BEAUMONT, Texas – Sophomore Damashja Harris returned a kick 95 yards for a touchdown to give Lamar University a six-point lead in the second quarter and the Cardinals never trailed defeating Northwestern State, 27-13, Saturday afternoon at Provost Umphrey Stadium.
 
The victory gave the first-place Cardinals (3-3/2-0 Southland) their first three-game win streak since the 2018 season.
 
The Cardinals finished the day with 265 yards of total offense, with 143 coming through the air and 122 via the run. Big Red outgained their opponents, 265-221. Defensively, Lamar held the Demons to fewer than 100 yards rushing (81).
 
Junior Khalan Griffin led the Cardinals' ground attack with 18 carries for 93 yards and a touchdown. Classmate Robert Coleman completed nine passes for 143 yards and one touchdown. Coleman connected with seven different receivers led by Andre Dennis' three catches for 78 yards.
 
Senior Josh Ofili led the Cardinals with a game-high 10 tackles, including three solo stops.
 
The Cardinals took the ball on the opening kick and marched it 75 yards down the field for a touchdown. It was a 13-play, 75-yard drive that saw LU take 6:38 off the clock. The drive was capped by a three-yard run from Griffin for the score.
 
The score remained 7-0 until early in the second quarter when Northwestern State managed to tie things up, but just moments later the Cardinals' special teams made a momentum changing play. Harris fielded the kick on his own five-yard line, broke a tackle and worked his way over to the far sideline where he outran the Demons' secondary for the score. NSU managed to block the extra point, but the Cards took a six-point lead into the locker room.
 
Unfortunately, the Demons got the first two scores of the second half to tie the game at 13 – field goals of 48 and 45 yards from Brett Money.
 
Early in the fourth quarter, the Cardinals were on the move once again. After Coleman hit Trae Hall down the left side of the field for 30 yards, he then turned to Beaumont native Andre Dennis who caught a short pass over the middle and turned it into a big play down to the Demons' five but was hit and fumbled the ball. It rolled into the end zone where it was recovered by Nederland native Kyndon Fuselier for the score.
 
Leading by seven late in the game, the Cardinals tacked on an insurance score when R.J. Carver tacked on a three-yard run up the middle for the score.
 
The Cardinals will look to continue their current win streak Saturday, Oct. 14^th when they travel to Hammond, La., to take Southeastern Louisiana. The game against the Lions is slated to kick off at 3 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN+.