THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University football team was held scoreless through two-and-a-half quarters in their home opener against Henderson State before rallying back from an 18-0 deficit to make it a one possession game, but two costly turnovers ended the threat as the Colonels fell, 27-10, on Saturday night at John L. Guidry Stadium.
The loss was the Colonels' ninth consecutive setback dating back to last season and it also snapped their five-game winning streak in home openers. Nicholls (0-3) wraps up non-conference play next weekend at North Texas.
The Colonel defense did an acceptable job of controlling Henderson State All-American quarterback Kevin Rodgers, limiting him to 169 yards passing and one touchdown, but the rushing woes continued for the defensive unit as the Reddies rushed for 212 yards. Henderson State rushed for 4.9 yards per carry and had three players rush for over 50 yards, led by Jaquan Cole with 76 yards.
Despite playing against their first non-FBS opponent, the Colonels struggled on offense once again, being held to 252 total yards. Nicholls only rushed for 88 yards, marking the third consecutive game that the team was held under 100 yards.
Kalen Henderson completed 20 of 36 passes for 147 yards and added 58 yards rushing, but the senior gave up the ball twice after Nicholls made the score 18-10 early in the fourth quarter.
Tobias Lofton rushed for 32 yards and scored the Colonels' first points of the game, running in from five yards out at the 5:37 mark in the third.
On Henderson State's first play of their next drive,
B.T. Sanders stepped in front of a Rodgers pass for his first career interception, giving the Colonels the ball back at their own 27. Henderson led Nicholls down the field for a 34-yard field goal by
Francisco Condado, just 40 seconds into the fourth.
Nicholls forced a punt on the next possession and got great field position after a 7-yard punt; however, HSU's Henry Davis forced a fumble on a Henderson run at midfield, and the Reddies pounced on it to gain possession. Henderson State then scored a touchdown on a 2-yard run by Cole to cap a 5-play, 50-yard drive with nine minutes to go.
On the Colonels' next possession, Henderson was sacked and lost the ball, leading to a 32-yard field goal by Houston Ray which gave the Reddies a comfortable 27-10 lead with less than five minutes to go. The Colonels were forced to punt and HSU went on to down the ball to preserve the win.
Eight different receivers caught passes for the Colonels, led by
Reggie Wilson and
Demon Bolt with five each. Wilson racked up 48 yards while Bolt finished with 35.
The defense was led by
Ronnie Walker with 14 tackles and
Davin Bovie tallied 13 stops.
Josh Dewey led the team with two tackles for loss.
For Henderson State, Mark Czaus had seven catches for 49 yards, scoring the game's first TD on a 16-yard reception in the first quarter. Verrick Ponder scored HSU's other touchdown, barreling in from a yard out in the second quarter. The Reddies went into the break with a 15-0 lead.
Nicholls will play its next three games on the road, starting on Sept. 20 at North Texas. Kickoff against the Mean Green is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. The game will be televised on the American Sports Network.
