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The Nicholls State University football team can’t say that people are unappreciative of the dominant season they had this past fall.

A few weeks after mopping up during the postseason selection of Southland Conference awards, the Colonels again added to their trophy case this past week, taking home several honors handed out by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association, as announced on Christmas Day.

In total, 11 Colonels were given recognition and head coach Tim Rebowe shared Louisiana Coach of the Year honors with Larose native and LSU coach Ed Orgeron — each splitting 11 votes among the writers.

It is the second-straight season that Rebowe is Louisiana’s Coach of the Year. Last year, he won the award outright.

OFFENSE SCORES HIGH BILLING FROM LSWA

The Colonels had three of their four First-Team All LSWA selections come on the offensive side of the ball.

Quarterback Chase Fourcade earned his place on the list after his third-straight season as the Colonels’ starting quarterback and his second-straight season leading the team to the playoffs.

In 2017, Fourcade completed 162-of-298 passes for 14 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He rushed 83 times for 279 yards and a score — while battling nagging injuries throughout the year.

This fall, Fourcade was more efficient and also more productive to earn his place as Louisiana’s best quarterback.

This year, he completed 214-of-352 passes for 21 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. On the ground, he was also a more effective weapon, rushing for 659 yards and 13 scores.

As a team, Nicholls rushed for 246 yard per game and four backs had 500 yards or more rushing.

To reward that dominance, the LSWA also placed two Nicholls offensive linemen on the All-Louisiana First-Team, selecting Chandler Arceneaux and Ryan Hanley for the honor — two key cogs on an offensive line group that dominated opponents all season.

Nicholls’ offense didn’t have a Second-Team honoree, but kicker Lorran Fonseca earned those honors after booting home 19 field goals in 23 tries for 92 points this season.

Nicholls also had two players on the Honorable Mention All-Louisiana team. Offensive lineman Eddie Houston earned recognition, as did halfback Dontrell Taylor.

Houston was a consistent starter for the Colonels up front all season, while Taylor was one of the team’s top halfbacks. He rushed 137 times for 990 yards and 9 scores this past season.

Of Nicholls’ six offensive players to earn All-LSWA offensive honors, four are seniors and two are juniors. All three of the linemen are seniors, as is Fonseca. Fourcade and Taylor will both be back next fall.

DEFENSE GENERATES 5 SELECTIONS

The Nicholls defense was well-represented, as well, generating five selections — a first-team spot, a second-team spots and three honorable mention selections.

The First-Team All-Louisiana bid went to defensive lineman Sully Laiche, who could have also made a bid to be the Louisiana Defensive Player of the Year — an honor which went to LSU linebacker Devin White.

Laiche was a STATS All-American, posting 8.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss in 2018 — his junior season and third-straight year as both a starter and also an All-LSWA pick for Nicholls. Laiche anchored a Nicholls defense that was No. 11 in the country among FCS schools, allowing just 105.4 rushing yards per game.

But while Laiche was a force on the interior, a couple of his partners in crime on the Nicholls’ defense were also honored for their stellar play.

Linebacker Evan Veron earned a spot on the Second-Team after a dominant junior season for the Colonels.

Veron ranked No. 3 on Nicholls’ team in tackles with 50, but almost all of his stops were impactful. He recorded 22 tackles for loss, which amounted in 97 yards of lost yardage for opponents. Veron also had 7 sacks, an interception, two quarterback hits, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble.