Mamou Demons battle Northwest seeking second win and continued momentum

It seems the Mamou Demons are getting their act together at the right time of the season.
After not being able to play for the first two games of the year, Mamou fell behind the eight ball when it came to getting the chance to start the year in a positive direction.
For the Demons, it was like trying to ride a bicycle for the first time when they finally did get the opportunity to play a game; unsteady at first, but improving each and every time out.
Two weeks ago, Mamou came oh so close to picking up their first win of the year in an 18-12 loss to Ville Platte High. This past Friday night, the picture seemed to clear up for the Demons as they took down the Pine Prairie Panthers 25-13.
Now, Mamou (1-2, 1-1) will try to extend their momentum and win streak as they host the Northwest Raiders (2-3, 1-1) in a District 5-3A battle. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
“We are slowly getting players back from being out,” stated Mamou head coach Dwight Collins. “Now it is a matter of putting those returners in places that will fit our system. Because we are getting players back, we can now move guys around and add some much needed depth. I thought those returners did a great job this past week and should be some solid starters for us the rest of the year. They will be crucial for us going forward.”
One of the main reasons that Mamou has shown tremendous improvement over the past few weeks has been their ability to get full weeks of practice in, something they could not do the first two weeks of the season. Right now, Collins feels better about how well preparations have been going for his squad.
“Each week has gotten better for us,” said Collins. “You can see our practice habits improving from week to week. When that happens, Friday nights get better. Before this last week, we were still not mentally prepared to play when Thursday rolled around. This last week, I thought we had a lot better feel for the game plan the day before the game.”
Mamou will take that new found confidence into a game that could go a long way toward putting the Demons in the playoffs for the first time in a long while. Despite the two wins by the Raiders, Northwest has surrendered a ton of points. In five game, the St. Landry parish team gives up an average of 23 points per game.
On the opposite side of the ball, Northwest only scores an average of 10.8 points per game; something that Collins noted when looking at the Raiders and their squad.
“I think they are more experienced on the defensive side of the ball,” commented Collins. “They lost a ton of talent from their offense last year. Still they are going to come ready to play. We just need to execute the game plan and eliminate the mistakes. It will be a challenging game for us, but we cannot give them any chance to get the early momentum.”