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Head Coach Charlie Stubbs Quotes
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THIBODAUX – The Nicholls State University team fumbled its first offensive play, resulting in a touchdown for Central Arkansas, and the Colonels never recovered in their 31-7 loss to the Bears in John L. Guidry Stadium on Saturday night.

The Colonels (2-5, 1-2 Southland) were led by sophomore running back Jesse Turner with 178 total yards of offense – 94 rushing and 84 receiving – to go along with one touchdown. The Bears (4-3, 1-2 Southland) were led by the conference's leading receiver offensively Kenneth Robey with eight receptions for 124 yards and a score.

Leading the way defensively for the Colonels was sophomore linebacker Jordan Piper with 11 total tackles (four solo), one for a loss and a pass break up. Central Arkansas was led by Tok Opeloye with 11 total stops (four solo) that include one for a loss.

Nicholls owned every major offensive statistical category in the game, including time of possession (39:59-to-20:01), total yards (330-to-230), and first downs (21-to-11); however, it was turnovers that did the Colonels in, committing three that resulted in 21 points for the Bears.

“It was such a momentum swing from the get-go. I was looking to see if we could take that next step as a team coming off of a big win. We didn't take that step today,” said head football coach Charlie Stubbs. “I thought that our defense and special teams gave us lifts, but on offense we did not capitalize and failed to come away with points after long drives.”

Central Arkansas' defense scored two touchdowns directly off of Colonel turnovers in the loss. The first was a 10-yard fumble return to pay dirt by Seth Allison on the first play of the game, and the other was a 98-yard interception return by Jestin Love for a touchdown.

The other Colonel fumble did turn into points for the Bears, and all it took was two plays for Central Arkansas to put points on the board, extending their lead 31-0 with 5:23 left in the third quarter.

Despite its struggles, Nicholls' defense held Central Arkansas scoreless after the first-play miscue until the closing seconds on the first half. The Bears scored on a Nathan Dick pass to Kenneth Robey with 30 ticks on the clock in the second quarter to take a 14-0 lead into the locker room at the midway point.

The Colonel offense cracked the scoreboard in the first few seconds of the fourth quarter on a 6-yard touchdown run by Turner with 14:55 left in the game. The score came after an interception by junior cornerback Bobby Felder, and all it took was three plays for the Colonels to go 73 yards for a touchdown.

Nicholls tried to rally around true freshman quarterback Landry Klann late in the second half, but could not manufacture points. Klann finished the game 12-of-17 passing with 168 yards and a long of 59 in the second half, but it was not enough to overcome a 31-point deficit.

Nicholls will be back in action next weekend when they travel to McNeese State, while Central Arkansas will host Southeastern La.

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