Colonels upset Rice, 16-14

NSU Sports Information Desk

After a steady hard failing rain and two lightning delays at Rice Stadium that took over two hours before the referees deemed safe field conditions, the Colonels became the second Division I-Football Championship Subdivision team to beat a Division I-Football Bowl Subdivision squad on Saturday with their 16-14 win over Rice.

“This is probably one of the biggest if not the biggest win in Nicholls State’s history,” said head coach Jay Thomas. “We played smart aggressive football, and I am just so proud of all our guys.”

The win came in part due to a school tying three interceptions by junior safety Ladarius Webb, one of which went for a touchdown. The last time a player had three interceptions in a game for Nicholls was when Chris Thompson picked off three passes at Arkansas State in 2001, which was ironically the last time Nicholls beat a Division I-FBS team.

The Colonels held Rice to 218 yards of total offense in the game, and prohibited senior All-American wide receiver Jarett Dillard to just five receptions for 41 yards and no touchdowns. The no touchdown performance by Dillard ended his consecutive games with a touchdown at 15 games.

As a team Nicholls rushed for 194 yards and passed for another 87 in the win. Sophomore Jairus Jarvis led all tacklers with 14 total that included one sack, two tackles for a loss, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

Thomas is now 3-1 lifetime against Rice head coach David Bailiff formerly of Texas State. All three wins have come on Nicholls last three tries against Bailiff.

Both Rice (0-1) and Nicholls (1-0) failed to score in the first quarter that was interrupted by a lightning delay due to bad weather at the 2:16 mark. The interruption in the game lasted 52 minutes starting at 7:39 p.m. and lasting to 8:31.

The Colonels put together a 14-play drive that went a total of 69 yards and used 9:53 of the game clock in the early part of the second quarter, but a 31-yard field goal try for senior Alex Romero failed as the kick sailed left of the goal post.

The Owls followed up Nicholls failed field goal drive with seven points of their own with Rice’s quarterback James Casey running it in from two yards out capping off an 11 play 80 yard drive that ate up 4:40 of official game time. Clark Fangmeier tacked on the extra point at the 5:42 mark to give Rice the 7-0 lead.

Webb followed up the Owls’ touchdown with a 61-yard kickoff return to put the Colonels on Rice’s 31-yard line, but the offense sputtered as junior quarterback Vincent Montgomery and senior fullback Joseph Tobias fumbled the exchange and Rice took over at their own 17-yard line.

However, the Owls gave it right back when quarterback Chase Clement fumbled on their own 30-yard line, and all it took was seven seconds and one play for Montgomery to find senior running back Grant Thorne down the field for a 30-yard touchdown reception. Romero added the extra point, and Nicholls tied it up, 7-7, at the 2:16 mark in the second quarter.

Then the Colonels turned it up on defense with Webb picking off his second pass of the night from 32 yards out and taking it too the house at the 1:34 mark. Romero put the extra point through the uprights to give Nicholls the 14-7 advantage. As the half ended, the Owls owned every statistical category for the half, but the Colonels had capitalized on two of their three turnovers for 14 unanswered points.

It was not long after the second half got underway that play was halted due to the game’s second lightning delay. The players cleared the field at 9:51 p.m., which was at the 9:57 mark in the third quarter, and play did not resume until 11:05 p.m. When the players came back, Rice resumed its offensive drive and Clement scampered in the end zone from 10 yards out. Fangmeier wascore at 14-14 at the 9:51 mark of the third quarter.

The Colonels followed up Rice’s scoring drive with a trip to the Owls 1-yard line, but could not punch it in. Rice took over, but not for long as Webb recorded his third interception of the game tying the school record for most interceptions in a contest.

Nicholls defense forced the Owls to punt, and sophomore Garrick Spain blocked the attempt and the ball went out of the end zone resulting in a safety that gave the Colonels a 16-14 lead at the 8:04 mark in the fourth quarter. Rice would fail to score for the remainder game, and Nicholls emerged.

The Colonels will be back in action next week when they play in John L. Guidry Stadium on the new AstroTurf against Southern Arkansas. Game time is set for 6 p.m.