Colonels get gutsy win

Lockport man breaks into a car during church services
October 5, 2017
Booking log – October 7, 2017
October 9, 2017
Lockport man breaks into a car during church services
October 5, 2017
Booking log – October 7, 2017
October 9, 2017

Sophomore quarterback Chase Fourcade didn’t start Saturday’s game between Nicholls and Northwestern State because of an injury, which kept him out of practice all week.

But he finished.


And that’s all that counts for the Colonels in their quest to make the Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs.

Sixth-year senior Tuskani Figaro started for Nicholls against the Demons with Fourcade’s health in question after a lingering ailment he’d battled all week.

Figaro was serviceable and got the Colonels into the fourth quarter down 10-7. After Figaro took a few licks, Rebowe inserted Fourcade into the game in the final quarter and he did his best Willis Reed impersonation, leading Nicholls to a touchdown drive and a 14-10 win.


With the victory, the Colonels are now 4-2 on the season and 3-1 in Southland play.

The loss drops Northwestern State to 1-4 and 1-2 in the Southland.

“We had the game plan – you know Chase didn’t practice all week – to go with Tuskani,” Rebowe said. “He was doing a great job and then he got banged up a little bit so we were limited. With Chase coming in – the spark – the field position helped us with that, too. … We got them backed up, got the ball in great field position and were able to punch it in.”


The victory was sweet for the Colonels.

But the play on the field itself was often quite ugly – except for fans of dominant defense.

With the game moved up and soggy conditions at John L. Guidry Stadium throughout the morning, both offenses looked a little stale for most of the game with each defense dominating the lines of scrimmage.


The Colonels struck first when Figaro led the offense on a 10-play, 90-play drive capped with a 3-yard touchdown run from Kyran Irvin, which put Nicholls on top 7-0 in the first quarter.

Figaro completed 7-of-19 passes for 85 yards in his spot start. As always, the sixth-year senior was a threat with his legs, rushing 12 times for 58 yards.

But the Demons eventually figured him out.


After the early touchdown, Northwestern State’s defense took control of the game, shutting out the Colonels in both the second and third quarters to take a 10-7 lead going into the final quarter.

The Demons weren’t prolific offensively, but they did just enough to get by.

Early in the second quarter, they used a short field to answer Nicholls’ touchdown with one of their own – a short run from Stadford Anderson, which tied the game at 7 – a score which stuck until halftime.


Out of the lockers, Northwestern State carried their momentum onto the field to take the lead.

Nicholls got the ball first in the second half, but couldn’t take advantage of possession. A Figaro pass on third down was intercepted near midfield, which set the Demons up with some more quality field position – a short drive which ended in a 36-yard field goal from Eric Piccione, which put the Demons up 10-7.

But they never got closer to victory than that.


On the next Colonels’ possession, the Demons strip-sacked Figaro and positioned themselves in Colonels’ territory with a chance to add to the lead.

But the Demons couldn’t advance up the field, punting the ball to the Colonels, who used that sequence as a momentum swing to grab back control of the game.

Fourcade came into the game with 11:21 to go in regulation and Nicholls still down three


His first drive didn’t amount to points, but it planted the seeds.

Nicholls advanced from their own 20-yard-line to midfield, then stalled.

Tyler St. Germain punted a high, angled kick, which Nicholls downed at the 1-yard-line.


After a quick defensive stop, Nicholls got golden field position at the Demons 40-yard-line with 7:29 to go.

On third down and 17, Fourcade his Dai’Jean Dixon on a 31-yard strike, which put the Colonels into the red zone for the first time since the first quarter.

Five plays later, Dontrel Taylor pushed forward into the end zone from the 3-yard-line to put the Colonels on top 14-10 – a lead they’d never relinquish.


Northwestern State had two more drives, but none produced any fruit.

The first ended in three-straight incompletions and a quick punt to the Colonels with 3:22 to go.

After Nicholls went three-and-out, the Demons got the ball back with 1:42 to go. They got a first down on a short pass, which pushed the football to the 43-yard-line.


But after three-straight incompletions, the Colonels drove in the dagger on fourth down and 10 when Christian Boutte picked off J.D. Almond’s pass to seal the win.

Rebowe said he was proud of the way the Colonels played on Saturday, gutting out a win against a rival, despite having a few bad breaks happen during the game.

After the game, the Colonel players celebrated with their prize – a wooden plaque with the letters NSU, the prize handed to the winner of this game each season.


“First of all, it was a great team win,” Rebowe said. “Our guys did a fantastic job. We knew how good Northwestern was and that they would be able to run the football. I was just proud of our guys.”

Football vs Northwestern 2017 (Misty Leigh McElroy/Nicholls State University) 10/7/17

Misty Leigh McElroy


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