Melvin Picou Jr.
October 21, 2015We face real challenges to representative democracy
October 21, 2015
The drought is over.
The Nicholls State University football team has won a game – its first in the Tim Rebowe Era.
The Colonels were sharp on Saturday afternoon at John L. Guidry Stadium, using crisp offense and timely defense to push past Houston Baptist 38-17.
The win was the program’s first under Rebowe, who is midway through his first season as the team’s head coach. But it was also the school’s first win in more than two calendar years – a 23-game losing streak that stretched across 735 days, 17,640 hours and more than a million minutes of time.
But it’s over now, and the Colonels are excited about what’s to come.
Even before the win, Rebowe said the Colonels were on the brink of success.
After it, the coach was soaked in Powerade – the best bath that any coach could ever receive on a Saturday afternoon in the fall.
The first, but not the last, Rebowe and Nicholls supporters believe.
“We’ve been coming along,” the coach said on his weekly radio show last week. “We’re making progress. Our guys are working hard and continuing to play hard and stay committed, and we’re pleased with the effort.”
On this past Saturday, that effort was top-notch.
The Colonels jumped out to a 21-0 lead and never trailed against Houston Baptist, using all three phases of the game to dominate the action.
Nicholls’ offense accumulated 25 first downs, while accumulating 425 yards on an astounding 85 snaps.
The Colonels controlled time of possession by a two-to-one margin, and accumulated 10-of-18 third down tries.
The Nicholls running game was dominant with halfback Michael Henry leading the way with 92 yards and two touchdowns.
But quarterback Tuskani Figaro (two touchdowns, 91 yards) and slotman Tobias Lofton (one touchdown, 69 yards) were also key.
In the passing game, Figaro wasn’t perfect, but he was solid. The quarterback completed 18-of-25 passes for 134 yards. Perhaps most important was that Figaro didn’t turn over the ball.
No one for Nicholls did. It was their cleanest performance of the season.
“We want to be balanced offensively,” Rebowe said earlier in the season. “If we can be balanced and limit our mistakes, we think that we can run the football downhill, control the line of scrimmage and make good things happen for our offense.”
It helps when you have a defense that’s getting stops and giving the offense back the football.
The Colonels were stout defensively on Saturday afternoon – the team’s best performance in the Rebowe Era.
Nicholls limited Houston Baptist to just 221 total yards. The Colonels also forced two fumbles, recovered
one and intercepted two passes.
Up front, Nicholls won the battle. Houston Baptist rushed for just 30 yards on 20 tries.
“I love the way our defense hustles and flies to the football,” Rebowe said.
In special teams, the Colonels weren’t bad, either. The team downed two punts inside of the 20-yard-line, and made its lone field goal attempt.
Add it all up, and you have a total team victory.
The Colonels led by as much as 38-10 at one point in that fourth quarter. Houston Baptist got a touchdown in garbage time to bring the game to its final margin.
That didn’t matter to Rebowe, nor the 5,000 in attendance at John L. Guidry who were just happy to see a Colonels win – the first for the program in a long, long time.
‘We’re making progress. Our guys are working hard and are continuing to play hard and stay committed.’
Tim Rebowe
Nicholls State University head football coach on his team’s progression
Nicholls State University coach Tim Rebowe jumps in the air with excitement after receiving a Powerade shower on Saturday afternoon at John L. Guidry Stadium. The early bath was a celebration – the official ending to the Colonels two’ year losing streak. Nicholls defeated Houston Baptist, the team’s first win in 23 tries. Rebowe has said several times in the season that the Colonels are getting better and are making strides in their rebuilding effort.
