HUNTSVILLE, Texas –  Turnovers and special teams gaffes by the Nicholls State University football team led to 30 points for the No. 9 Sam Houston State Bearkats as the Colonels fell, 37-7, Saturday night in a torrential downpour at Bowers Stadium.
 
Battling the weather conditions, Nicholls (1-6, 1-4 SLC) and Sam Houston combined for just 98 yards passing and 13 completions out of 37 attempts. The Colonels rushed for 143 yards, getting 88 yards from Tuskani Figaro, 51 from Michael Henry and 40 from Tobias Lofton. The Bearkats had 310 yards on the ground, led by Jalen Overstreet who had 200 yards and a score on 28 carries.
 
With the heavy rain playing a huge factor in the game, field position and turnovers turned out to be the difference in the outcome. Sam Houston (5-2, 5-1 SLC) fumbled three times but recovered all three, while Nicholls lost the ball twice. In the field position battle, four of the Bearkats' five touchdown drives started inside the Nicholls 30-yard line.
 
The troubles started right out of the gate for the Colonels as a high snap on a punt attempt sent the ball into the end zone for a safety, giving the Bearkats a 2-0 lead after a minute of play. Sam Houston then pieced together a 7-play, 64-yard touchdown drive. Deon Hutchinson caught a 13-yard pass from Jared Johnson, and the extra point made it 9-0 at the 11:49 mark.
 
While the Colonel offense was held without a first down in the opening quarter, the defense forced two punts to keep the score close. However, mistakes by the offense and special teams led to a pair of short touchdowns by the Bearkats.
 
On a screen pass, Torian Williams came up with an interception at the Colonel 20 for the Bearkats, resulting in an acrobatic 3-yard touchdown catch by Hayden Cagle. On the ensuring possession, Nicholls had an 18-yard punt go out-of-bounds at its 29. The Bearkats needed just four plays to score as Corey Avery ran in from 12 yards for a 23-0 lead.
 
Early in the second, the Colonels picked up their first and second first downs of the game on a 10-yard rush by Lofton and a 7-yard catch by Stephen LeBouef, but the drive ended on the Bearkat 34 as Figaro threw an incomplete pass on a fourth-and-7.
 
Right before the break, punter Tyler St. Germain kneeled to field the ball on a punt attempt, and after review, it was determined that his knee touched the ground, resulting in a turnover-on-downs that gave the Bearkats the ball at the Colonel 22.  Two plays later, Overstreet found the end zone on a 12-yard rush to give Sam Houston a 30-0 lead at the break.
 
Early in the third quarter, Figaro had the ball stripped on a sack by P.J. Hall, who recovered it at the Colonel 15. The turnover led to an 11-yard touchdown run by Ridgeway Frank, making the score 37-0 with 12 minutes remaining in the period.
 
The Colonels' lone touchdown of the night came on an 80-yard run by Figaro at the 3:37 mark in the third. On the second play of the drive, Figaro found a seam through the defense and outran the Bearkats down the left sideline for his fourth rushing TD of the season. It marked Figaro's second longest touchdown run for his career, trailing only his 88-yard rush against Arkansas Tech in 2013.
 
For the rest of the game, the teams combined to pass the ball only five times as neither team added points to the scoreboard.
 
With the offenses bogged down due to the rain, the teams combined for 20 punts on the night, with St. Germain kicking 10 times for a 41.6 average. Freshman Ahmani Martin led the Nicholls defense with 10 tackles, while Hezekiah White had nine, including three for loss. Darius Knight and Geoffrey Hebert added seven tackles each, and Knight was credited with a forced fumble.
 
Nicholls will return to Thibodaux for its next contest, hosting rival Northwestern State on Family Day on Saturday, Oct. 31. Kickoff at John L. Guidry Stadium is scheduled for 3 p.m. Tickets for the game are available at geauxcolonels.com or by calling the ticket office at 985-448-4790.