Northwestern State holds on to beat Lamar 35-28

NATCHITOCHES, La. -- Jared West ran for 75 yards and three touchdowns and Northwestern State held on to beat Lamar 35-28 on Saturday night in a Southland Conference opener. Darrel Colbert Jr. scored on a 9-yard run to pull Lamar to 35-28 with 8:51 to play. Northwestern State (1-2, 1-0) ate up about five minutes of the clock on its next series, but offside and holding penalties stalled the drive. Lamar (1-2, 0-1) drove to the Northwestern State 44, but Isaac Warren intercepted Colbert's pass on a third-and-16 with about a minute left and Northwestern State ran out the clock. West scored his touchdowns from inside the 3-yard line. J.D. Almond threw a 25-yard touchdown to Jaylen Watson in the second quarter. Almond's 7-yard run stretched the Demons' lead to 35-21 early in the fourth quarter. --- More AP college football: http://collegefootball.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-Top25