Caught between the future and the present, the Cowboys are turning their hopes over to a teenager on a night when they say goodbye to their seniors.

McNeese State will honor six players who have been through some tough times before tonight’s home finale against resurgent Houston Christian Saturday inside Cowboy Stadium.

It is the perfect case of out with the old and in with the new as true freshman Kam Sixkiller is set to make his first college start after playing just over a half last week.

“I’m excited,” said Sixkiller, who just turned 19 last week. “I want to go out there and help the team and do what I can to get us a win. We haven’t won a real game yet.”

The Cowboys are suffering through their longest of seasons, having only one victory by forfeit in nine games. They are also just 1-4 in the Southland Conference.

On the flip side, Houston Christian (5-4, 3-2) is looking to secure its first winning season in program history. The Huskies are also trying to capture their first win ever over McNeese (0-5).

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. with the weather expected to be less than ideal.

“We expect it to be wet and chilly,” said McNeese head coach Gary Goff. “I would expect that they will try to run the football anyway so we will have to stop that first.”

The Cowboys have struggled to do that all season. McNeese has allowed 251.5 yards a game on the ground, the worst in the Southland by 60. The Huskies are second in the league in rushing at 155.6.

“We have been saying that all season, we have to stop the run,” said Goff. “This week is no different. It starts with that.”

McNeese struggles despite having perhaps the best defensive player in the conference. Sophomore linebacker Micah Davey continues to make a run at Defensive Player of the Year honors with a SLC-best 14 tackles a game. That is second in all of FCS as well.

“Micah is having a great year and continues to get better each week,” said Goff. “We also have some other people getting back healthy and improving. We just have to find a way to finish this.”

Goff said he has seen improvement from two freshmen defensive linemen over the last few weeks. Sedric Applewhite and Masey Lewis continue to get better with extended playing time, helping to put more pressure on quarterbacks.

For the Huskies, Darryle Evans leads a balanced run attack with 360 yards. However, HCU will need its defense to win this game.

Defensive end Jalyn Hunk leads the Huskies with five sacks for 40 yards in losses. Houston Christian has sacked opposing quarterbacks 21 times while McNeese has allowed 22, so keeping Sixkiller off the ground will be important.

“We have to give him time to see what he can do,” said Goff. “We also want to run the football.”

Redshirt freshman Joshon Barbie has come on strong and was rewarded with a full scholarship this week.

“He has earned it and I could not be happier for him,” said Goff. “I am excited to see his improvement.”

Barbie has run for 199 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns since injuries forced him into the lineup three games ago. D’Angelo Durham is back healthy and will split time with Barbie. Durham leads the Pokes on the ground with 460 yards and three TDs.

Still, all eyes will be on Sixkiller who went 9-for-19 with a touchdown and interception in his debut against Southeastern last Saturday.

“The experience he will get over the next two games is vital to our future,” said Goff. “That’s why we are going to put him in the fire and see how he does.”

Ironically, it will be up to a freshman to give the seniors a going away present they can remember.