BEAUMONT — Mike Schultz doesn’t know what to expect from his first Southland Conference game as Lamar’s head coach.

He said earlier this week he’s excited about it, but acknowledged a problem he’s facing:

“I’ve not been in this league,” Schultz said.

Not since 1991, anyway, when he left what is now Texas State with Dennis Franchione to go to New Mexico.
“I’m not sure what to expect in the Southland Conference,” Schultz said. “I’m not sure where we are as a team compared to Southland Conference teams; it’ll be interesting. We’ve played an FBS team and we’ve played a Division II team. The barometer of where we’re at, I’m not sure right now.”

All Northwestern State coach Jay Thomas said is that his team is “close” to where he wants it to be. The Demons (0-2) have lost to Louisiana Tech and Grambling State.

“We’ve played two really good football programs,” Thomas said. “We knew it was a tall order to go on the road against them, but we battled them for four quarters, played our guts out, just didn’t make enough plays to come home happy.”

One thing Schultz is certain of is that Saturday’s game at Northwestern State will give the Cardinals (1-1) some normalcy, more than two weeks removed from the devastating effects of Tropical Storm Harvey.

“I think [last] Saturday night was the first time we showered here in 2 ½ weeks,” Schultz said, adding he had to make arrangements for the team to shower at Port Neches-Groves High School. “We were actually set to have a normal structured week this week. As a staff, we’re excited about it, and the players are excited about it.”

The Cardinals face their second road trip in three hours, but it won’t be the planned detour to Louisiana-Lafayette for a workout as they escaped the floods and eventually headed to play at North Texas. They’ll kick off at Turpin Stadium in Natchitoches, Louisiana, at 6 p.m. Saturday.

Schultz has been able to rest easy knowing he has a much clearer quarterback situation with Andrew Allen coming off an 8-for-8 passing game as a backup to Darrel Colbert.

In that 72-6 drubbing of UT Permian Basin last Saturday before 7,072 in Beaumont, Allen, who started twice last year, threw for 56 yards and a touchdown. Colbert went 18 for 23 for 190 yards and four touchdowns.

“What it does is it makes me feel really good about our first two quarterbacks,” Schultz said. “We’re a dual-threat team, and we’re going to run our quarterback, there’s no doubt. I’ve done this type of offense for years and years and years. I’ve always been a guy who believes in running the quarterback. When you do that, it’s always good to have two who are ready to go. I think that’s what we’re getting with Andrew Allen.

“There’s no doubt Darrel Colbert has done what he needed to do to put himself at the top spot, but there’s going to come a time at some point in the year, where Darrel’s going to have to come out of the game. The fact that Andrew Allen is on the sideline and the confidence this team and the coaching staff has in Andrew Allen only puts in a very good situation. He did have an excellent game. Anytime you go 8 for 8 — you can’t get any more perfect. It doesn’t get any better than that. But I’m excited about where he is and the progress he’s made.”

The Demons not only have to overcome losses in which they were within a touchdown going into the fourth quarter at LaTech and they trailed the No. 23-ranked Football Championship Subdivision team by three early in the second quarter. They have to avenge the taste of last year’s defeat in Beaumont in which they led 31-18 with 6:44 left.

“We’ve been in each game in the fourth quarter with a chance to win,” Thomas said. “We’re very close. To get over the hump, we have to be better and some of that goes back to fundamentals of the game.”

Schultz said wide receiver DeWan Thompson Jr., the guy who made the tying catch in the left corner of the end zone with 6 seconds left against NSU, is healthy after missing the past few weeks with an injured shoulder from preseason camp.

“We’re still having to pad him up, but it’s good to get him back,” Schultz said. “He’s got some tings we need out there on the edge. He’s dynamic. He’s elusive.”
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I.C. Murrell: 549-8541. Twitter: @ICMurrellPANews