NATCHITOCHES, La. – Coming off a bye week, the Nicholls State University football team looked rejuvenated at Northwestern State by scoring a touchdown on their opening drive, but the Demons reeled off five straight touchdowns as the Colonels fell 48-21 Saturday night at Turpin Stadium.
 
Nicholls (0-11, 0-7 SLC) remains winless on the season, dropping its 17th consecutive game overall and 13th straight in Southland play. The Colonels' last win was in 2013 against Northwestern State (6-5, 4-3 SLC), which improved its all-time record against Nicholls to 27-15.
 
Michael Henry rushed for a career-high 146 yards on 29 carries for the Colonels and scored the game's first touchdown as he capped the opening drive with a 19-yard TD run. It marked the third time this season Henry, who headed into the game ranked second in the Southland in rushing, has eclipsed the 100-yard mark in conference play. He enters the final week with 887 yards rushing on the year.
 
Beaux Hebert completed 14-of-23 passes for 113 yards and one score, and Kalen Henderson also threw a late 3-yard touchdown pass to tight end Nick Scelfo. Senior Demon Bolt led the team with 33 yards receiving on five catches and his 2-yard touchdown catch in the third ended NSU's run of five consecutive touchdowns.
 
The Colonel defense had no answer for Demon quarterback Zach Adkins, who threw for five touchdowns and 180 yards on 17-of-20 passes and ran for another. Adkins and the NSU offense tallied 479 yards, with the majority coming on the ground as they finished with 300 yards rushing. The Demons averaged 6.2 yards per carry, led by Daniel Taylor with 80 yards on 11 carries.
 
Things looked promising for Nicholls after its first drive, which saw the Colonels take a 7-0 lead after one of their most efficient drives of the season. Hebert completed three passes for over 10 yards each and Henry finished the drive, diving into the end zone on his 19-yard score.
 
Northwestern State answeed with Adkin's first TD pass of the day, and after a Colonel punt, Garrett Atzenweiler punched in a 1-yard touchdown for a 14-7 NSU lead. In the final two minutes of the quarter, the Colonels missed on tying the game as Hebert's pass to a wide-open Stephen LeBouef flew an inch too far from LeBouef's outstretched fingers.
 
NSU pushed its lead to 21-7 after its next drive in the second quarter, and the Colonels missed on another opportunity to cut into the deficit. A poor punt by the Demons gave Nicholls great field position, and a 16-yard completion to Darryl Watson set up a field goal. From 34-yards out, Francisco Condado booted the ball off the upright, keeping the score at 21-7.
 
With 28 seconds remaining, Adkins hooked up with Cody Jones for a 24-yard touchdown, giving NSU a commanding 28-7 at the half.
 
In the third quarter, Jones caught another TD pass for the Demons, this one for 10 yards. The Colonels made the score 35-14 when Hebert found Bolt for a 2-yard touchdown, but NSU took advantage of a 57-yard kick return to add another Adkins touchdown pass for a 42-14 lead.
 
Both teams would score a touchdown in the fourth to make the final score.
 
The Colonel defense was led by Kameryon Brown with eight tackles while Lazarus Ona forced a fumble and Cole Frazier picked up the team's second sack of the year.
 
 
Nicholls will honor its 2014 senior class Thursday, Nov. 20, in its final game of the season as the Colonels host top-ranked Southeastern Louisiana. The game will air on WHNO with kickoff at John L. Guidry Stadium scheduled for 6 p.m.