Sept. 20, 2008

Final Stats

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Nicholls and Memphis were knotted with 10 each at halftime, but the Tigers outscored the Colonels 21-0 in the second half to get their first win of the season in front of 22,167 in Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.

Nicholls' only touchdown came in the second quarter when sophomore Kyle Hughes blocked a Memphis field goal that senior Lardarius Webb returned 70-yards for the score.

"I'm extremely proud of our guys. They came out pumped up for the game and kept that tone the whole game. We didn't give up at the end and a lot of it wasn't pretty, but it is a starting point," said Head Coach Jay Thomas.

The Tigers put forth 449-yards of total offense to the Colonels' 164, and had three costly fumbles. Nicholls was also out gained in the second half 232 yards to 29, and finished the game 0-for-7 on third downs.

Leading the Colonels statistically on offense was senior Jerald Watson with 37 total yards rushing on four attempts. Watson was one of 10 ball carriers for the Colonels in the game. As expected, both seniors Vincent Montgomery and Chris Bunch got reps in at quarterback with Montgomery getting the starting nod.

On defense, Nicholls was led by senor Andrew Eddie with 11 total tackles (nine solo) and junior Garrick Spain, who was the only other Colonel tackler to notch double digit stops with 10 (six solo).

"There were a couple of drives where we really shot ourselves in the foot. We had a big run at that was called back for a clipping penalty, and turned over the ball right before half. We did have signs of being able to do some things, and it was easy to see that we were rusty in some areas," said Thomas.

Memphis (1-3, 0-2 C-USA) put points on the scoreboard first with a 24-yard field goal by Matt Reagan at the 4:38 mark of the first quarter. The field goal capped off a 15 play 92-yard drive that used 6:23 of official game time as Memphis took the 3-0 lead. The Tigers started the drive on their own 1-yard line via a perfectly executed 42-yard punt by sophomore Patrick Dolan. Dolan finished the game with five punts for an average of 48.6 while also having a long of 57 with three downed inside the 20.

Nicholls (0-1, 0-0 SLC) was forced to punt on its ensuing drive, giving the ball back to Memphis and forcing yet another Reagan field goal attempt. However, the Colonels stormed the line and Hughes broke through to block the attempt, and Webb returned it 70-yards for the touchdown. Junior Ross Schexnayder was successful on his point after attempt, and Nicholls took the 7-3 lead at the 12:02 mark of the second quarter.

The Tigers responded on their next offensive series, and marched down the field 72-yards on nine plays for a touchdown. Charlie Jones did the honor from 11-yards out at the 8:47 mark of the second quarter, and Reagan's PAT was good for the Tigers to take a 10-7 lead.

The seesaw battle continued as Nicholls responded with a lengthy 14 play 75-yard drive that used 7:30 of game time. Schexnayder capped off the drive with a 19-yard field goal to tie the game at 10 with 1:09 left in the half. Both teams failed to score for the remainder of the half, and the score remained 10-10 at halftime.

Memphis opened the second half with touchdown drive as the Tigers went 60-yards on 13 plays as Arkelon Hall connected with Duke Cameron for the 10-yard score. Reagan converted his PAT, and the Tigers went on top 17-10 at the 8:49 mark of the third quarter.

Hall led the offensive charge for another Memphis score in the fourth quarter, and punched it in himself from 2-yards out at the 8:16 mark. The touchdown signified a 10 play 59-yard drive, and with Reagan's PAT made the score 24-10. Hall finished 202 yards of total offense (173 passing) to go along with a rushing touchdown and a passing touchdown.

The scoring continued for Memphis as they added another touchdown via a 2-yard Jones run at the 4:48 mark. Jones finished with 57 yards rushing on 11 carries and two scores as the Tigers increased their lead to 31-10. Both teams would not reach pay dirt for the remainder of the game.

Nicholls has an open date scheduled for this Saturday, and will suit up against No.8 Northern Iowa on Thursday Oct. 2 at 7 p.m. The contest will be broadcasted by ESPNU.

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