began in the summer of 1988 for Steel Magnolias, the film adaptation of Natchitoches native Robert Harling’s beloved play, Parton brought larger-than-life warmth to the role of Truvy Jones. Behind the styling chair of Truvy’s beauty salon, Parton captured the sharp humor, resilient spirit, and deep community bonds that define small-town Louisiana life.
For local residents who watched the production take over the historic district, Parton was more than a visiting Hollywood star. Between takes at the historic home on Jefferson Street and scenes shot across town, her trademark hospitality and down-to-earth charm left a lasting imprint on the community that remains vibrant decades later.
Parton died Tuesday at the age of 80, leaving an indelible mark on millions of fans worldwide and an enduring place in the heart of Natchitoches.
Waterway Commission Hires Trapper for Large Alligator Near Plantation Point
The Cane River Waterway Commission has hired a professional trapper to remove an alligator described by officials as unusually large that has been spotted near the Plantation Point subdivision. (Aug. 25)
Commission officials said the animal has been observed repeatedly in the area. Feeding alligators on Cane River Lake is prohibited under Ordinance No. 4 of 2019. The commission’s director of operations is Jason Adcock, reachable at 318-663-8815 or 318-357-3007. (Aug. 25)
Big Love Sporting Clays Benefit Saturday
The fourth annual Big Love Sporting Clays Benefit will be held Saturday, Aug. 29, at the Natchitoches Shooting Range, 652 Tauzin Island Road, benefiting the Child Advocacy Program of Cane River Children’s Services. Registration opens at 8 a.m., with a mandatory shooter safety class at 9 a.m. and lunch and awards at noon. (Aug. 25)
Entry is $125 for individuals and $500 for a four-person team, with adult and youth divisions. Sponsorships are available at the $1,000, $2,500, $5,000 and $10,000 levels. Contact Billy Ebarb at 318-451-0747, Nolton Causey at 318-663-4964, Angie Courville at 318-663-1971 or Jennifer Karle at 318-652-1777. (Aug. 25)
Robeline Chief of Police Shelby Borders is thanking residents for their continued support following his reelection to another term.
Borders said he is grateful for the confidence Robeline citizens have placed in him and described serving as chief of police as both an honor and a responsibility.
“I express my sincere gratitude to the citizens of Robeline, Louisiana, for their continued confidence in me serving as their chief of police,” Borders said. “I am humbled and honored to have been elected again for the next term of service.”
Borders said his department will continue focusing on public safety, assisting victims of crime and serving the community.
“Being chief of police, our team will continue the mission of standing up for victims of crime and ensuring that the community stays safe and cared for,” Borders said. “We look forward to continuing serving you.”
Borders closed his message with a commitment to the community: “Committed to our community. Honored to serve. Together, we stand.”
Players and coaches from St. Mary’s, Lakeview and Natchitoches Central were among those representing the 10 participating high schools at a press preview Monday for this weekend’s Battle on the Bricks NRMC Jamboree competition. (Journal photo by DOUG IRELAND)
After controlled scrimmages last weekend, the three Natchitoches Parish high school football teams will play in game-like situations during the second annual Battle on the Bricks NRMC Jamboree competition Friday and Saturday at Turpin Stadium on the Northwestern State campus.
The results won’t count on the season records, but scoreboards will be in use. The teams will play a pair of 12-minute quarters. Tickets will be sold and concession stands will be operating.
Lakeview kicks off Friday’s schedule. St. Mary’s wraps it up.
Saturday night, the spotlight will be on Natchitoches Central in the last of five matchups in the two-day event.
Here’s the schedule for the Battle on the Bricks NRMC Jamboree presented by Natchitoches Regional Medical Center:
The St. Mary’s Tigers chewed up the Block Bears last Friday night, then chowed down on a great postgame meal.
It was the 52nd Annual St. Mary’s Steak Supper Scrimmage and the Tigers sent the home fans happy with a dominant performance, scoring six touchdowns.
New coach Jacob Carruth’s homefield debut was quite a success, but it was not a thing of beauty at times, he said. Block wasn’t the most formidable or organized opponent, but Carruth was focused on what his team did and saw lots to improve.
“It was a mixed bag. We made some really good plays. We were very productive. But we have a lot of assignments that need to be cleaned up,” he said Monday. “We need to be more disciplined and focused on both sides of the ball.
“We were successful, but at the same time, we were successful without playing to our standards. So we need to continue to elevate and get better.”
What was apparent, along with the Tigers’ ability to break big plays, was the unusual depth that St. Mary’s will rely upon.
“We had eight different guys catch balls in the scrimmage, and I think six or seven of those were in with the ones (starters). We’re rotating a lot of guys.
“We have three different starting running backs that we feel really good about who all carry the ball really well. Our top two, both averaged over 15 yards a carry in the scrimmage. So, we’re going to rotate a lot of guys,” said Carruth.
The Tigers will get tested Friday night in Turpin Stadium when they take on longtime rival LaSalle in the Battle on the Bricks NRMC Jamboree. LaSalle and SMHS have been district foes for decades but realignment has halted that series for at least the time being. It’s always been a spirited contest when the schools meet and that will add spice to Friday’s matchup, but Carruth wants his team to play with better focus.
“The scrimmage was a good opportunity for us to be able to identify some of the mistakes that we’re making without it being catastrophic when we make those mistakes. You can build a little bit of confidence being in year one in that scrimmage,” he said. “Now, going into the Jamboree against a different level competition of what we faced last week, we have to clean up some of those mistakes because we will pay for them more than we did this past week in the scrimmage.”
The Lakeview Gators football team is growing – in the head count as well as expanding its football skill set under third-year head coach Lawrence Seawood Jr.
Lakeview, which plays Pickering at 4 Friday to kick off the second annual Battle on the Bricks NRMC Jamboree at Turpin Stadium, hosted a three-way scrimmage last Thursday against Green Oaks and Glenbrook.
There were 34 Gators dressed out, the most in quite a few seasons at Lakeview, located just outside of Campti a couple of miles west of Black Lake.
Seawood, in his 15th season at Lakeview, said his team is developing and diversifying. The process begins with a very simple objective – great effort, which Seawood saw in the scrimmage.
“Everybody was playing hard,” he said. “That’s where it all starts.”
The effort showed up on defense.
“We haven’t gotten to the point where I see 11 hats going to the ball yet, but I’m starting to see eight and seven,” he said. “Once our guys hear what I’m preaching and we get the full defense flying to the ball, good things will happen.”
Lakeview has for years used a run-heavy offense, but this season the Gators will be going up top, by popular demand, said Seawood.
“We’re not just ground and pound at Lakeview any longer. These kids like to throw it around and they’ve said, coach, let us air it out.’ This is a game. It’s not easy, it takes a lot of hard work, but you want them to have fun and so we’re doing some of what they want to do — but under my jurisdiction.”
The scrimmage competition didn’t showcase a vast array of formations, although the Gators have added a collection of trick plays, again, by request of the players. Seawood said for his young team, easy does it.
“I’ve seen coaches who try to implement the Alabama offensive and defensive schemes with kids who are trying to learn how to play football. So a lot of times I break it down to the very basics and don’t make it complicated,” he said.
“I tell them, ‘just take care of your business and we’re gonna be alright.’ We’re just trying to make it easier for them to learn.”
The Northwestern State athletic department has developed a new way for Demon fans to express support for their favorite team.
Beginning with Thursday’s football season opener against Louisiana Christian, Northwestern opens its “Pledge To Win” campaign.
Demon supporters can take part in the Pledge to Win campaign for an interactive donation experience that ties their pledges to the on-field performance of Northwestern student-athletes.
The Pledge to Win campaign is driven by donations that are tied to specific components of a game or a series of games. For example, Demon donors can pledge an amount to donate if Northwestern wins or based upon certain statistical categories.
Once each game is completed, the donation amount is tallied and processed with the funds providing the Demons Unlimited Foundation in providing assistance for scholarships, general team support, equipment, travel, meals and more for its student-athletes.
Pledge to Win games include all 12 football games as well as all every Southland Conference soccer and volleyball matches this fall. Additional games will be added for Northwestern’s upcoming winter and spring sports.
