Nov. 4
November 4, 2008
Roger "Jay" Rebstock
November 6, 2008
Two short weeks ago, the Nicholls State Colonels had dropped to 0-2 in the Southland Conference and 0-4 overall and were preparing for a grueling conference slate the rest of the way starting with No. 11 ranked powerhouse McNeese State.
After emerging from Lake Charles victorious for the first time since 1998, the Colonels returned home Saturday to face the Central Arkansas Bears.
Behind the leg of Ross Schexnayder, whose 38-yard field goal with time expired sealed the 20-17 homecoming victory, the Colonels find themselves back in the conference hunt.
“I prayed and went in there and acted like it was practice,” Schexnayder said. “I imagined there was nobody else around and just kicked the ball. It’s just routine.”
After a rollercoaster start, the Colonels appear to have finally found their game, according to head coach Jay Thomas.
“We don’t die, that’s the thing,” he said. “When you have your back in the corner, what are you going to do? When the bull is sitting on your chest, what are you going to do? You’re going to put up all the fight you can to get him off of you. We were backed in the corner and that’s the way we are going to approach it, as hard as we can.”
Although Central Arkansas is in first place in the Southland Conference, the Bears can’t make the playoffs because of the NCAA’s five-year transition rule. The team moved from Division II to Division I-FCS and therefore isn’t eligible to compete for a championship title until 2012.
That means that if Central Arkansas finishes first, the second place team would likely get the playoff bid from the Southland Conference. The Colonels own the tiebreaking win over McNeese. A victory against Sam Houston State on Saturday coupled with wins over Texas State (Nov. 15) and Southeastern (Nov. 22) could position the Colonels to possibly springboard into the postseason.
With Sam Houston State awaiting the Colonels Saturday at John L. Guidry Stadium, Nicholls is finding its groove at just the right time, according to quarterback Chris Bunch.
“Everybody looked at it like we came out 0-4,” said Bunch, who finished Saturday 4-for-8 for 102 yards passing and 79 yards rushing with one score. “We had a teammate say one time that everything happens for a reason. There was a reason we were going through what we went through this season.”
He added, “No one expected us to beat McNeese, and we did. Then Central Arkansas didn’t respect us, and we beat them. They disrespected us, so we had to put a label on them and let them know that Nicholls football is back.”
Adversity is nothing new for the Colonels. The team also had to overcome storms in 2005 on their way to a Southland Conference championship.
Running back Corey Buchanan is among those who has encouraged teammates to stay positive and focus on history repeating itself.
“Going through hurricanes and two cancelled games, you can’t face any more adversity than we’ve already faced,” he said. “We know how to play four quarters now, and this team believes in each other.”
Saturday’s win over Central Arkansas was, in large part, due to the defense holding the Southland Conference’s top-scoring offense to only 17 points. For its part, the Colonels’ offense out-gained the Bears 397-312.
“We set a new motto: ‘Practice Hard, Play Hard,'” defensive lineman Chris Noble said. “And we practiced hard all week and came out and played hard. They showed us a little disrespect by dancing in front of our tunnel, so that gave us a little extra pep in our step.”
The focus is on keeping the late-season pep going, players agree.
“We look at it as a game by game approach,” Buchanan noted. “A lot of people are surprised (by the late-season comeback) but we’re not. We knew all along that we had a good team. We aren’t taking anyone else lightly.”
Linebacker Garrick Spain said the last two wins were good, but the team is moving on.
“We’re getting ready to grind and we are going to finish the rest of the way like we did these guys (Central Arkansas)” he said.
Nicholls State quarterback Vincent Mongomery scrammbles for yards past Central Arkansas defenders for Saturday’s homecoming game. The Colonels won 20-17 to get back in the hunt for the Southland Conference with Sam Houston State coming to Thibodaux Saturday. * Photo by KEYON K. JEFF
