NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Nicholls State University football team held the lead over Stephen F. Austin for all but 50 seconds, including a 21-7 advantage at half time, but the Lumberjacks rallied and scored the game-winning touchdown with 26 seconds left to defeat the Colonels, 28-24, Saturday evening at Homer Bryce Stadium.
With the win, SFA (1-5, 1-3 SLC) earned its first win of the season as well as its eighth consecutive victory over the Colonels. Nicholls remained winless on the season, falling to 0-5 overall and 0-3 in the Southland.
The Colonels racked up a season-high 356 yards on offense, with 239 coming before the break. SFA, which had 458 yards on offense, held Nicholls to a lone field goal in the second half as they found the end zone three times.
Leading 24-21 in the fourth quarter, Nicholls was forced to punt, giving SFA the ball on their 16 with 6:26 to go. Lumberjack quarter Zach Conque orchestrated the offense to four first downs, including a 16-yard rush to get the home team into the red zone with less than two minutes remaining.
On third down, Conque was forced out of bounds at the 5 by
Darryl Adams, making it fourth-and-1. The 'Jacks elected to put the ball into his hands again and he barreled through the defense for a 4-yd gain. On the next play, Conque rushed it in for a 1-yard touchdown with only 26 seconds remaining in the game. An extra point made the score 28-24.
On the ensuing kickoff,
Joel Dullary was hit and fumbled, and the ball was recovered by SFA to seal the win.
Tuskani Figaro led the Colonel offense, completing 9 of 13 passes for 148 yards and a touchdown. Figaro also rushed for 52 yards and a score, but left the game in the third quarter with an injury.
Nicholls needed only two plays and 24 seconds to take a 7-0 lead. Starting on the 25, Figaro found
Damion Jeanpiere open for a 45-yard reception. On the next play, Figaro ran to the left and up the sideline on a keeper for a 30-yard touchdown.
SFA answered by driving down to the Colonels' 23, but on fourth-and-long,
Ahmani Martin batted away a pass in the end zone to keep SFA off the board. Jeanpiere then struck again for the Colonel offense, hauling in a 42-yard pass on the second play of the possession.
Facing a third-and-2 at the SFA 3,
Michael Henry rumbled through defenders for a 3-yard touchdown.
Francisco Condado added the extra point for a 14-0 lead. Henry finished the game with 59 yards rushing on 15 carries.
SFA put together another drive that went deep into Colonel territory; however, Nicholls came up with a big play to keep the score at 14-0. As SFA's Whitaker headed towards the goal line on a rush, he was hit by three Colonels and the ball popped loose, trickling into the end zone. Nicholls'
Tyler Johnson pounced on the football, resulting in a touchback for the Colonels.
Late in the first quarter, a 17-yard punt gave SFA the ball at midfield. Four plays later, the 'Jacks cut the lead in half as Conque hit Justice Liggins for a 22-yard touchdown with 44 seconds to go.
In the second, Nicholls pieced together a 12-play, 85-yard drive to take a 21-7 lead. Darryl Watson hauled in three receptions on the drive, capping it with an 8-yard touchdown at the 10:04 mark. Watson finished the game with four catches for 80 yards.
Déjà vu stuck for the Lumberjacks on their next possession as they lost the ball again on a fumble in the end zone. This time, Loren Easly was hit by B.T Sanders before crossing the goal line and lost the ball.
Jeff Hall picked it up in the end zone for the Colonels and returned it 53 yards.
The teams then traded fumbles, setting up a long field goal try for Condado before the break. From 48 yards out, Condado had enough leg on the ball, however, it sailed right to keep the score at 21-7.
To start the third, the fumbling issues continued for both teams as the Lumberjacks lost the ball on the kickoff return and Nicholls took over at the SFA 20. Figaro looked to be on his way to scoring a touchdown, but lost the ball as he approached the end zone. SFA recovered it and it led to a 96-yard scoring drive. Easly punched the ball in from a yard out, cutting the deficit to 21-14 with 8:16 left in the third. Easly had a big game for the 'Jacks, rushing for 148 yards on 31 carries.
After SFA missed a field goal to start the fourth,
Landry Klann hit Watson for a 42-yard pass to put Nicholls across midfield. Condado extended the lead to 24-14 on a 32-yard field goal with 10:50 remaining in the game.
SFA quickly answered, needing just 1:29 to go 66 yards. After a pair of long rushes by Easly, Conque ran the ball in from 18 yards out, resulting in a 24-21 Colonel lead. Conque passed for 163 yards on the day and rushed for 134.
Nicholls was able to string together a pair of first downs, taking 2:48 off the clock before a 37-yard punt by
Tyler St. Germain was fair caught, setting the stage for SFA's game-winning drive.
Along with the four turnovers, Nicholls' defense was able to produce three sacks on the day.
Hezekiah White and
Geoffrey Hebert led the way with 10 tackles each. White had 1.5 sacks while Hebert was credited with 0.5.
Devin Simoneaux also chipped in with a sack.
Nicholls will return home for its next game, taking on Houston Baptist on Oct. 17 at 3 p.m. For tickets, log on to geauxcolonels.com or call the ticket office at 985-448-4790.
