By Jerry Hill

Tribune-Herald assistant sports editor

As scared as he was about a possible trap game, Guy Morriss got exactly what he wanted.

Not only did Baylor blow out I-AA Northwestern State, 47-10, Saturday night at Floyd Casey Stadium, the Bears’ own mistakes created plenty of teachable moments.

“I think hopefully today after they watch the film, they’ll see that there are little mistakes,” Morriss said Sunday afternoon. “If we can just correct that little stuff, golly, it’s going to be hard to stop us.”

The offense stopped itself in the first half, one drive-killer coming on a tipped-pass interception that was created by a poor route by inside receiver Terrance Parks.

“He’s supposed to stick his toe and get underneath that safety, and that’s what (quarterback Shawn Bell) is expecting him to do,” Morriss said of Parks, who had one catch for zero yards after a team-high seven catches in the season-opening loss to TCU. “But he just ran this little half-moon, and the ball’s not where it should be.”

The offense also had too many dropped passes and penalties, including three illegal procedures by senior center Yancy Boatner.

“On the first one, they were jumping and trying to pull us a little bit, and he thought the guy was in the neutral zone,” Morriss said. “Either he is or isn’t. If you think he is, give it to the quarterback. The second one, it was just a late snap. Everybody’s moving but him. He’s just sitting there.”

The two teams combined for 269 yards on 31 penalties, the bulk of them coming on pre-snap fouls like false start, illegal formation or offsides.

“All you’ve got to do is watch the ball,” Morriss said. “That’s the kind of stuff that drives you crazy.”

Other than a handful of penalties, it was a good day for the offensive line. The Bears picked up all but one blitz by the visiting Demons and were able to spring big plays off inside screens.

“I think we’re still, at times, a little slow seeing some of the stunts,” Morriss said. “We get kind of tunnel-visioned. And in this offense, as a lineman, you’ve got to take those blinders off like they use on the harness horses so that things around them don’t disturb the horse. Sometimes, we get tunnel vision and we’re not seeing things quite as quick as we need to.”

In its most productive stretch by far, the offense scored four touchdowns on six second-half possessions, capped by Thomas White’s 27-yarder from Blake Szymanski.

“That’s got to help their confidence,” Morriss said of the second-team offense scoring on one of its two series. “I just wish it would have been a 10-, 12-play drive where they could get a few more reps. But hey, they went out there and did what they’re supposed to do. They did a good job on that last missile screen to White Chocolate (White).”

Even though the Bears gave up 147 yards rushing and 329 total yards, the defense did its job with five turnovers and three sacks. Northwestern State’s only touchdown drive was extended by a holding penalty on a punt return.

“If you take away that first touchdown, we hold them to three points,” Morriss said. “That’s not bad.”

After being held out of Saturday’s game, running back Paul Mosley (turf toe) and receiver Dominique Zeigler (sprained shoulder) are expected to be back when the Bears (1-1) play Washington State (1-1) at 4 p.m. CDT Saturday in Seattle. The Cougars rolled up 344 yards rushing and 637 yards total offense in a 56-10 win over Idaho.

“We’re going to have to help our defense out, like they’ve helped us in the last two, because they have a pretty good offense,” Morriss said. “I know in talking to (offensive coordinator Lee Hays), he likes our matchup with their defense. But we’re going to have to eliminate all that stuff and put some points on the board, because we’re probably going to have to this week.”

jhill@wacotrib.com

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