Doyles nifty TD catch ignites NSU scoring burst in final scrimmage

NATCHITOCHES ­ An acrobatic 21-yard touchdown catch by senior receiver Derrick Doyle touched off a 24-point flurry over the last eight minutes of the first half Tuesday night as the Northwestern State football team staged its third and final scrimmage of preseason camp. The Demons ran 81 plays from scrimmage and gained 351 yards, 205 on 14 pass completions. There were three turnovers, two fumbles and only five penalties called in the two-hour intrasquad game on a drizzly evening in front of several hundred fans at Turpin Stadium for the inaugural ³NSU Back to School BBQ Kickoff.² Doyleıs reception came on a Ricky Joe Meeks throw. Closely guarded streaking across the goalline, Doyle tipped up the well-thrown pass, stretched and tipped it again toward the back of the end zone and snagged the pass about 3 yards in front of the back line for the first score, capping a 9-play, 61-yard drive. True freshman quarterback Germayne Edmond connected with Thomas Bauchman on a 16-yard touchdown strike just 93 seconds later, shortly after a 51-yard Richuel Massey run. Masseyıs 76 yards on 12 carries topped the rushing statistics. Sophomore Roch Charpentier hit Ben Bailey on a 7-yard slant for a third touchdown, wrapping up a 71-yard, 7-play march 3:17 before halftime. Bailey led all receivers with 47 yards on four catches. Lee Scottıs 32-yard field goal on the final ĵlay of the half, set up by a 20-yard Jamel Jackson punt return, ended the outburst. The contest ended with 6:08 left in the third quarter when fullback Dante Austin pounded in an 7-yard touchdown run. Byron Lawrence ran for 65 yards on 16 carries. Charpentier threw for 118 yards, completing 6-of-11 with an interception, and had a 45-yard connection with Dudley Guice, one of nine players with at least one reception. Senior T.J. McMillan led all defenders with eight tackles from his linebacker slot. Sophomore linebacker Mack Dampier had 7 stops, including two sacks, while Ed Queen, Justin Perry, Blake Delcambre and Isaiah Greenhouse each had four tackles. True freshman Josh Adams made the gameıs only interception. Ray Martin and Neal Walker had fumble recoveries. The Demons will take Wednesday off, reviewing game tape Wednesday morning and then attending the first day of classes at NSU. The team will begin its new regular morning practice routine on Thursday and Friday, and may get the weekend off depending on the quality of their work in the next two practices, said head coach Scott Stoker.