Nov. 1, 2008

Final Stats

THIBODAUX, La. - As time expired, junior Ross Schexnayder connected on a 38-yard field goal to propel Nicholls to the 20-17 victory over No.11 Central Arkansas, giving them back-to-back wins over the No.11 ranked team in the Sports Network Poll.

The Colonels (2-4, 2-2 SLC) fought off a furious fourth quarter rally by the Bears (7-2, 3-1 SLC) that saw Central Arkansas score two touchdowns, but the final three points by Schexnayder gave the Colonel faithful, all 6,197 of them, something to be proud of on homecoming.

"Last week we preached `practice hard, play hard' to our guys, and we have had two excellent weeks in practice and it showed today," said Head Coach Jay Thomas.

"My hat really goes off to Central Arkansas. Coach Clint Conque has a great team, and this win puts us right back in the think of things in conference. I'm just so proud of our team and coaching staff. We felt like we were backed into a corner, and we are just trying to fight our way out of it."

The game winning drive that Schexnayder connected on the 38-yard field goal went a total of four plays for 55 yards, but no play was bigger then the first when senior quarterback Chris Bunch found junior wide receiver Antonio Robinson down the sideline in man-to-man coverage for 38 yards to put the Colonels on the Central Arkansas 38 yard line.

Two plays later, Nicholls was aided by a defensive holding call that wiped out a UCA interception, thus placing the Colonels on the Central Arkansas 28-yard line. After a 7-yard run by sophomore fullback Corey Buchanan, Shexnayder made due on his field goal try to improve to 10-for-11 on the season.

"After I kicked it, I felt like I had the distance, but I didn't see it go through because I was getting rushed by my teammates. When my teammates surrounded me, I knew it went through," said Schexnayder.

"We were not playing for overtime, and Ross [Schexnayder] knew that. He put everything in that kick. We are all so proud of him," said Thomas.

Schexnayder, a local product out of H.L. Bourgeois, is coming off of kicking a game-winning 37-yard field goal against McNeese State last week.

"The defensive effort was there today. We had to throw a lot of different looks at their quarterback (Nathan Brown). As you seen in the fourth quarter, he picked us apart in our zone coverage. He will have an opportunity to play on Sunday's," said Thomas.

The Colonel defense limited Central Arkansas' high powered offense to 312 yards total, and held the Bears to a season low 72 yards and three first downs at halftime. Brown was sacked two times and hurried another eight in the game, but still finished 23-of-42 passing for 224 yards and two touchdowns. Both scores and 142 of his 242 yards through the air came in the final quarter.

Leading the defense in tackles was senior safeties Andrew Eddie and Lardarius Webb with seven take downs each as the duo accounted for a total of three pass breakups. Also checking in with seven tackles was sophomore linebacker Yahsua Willis, while senior defensive ends Chris Noble and Kentraio Hardy each had three quarterback hurries. Noble also accounted for a sack.

On offense, Nicholls got a strong performance from Buchanan who finished with a game and career high 83 yards on eight carries. Buchanan took the game's opening play 70-yards into Central Arkansas territory, which set up Nicholls junior fullback Marlin Meeks for the 1-yard touchdown plunge.

After a defensive stand, Bunch ran 22 yards to extend the Colonel first quarter lead. Schexnayder made due on the extra point to give Nicholls the 14-0 advantage in the first quarter. The second quarter was a stalemate until Schexnayder closed out the half with a career long 45-yard field goal to give Nicholls the 17-0 advantage at the midway point.

Nicholls racked up 397 yards of total offense, with 302 of it coming in the first half. Of the 397 yards of total offense, 274 of it came on the ground, while Bunch and senior quarterback Vincent Montgomery combined for 123 yards passing.

The Colonels will be back in John L. Guidry Stadium next week when they host Sam Houston State on Saturday Nov. 8 at 1 p.m.

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