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After a gloomy start, the Nicholls St. turned things around for a comeback victory over Texas St., 21-19 at Jim Wacker Field. The win keeps Nicholls’ Southland Conference championship hopes alive.
“You have to take your hats off to these guys to hang in there and fight the way they did to the end,” said head coach Jay Thomas. “Both teams fought and played good football tonight.”
The wind blew strongly the entire game, and the weather factor showed in both teams play in a scoreless first quarter. Both the Colonels and Bobcats had trouble warming up early on — Texas State fumbled twice, the Colonels were forced into two punting situations and Nicholls’ kicker Alex Romero missed a 33-yard field goal.
On the Colonels’ first offensive series, true freshman Zach Chauvin was shaken up, but came back into the game. However, Vince Montgomery took over at quarterback midway through the second quarter and led the Colonels’ comeback.
Texas State (3-6, 2-3) drew first blood at the 13:03 mark of the second quarter when Chauvin fumbled deep in Colonel territory, and Donovan King fell on it in the end zone for a touchdown. Andrew Ireland tacked on the extra point, and Texas State took a 7-0 lead.
A 25-yard field goal by Ireland later gave the Bobcats a 10-0 lead.
The Colonels (4-5, 2-2) struggled to get anything going offensively in the first half, and fumbled three times. Nicholls’ defense stood strong to keep the Colonels in the game, limiting Texas State to two field goals in their first-half red-zone appearances.
Texas State went into halftime with a 13-0 led over the Colonels.
“Our defense played hard all game and we knew that we were going to have to come alive on offense,” said Jay Thomas. “The team came together in the locker room, and their second half play showed it.”
The Colonels saddled up for the long haul in the second half, and took the opening drive of the second half 64-yards on 10-plays for its first touchdown of the game. Dwayne Jones did the honors from 1-yard out, capping off 4:41 of hard work by the Colonels’ offense. Romero’s point after attempt was successful, making it 13-7.
The Colonels’ defensive attack forced Texas State to a three and out on their ensuing possession, and the momentum began to swing. The Colonels took over at their own 44-yard line, and all it took was one 56-yard bullet from Montgomery to Michael McLendon to even the score at 13. Romero’s PAT was good, and Nicholls took its first lead of the game at the 8:29 mark.
“Texas State made nothing easy for us,” said Thomas. “They (Texas State) played hard, and we felt that our offense would have to keep playing smart football if we were to hold the lead.”
With time dwindling down in the third quarter, Zack Morgan scored from 8-yards out to cap off a 12-play, 60-yard drive that used 5:47 of the clock. Romero’s PAT was good, and the Colonels ended the third quarter by scoring 21-unanswered points. Nicholls’ defense held Texas St. to just 32-yards in the third quarter.
The smothering defensive play by Nicholls carried over into the fourth quarter, as Nicholls had not allowed a touchdown through 11 quarters of play over their last three games. The Bobcats did give Nicholls a last second scare when Texas State’s Alex Darley made a sliding touchdown reception as time expired. The Bobcats went for two, trying to send the game into overtime, but Colonels’ linebacker Levon Bailey came up with the stop to seal the victory.
“They played their hearts out there tonight,” said Thomas about his team. “They are excited about this, and are looking forward to the rest of the season.”
