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Southeastern keeps the River Bell, but Nicholls is going to the FCS Playoffs.
Southeastern beat the Colonels 21-17 on Thursday night, overcoming a 17-7 third-quarter deficit with 14-straight points to upset Nicholls and win their second-straight game in the annual rivalry.
The loss ends Nicholls’ regular season with an 8-3 record and a 7-2 mark in the Southland Conference. But all is not lost. The Colonels were selected as a FCS Playoff Team on Sunday morning – one of just 24 teams to reach the field.
The Colonels will face South Dakota on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. The winner of that game will face Sam Houston State.
Lions coach Ron Roberts said he’s happy to have beaten a playoff opponent to close out his season.
“This rivalry has become something special,” Lions coach Ron Roberts said after the win. “I’m so proud of our players for finishing strong. This season didn’t go entirely our way, obviously, but to close out the season with a win over a ranked opponent in our house was a great way to end our year.”
The Colonels had everything going their way early in the game, but couldn’t find a way to put it away, which allowed Southeastern a chance to hang around.
Nicholls scored first to open up a 7-0 lead on a seven-yard touchdown run from Dontrel Taylor late in the first quarter – the final play of a 61-yard drive.
But the Lions answered back just four plays later with a touchdown of their own – a 63-yard run from freshman Marcus Cooper, which tied the game with 37 seconds left in the opening quarter.
The next several minutes of action belong to the Colonels.
After Southeastern’s score, Nicholls methodically drove the football down the field, using more than six minutes of game time and 12 plays to go 75 yards for a touchdown – a seven-yard run from Damion Jeanpiere, which put the Colonels ahead 14-7.
The Lions had three possessions before halftime to try and answer Nicholls’ score, but they never found the scoreboard, going three and out twice, then stalling out a promising drive in the final seconds of the half to send the game to halftime.
In the third quarter, Nicholls looked like it was about to blow the game open.
Southeastern possessed the football first, but had a stalled drive and a punt, which was muffed by the Lions’ kicker, turning over the football to Nicholls at Southeastern’s 26-yard-line.
Nicholls didn’t get a touchdown, but they did take a two-score lead on a short field goal by kicker Lorran Fonseca, which put the Colonels up 17-7 midway through the quarter.
But then things changed.
After stalling out for the entire second quarter and the beginning of the third quarter, the Lions’ offense found life, pushing the ball 75 yards on five plays to close the gap to 17-14.
The scoring play was a five-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Byron Walker to Bransen Schwebel.
The touchdown completion was doubly back-breaking because it was one of just a few successful pass plays for the Lions in the game.
Southeastern was 3-of-15 passing with 23 yards in the win.
Starting quarterback Lorenzo Nunez went down midway through the game, giving way to Walker, who pushed the team back into contention and into the winner’s circle.
After the Lions’ touchdown, Nicholls threatened and got into Lions’ territory, but stalled out and punted.
The Lions then hit the biggest play of the game on their next drive – an 85-yard touchdown run from Juwan Petit-Frere, which put the Lions ahead for good late in the third quarter.
Nicholls had chances in the fourth quarter to take the game back. But all six of their fourth-quarter drives ended without points – three punts and three interceptions, which handed victory to the Lions to end the season.
Nicholls quarterback Chase Fourcade struggled to find rhythm throughout the game, completing just 9-of-21 passes for 94 yards with three interceptions.
Five of Fourcade’s nine completions came to Jarrell Rogers, who had five receptions for 49 yards.
But it wasn’t enough, and Southeastern retained the River Bell for the second-straight season.
Nicholls coach Tim Rebowe said before the game that he was proud of his team’s work throughout the season – no matter how the Southeastern game went.
The eight-win season is Nicholls’ best year in several seasons. For that success, they’re now regarded with an extra game and a shot at chasing the biggest prize of all – the national championship.
Football vs McNeese 2017 (Photo by Misty Leigh McElroy/Nicholls State University)
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