SAN ANTONIO, Texas – A valiant effort by the defense and a halftime lead were not enough to pick up the first win of the season for the Nicholls State University football team as the Colonels fell, 20-10, to Incarnate Word on Saturday afternoon at Benson Stadium.
 
With the loss, Nicholls dropped to 0-2 on the season and 0-1 in Southland play. The Colonels have now lost 20 consecutive games, including 15 straight in conference. UIW improved to 2-1 on the season and 1-1 in league play.
 
For only the second time in the past 15 games, Nicholls held a lead at the half as the team went into the locker room ahead, 10-7. But the Colonel offense could only muster two first downs after the break and UIW scored 13 unanswered points to improve to 2-0 all-time against Nicholls.
 
Both defenses held the opposition to under 300 yards of total offense and combined for six interceptions, with UIW picking off the Colonels four times. Of the six turnovers, none had a bigger impact on the outcome of the game as Darius Knight's would-be interception return late in the fourth quarter.
 
Following a pair of field goals to gain the lead for UIW, 13-10, the Cardinals came up with an interception which gave them the ball at their own 42. After chewing five minutes off the clock, UIW moved deep into Colonel territory with six minutes remaining in the game. On third-and-goal, Knight picked off a pass and returned it 93 yards for a potential game-winning touchdown; however, the Colonels were flagged for an illegal block, moving the ball back to their own 16.
 
A UIW sack on quarterback Landry Klann, who played most of the second half, forced a three-and-out and gave the Cardinals the ball back with 4:31 to go. A 37-yard run by Broderick Reeves started UIW's drive and after Nicholls called all three of its timeouts, Trent Brittain ran a naked bootleg for a 4-yard touchdown on third-and-goal with just 1:18 remaining in the game.
 
The Cardinals intercepted Klann's first pass on the final drive before kneeling the rest of the way.
 
Tuskani Figaro started under center for Nicholls, completing 13 of 18 passes for 113 yards and a touchdown. Klann finished the day 3 of 5 for 23 yards. Both Colonel quarterbacks threw a pair of interceptions.
 
Figaro orchestrated a great drive on the Colonels' opening possession to give Nicholls an early lead. Head coach Tim Rebowe elected to kick after winning the toss, and after the defense forced a three-and-out, the Colonels marched 96 yards on nine plays. On the third play, Tobias Lofton picked up a huge chunk of real estate, racing 34 yards down the field. Figaro connected with C.J. Bates for a 19-yard gain and on third-and-2 from the 5, the duo hooked up again for the Colonels' first touchdown of the season. Francisco Condado added the extra point for the 7-0 lead.
 
UIW responded with its own lengthy drive which extended into the second quarter, going 84 yards on nine plays to even the score at 7-7. On third-and-short inside the Colonel 15, Brittain found Cole Wick open for a 12-yard touchdown.
 
Later in the quarter, UIW shanked a punt to give Nicholls great field position, starting at UIW's 29. Condado would take advantage as he booted a 42-yard field goal to put Nicholls back on top, 10-7, at the 9:16 mark.
 
Following another UIW punt, Nicholls moved the ball to midfield before Figaro tossed a deep pass that was picked off. The Cardinals ran the ball twice to run out the clock in the first half.
 
The Colonels had 10 first downs and 205 yards on offense in the opening half. Bates led the way, recording all four of his receptions in the first half for 55 yards.
 
To start the third, Nicholls caught another bad break as Charles Henderson returned the kickoff past midfield, but once again a penalty negated the play. The teams would trade punts before a short one by Nicholls set up great field position for UIW. Starting at the Nicholls 33, the Cardinals gained just one yard before Ramon Cato drilled a 49-yard field goal to tie the score at 10.
 
On the Colonels' next drive, Figaro was intercepted by Troy Lara, resulting in Klann taking over the offense. But Nicholls got the ball back immediately as Ahmani White picked off a deep pass in the end zone on the next play. 
 
The rest of the quarter was a battle for field position, and UIW finally got the upper hand after Jordan Hicks returned a punt 17 yards to start the Cardinal drive at the Nicholls 35. The short field set up the game-winning field goal as UIW went up 13-10 on a 25-yarder by Cody Seidel.
 
The Colonel defense, which tallied six three-and-outs and four tackles for loss on the day, was led by Seth Keller with 11 tackles. Hezekiah White added nine tackles and Knight tallied eight.
 
For the offense, Lofton rushed 12 times for 64 yards, while Michael Henry had 12 carries for 40 yards. Jarrell Rogers led the team with five catches for 37 yards.
 
Punter Tyler St. Germain had eight kicks, averaging 40.5 yards per punt. He also had two punts downed inside the 10.
 
UIW was led by Junior Sessions with 69 yards rushing on 15 carries. Brittain finished the day with 133 yards passing on 15 of 29.
 
Nicholls will wrap up its non-conference schedule next weekend at Colorado on Sept. 26. Kickoff against the Buffaloes is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. central.