Nov. 19, 2009

Final Stats

HAMMOND, La. - On the heels of its third turnover-free game on offense, Nicholls closed out the 2009 campaign with a 45-30 win over in-state and conference rival Southeastern La. on Thursday night to keep the River Bell.

"I have to give hats off to Southeastern, they really have an outstanding football team. We were fortunate to create a few turnovers and get some momentum to get the win," said Head Coach Jay Thomas.

The Colonels (3-8, 2-5) were led by senior fullback Marlin Meeks on the offensive side with 115 yards on 21 carries and a touchdown, while senior linebacker Garrick Spain was the main catalyst on defense with 12 total tackles. It was the most points the Colonel offense had scored in a game all season.

The Lions (6-5, 4-3) were led by Brian Babin, who turned in 382 yards passing coupled with three touchdowns. Southeastern La.'s defense was led by Ryan Godare and Grant Laurent with 14 tackles each.

"I'm so proud of our guys. They came out here on a mission to win this game, and they did just that. They played with a lot of heart tonight," said Thomas.

Southeastern La. took the opening drive of the game down the field to convert a quick score, but failed to make the PAT to go up 6-0 early on. Nicholls responded with a scoring drive of its own, going 65 yards on seven plays as the drive was capped off by an 11-yard pass from Caston to Mike Barba. Nicholls went up 7-6 with senior kicker Ross Schexnayder's successful extra point.

The Lions responded with a touchdown of their own to retake the lead 13-7, but, after both teams traded punts, it was the Colonels who reclaimed momentum as Felder intercepted Babin and took it 63 yards to the end zone to retake the lead, 14-13. Felder finished with two interceptions to go along with five solo tackles.

With the exception of a Lion field goal, it was all Nicholls the rest of the half as the Colonels outscored Southeastern La. 17-to-3 in the second quarter to take a 31-16 lead into halftime.

Nicholls held halftime advantages in rushing yards (127-to-19) and in time of possession (16:14-to-13:46), and, most importantly, had no turnovers while forcing two that led 10 Colonel points.

The Colonels domination continued in the third quarter, owning 10:50 of the 15 minute period while capping off the period with a 26-yard touchdown run by Meeks to extend the Colonel lead to 38-16 heading into the final quarter of play.

However, the game wasn't over as the Lions clawed back in the fourth quarter by scoring on a 57-yard pass from Babin to Andre Cryer to cut the lead 38-23. Fortunately, the Colonel defense wouldn't let Southeastern any closer.

A rushing touchdown from Caston gave Nicholls some breathing room with just over three minutes left, and another Babin-to-Cryer touchdown pass for Southeastern with just over a minute left produced the final 45-30 margin.

"I can't say it enough, I'm proud of these guys. I love them all like sons, they played hard today and kept their composure," said Thomas.

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