McNeese State proves too much for struggling Colonels

Nicholls limited McNeese State to just 305 yards of total offense, however, the Cowboys started seven of their 11 drives in Colonel territory leading to their 38-17 victory in John L. Guidry Stadium on Saturday.

Of the seven drives that McNeese State (6-2, 3-1) started in Nicholls territory, five of them resulted in a total of 31 points with the Cowboys also scoring 14 points on Colonel turnovers. Nicholls (1-7, 0-4) did not start a single drive in McNeese State territory in the game.

“We didn’t win the field position battle today, which ultimately cost us,” said Nicholls’ head coach Jay Thomas. “McNeese State for the majority of the game had a short field to work on and they did capitalize on their opportunities. They are a good football team.”

The Colonels rung up 294 yards of total offense in the loss, with 248 of it coming on the ground as senior fullback Marlin Meeks led all Nicholls rushers with 143 yards on 25 carries and a touchdown. It was a career high total in rushing yards and carries for Meeks.

Leading all Colonel tacklers in the loss were senior linebackers Yashua Willis and Garrick Spain with each tuning in nine tackles.

“We played hard” said Thomas. “We played hard enough to win, but failed to capitalize on gaining the momentum and had to put together long scoring drives to get the ball in end zone.”

The Cowboys opened the game with a 14-0 lead at the end the first quarter, and it wasn’t until the 9:23 mark of the second period that Nicholls reached pay dirt with an 8-yard run by senior running back A.J. Williams. The drive went a total of 11 plays for 78 yards, a season high in both categories for Nicholls.

After the Colonels cut the lead to 14-7, the Cowboys came roaring back to end the half on a 10-0 scoring run to take a 24-7 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Nicholls came out of the locker room and got back-to-back defensive stops, and made due on the second one via a 24-yard field goal by senior Ross Schexnayder to make the score 24-10 with 8:23 left in the second quarter.

However, two touchdowns over the next 10 minutes gave McNeese State a 38-10 lead that put the game out of reach for Nicholls.

The Colonels will be back in action Saturday night at Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches, Texas.

Nicholls’ senior running back A.J. Williams found the end zone one time in the Colonels’ 38-17 loss to McNeese Saturday. The loss drops the Colonels to 1-7 overall and 0-4 in the Southland Conference. They search for their first conference win against Stephen F. Austin Saturday night in Nacogdoches, Texas. * File photo / Tri-Parish Times