Oct. 17, 2009

Final Stats

THIBODAUX, La. - Nicholls dug itself an early hole and could not come back from its self inflicted deficit as Texas State kept the coveted paddle that the two schools play for with its 34-28 win in John L. Guidry Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

"We are definitely improving, but still need to work a little harder to get over the hump," said Head Coach Jay Thomas. "The opportunities were there for us, but we failed to take care of the ball, and in the process, took away chances for our offense."

Both defenses started strong as the Colonels halted the Bobcats' opening drive by stopping Texas State on fourth-and-six at midfield. Unfortunately, for Nicholls, the Bobcats responded by forcing and recovering a fumble on the next play.

Texas State took advantage of good field position, advancing to the nine. The Nicholls defense rallied to keep the Bobcats out of the end zone, but Justin Garelick connected on a 26-yard field goal attempt to give Texas State a 3-0 lead with 10:53 left in the first.

After the Colonels and Bobcats traded punts on their next possessions, Nicholls broke through to take the lead. Redshirt freshman quarterback LaQuniton Caston engineered a ten-play, 61-yard, 4:39 drive culminating in touchdown reception by Brandon Johnson.

Nicholls second passing touchdown of the season put the Colonels out in front 7-3 to end the first quarter.

However, the Bobcats reclaimed the lead at the start of the second as Bradley George found DeMarcus Griggs on a ten-yard touchdown pass to make it 10-7 in favor of Texas State 34 seconds into the second period.

The Colonels second fumble of the afternoon would prove costly as the Bobcats forced the ball loose and recovered the ball three plays after the ensuing kickoff at the Nicholls'20-yard line. Once again, Texas State took advantage of good field position as Karrington Bush capped a four-play drive with a four-yard touchdown run to make it 17-7.

The Colonels third fumble of the day came on the ensuing kick as the Bobcats recovered on the 11. Texas State found the endzone two plays later to go out in front 24-7.

Nicholls rallied, however, as Marquis Russell sacked George and forced a fumble that was recovered by Zac Reddix. The Nicholls offense got to work with a four-play touchdown drive ending with a touchdown run by Caston from 11-yards out to make it 24-14 to end the half.

The Colonels got off to a quick start in the second half as A.J. Williams broke a 70-yard run before getting forced out at the Bobcats' one-yard line on the second play of the third quarter. Caston rushed it in for the second time on the afternoon to bring Nicholls to within three at 24-21 with 13:39 left in the third.

However, the Bobcats began building momentum as George put together a 13-play drive that ended in a 26-yard field goal by Gareick to give Texas State ahead 27-21.

After going three and out on their next possession, the Colonels punted the ball back to Texas State. Another time-consuming drive resulted as the Bobcats took a 34-21 lead on a 12-play touchdown drive that took 6:11 off the clock.

The Colonels threatened to get back in the game as Nicholls advanced from their own 35 to the Texas State 10 on the next drive. However, the Bobcats stalled the Colonels at the ten and Nicholls, battling high winds, missed its second field goal attempt of the afternoon to give the ball back to Texas State with 9:50 left.

Texas State responded by driving 90 yards. As the Bobcats threatened to score, Nicholls forced a fumble at their own one before recovering in the end zone for a touchback. The Colonels took over at their own 20 with just over seven minutes left.

After driving toward midfield, however, Caston was intercepted at the Texas State 48 and it appeared that would put the game on ice. But, Nicholls forced and recovered a fumble on the very next play to stay alive.

The Colonels made the most of their second chance as Williams capped off the drive with a six-yard touchdown run to bring Nicholls to within six points at 34-28 with 2:41 left.

Nicholls elected to kick deep on the ensuing kickoff, as Ross Schexnayder booted it into the end zone for the touchback. The Colonel defense, with all three timeouts, tried to hold the Bobcat running game from getting a fresh set of downs in hopes of forcing a punt and getting the ball back one last time.

But, on third and two, George found wide receiver Alvaro Garcia for a 23-yard gain. The Bobcats kept driving down to the Nicholls 20 before George kneeled three times to put the game on ice.

The Colonels will be back in action next week when they take to the road to play against No.8 Central Arkansas in Conway, Ark.

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