Nicholls special teams aided by Dolan brothers

James Cantrelle
September 28, 2010
Lafourche District 13 school board
September 30, 2010
James Cantrelle
September 28, 2010
Lafourche District 13 school board
September 30, 2010

Nicholls State senior punter Patrick Dolan remembers a time when he and his little brother Andrew would spend their Saturday afternoons trying to one-up each other in the backyard.


“We were always trying to be on a similar level. It was always a lot of fun,” Patrick Dolan said. “We’d always be out in the yard playing just every sport. There was always some sort of competition.”

Now, the brothers are working together every weekend for a common goal — victory for Nicholls State.


That’s because Andrew has joined Patrick on the Nicholls State football team.


And where Patrick is an All-Conference punter, the freshman Andrew is currently serving as the Colonels’ kicker, making the Nicholls special teams battery an “All-Dolan” unit for the 2010 season, making this year a special one for arguably one of the best punters in the history of the Colonels’ program.

“We’ve grown up kicking together, but this year is the first year we ever actually have been on the same team,” Patrick said. “But for my last season of college football, to be able to be out there with my brother, that’s just unreal. That’s so awesome.”


The Dolans grew up in Birmingham as young, up-and-coming soccer players.


But even despite the competitive nature toward one another, the brothers always got along, according to Andrew.

“We were always nice toward one another. We’d always mess around, but never anything where we weren’t just joking,” Andrew said.


The little brother then did what only a younger sibling can do – and took a stab at Patrick.


“If anything, I’d be the one who would beat up Patrick all of the time,” the younger Dolan said with a laugh.

“Don’t believe that,” Patrick quickly answered back with a smirk of his own.


From soccer, the brothers picked up kicking when Patrick was in high school and Andrew was in the eighth grade.


The way the brothers picked up their hobby was almost by accident, as like they’d done their whole lives, they were noticed “just messing around in the yard.”

“We were kicking one day and the coach drove by and saw us, and he just said, ‘Hey man, I’ve got to get ya’ll on the field, so just come out for football,'” Patrick said.

With that success bred a pair of naturals, as Andrew succeeded in his kicking in grammar school and Patrick became an All-State punter for McGill Toolen High School, before signing with Nicholls.

From there, the elder Dolan moved to Thibodaux and began to find collegiate success. Patrick is the reigning First-Team All-Southland Conference punter.

While Patrick was doing that, young Andrew was carving his own mark at McGill Toolen and winning All-State honors in his own right.

When colleges came calling, Andrew said he listened to advice from his big brother and signed with Nicholls to complete the “All-Dolan” special teams unit that teams are currently seeing.

“He’s the reason I’m here,” Andrew said. “At the time I was recruited, there were a few schools who were looking at me. But Patrick would always talk very highly of Nicholls. So I got with the coaches and they liked what they saw, so I came here.”

So far, the decision has been one that’s been mutually beneficial to both the Dolan’s and Nicholls, as Patrick has bombed three punts of 50 or more yards this season with a 42-yard average.

Andrew has made his mark, as well, hitting all of his extra point tries, as well as recording a team-high 67-yard average for the Colonels on kickoffs.

But despite the many responsibilities the brothers hold, there’s one they mutually like – extra points and field goals.

That’s because Andrew is the kicker and Patrick is the holder, so they truly are working together – something they say they will never forget.

“It’s definitely a unique field goal team with both of us out there,” Patrick said. “It’s cool, because I don’t know anywhere else in the country that has what we have. It’s good to be out there with him.”

Andrew agreed and said to be able to be congratulated by his brother after a successful kick is extra special.

“He’s my brother, but he’s also a good holder to have, because a lot of holders can’t really tell you what you’re doing wrong, but Patrick can tell me exactly what I need to fix if I have a miss hit,” Andrew said. “But as a kicker, the first person who always congratulates you, too, is your holder, so it’s definitely awesome to get that from my brother. It’s a special feeling.”

Nicholls State senior punter Patrick Dolan (left) poses with his younger brother, freshman kicker Andrew Dolan. The brothers have teamed up to stabilize the Colonels’ special teams unit this season. CASEY GISCLAIR