Colonels wrap up practices with spring game

It was the typical spring football game.

There was some good, some bad and some things Nicholls coach Tim Rebowe would like to never see again.

But at the end of the day, the messages coming from the Colonels locker room are overwhelmingly positive, and the team is convinced that the word done throughout the past month will pay off big when Southland Conference play starts again next fall.

The Colonels held their annual spring game on Saturday at John L. Guidry Stadium before a sizeable group of fans who enjoyed the lovely weather of the sun-filled day.

The game was a full four-quarter scrimmage with the Colonels’ roster split into two teams.

In the end, the Red Team triumphed, scoring a last-minute touchdown to beat the White Team 14-10.

Halfback Kyran Irvin helped win it for his team, scoring from one yard out with 1:50 play to give his team the lead.

The White Team had a chance to answer late, but couldn’t convert, turning the ball over on downs twice in the final seconds to fall.

Colonels coach Tim Rebowe said throughout the spring that he thought Nicholls made strides in the spring.

Players agreed. They said throughout the spring that the Colonels got better in their allotted practice time.

“I think we got in a lot of good work,” sophomore quarterback Chase Fourcade said. “I think some of the areas that we’re working really hard at have gotten better, and I believe we’re working to become a better team than we were at the beginning of the spring, and I know we will keep working throughout the offseason so that we can be ready for the season.”

Offense wasn’t a strong suit for the Colonels in Saturday’s spring game.

Neither was protecting the football.

There were exactly 100 snaps in the four-quarter scrimmage, and the Colonels generated just 380 yards combined between the two teams.

The teams also combined for six turnovers in the scrimmage – combining for two fumbles and four interceptions.

Almost all of the scoring in the game came early.

The victorious Red Team struck first on a big play – a 63-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Charlie Brooks to receiver Damion Jeanpiere, which made the game 7-0.

Just a few plays later, the White Team took it back with a strike of their own. Fourcade hit receiver Christian Booker on a 41-yard touchdown pass, which leveled the score at 7 midway through the first quarter.

Late in the first quarter, the White Team got the lead, forcing a stop, then going down the field on a drive capped by a 26-yard field goal by kicker David McKey.

And then the defenses took over.

After the White Team got the 10-7 lead, points became a rare commodity.

Both defenses forced turnovers, three-and-out drives and causes havoc to the offenses, which sent the game late into the fourth quarter with the same 10-7 score.

The White Team defense hawked the football throughout the game, forcing Brooks into several bad decisions.

If one doesn’t count the early 63-yard touchdown pass, Brooks finished the game just 3-of-11 with 23 yards and three interceptions. With it, he was 4-of-12 with 86 yards, a touchdown and the three picks.

On the White Team, Fourcade was a little better, but still struggled.

He was 10-of-25 passing for 122 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

Earlier this spring, he said a big focus in the spring was to make the passing game more efficient – something the team didn’t necessarily showcase in the spring game.

“We’ve got to limit our turnovers and our takeaways,” Fourcade said earlier this spring. “We’ve got to get better in the passing game, and we’ve got to balance things out.”

“We have a lot of things that we still need to practice,” Jeanpierre added.

But maybe some of those struggles are a sign that the Colonels employ a dominant defense.

Throughout spring, players and coaches have boasted that the Colonels defense has been stingy – a unit that returns several contributors.

For the White Team, Corey Abraham led all tacklers with six tackles.

On the Red Team, Joel Dullary also had six tackles.

Arguably the star of the whole scrimmage was redshirt freshman defensive back Anfernee Poindexter.

The Central Lafourche graduate made just one tackle, but had both an interception and a fumble recovery for the Red Team, which allowed them to control field position.

Colonels linebacker Hezekiah White said that will be the calling card of Nicholls’ defense – playmaking.

“We want to win every, single snap,” he said. “We want to have that consistency.”

After the two-plus-quarter scoreless lull, the game ended with late-game drama and heroics.

On third down and four at the White Team’s 20-yard-line, Poindexter picked off Fourcade, then returned the ball to the 1-yard-line.

On the next play, Irvin was in the end zone for the game-winning score for the Red Team.

The White Team had two drives to try and win the game late but turned over the ball on downs both times, ending the defensive-heavy spring game with a couple of late-game stops.

The Colonels will now reset themselves and prepare for summer workouts, then fall camp and the start of the 2017 season.

Nicholls will open on Aug. 31 at home against McNeese State University. •

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