THIBODAUX, La. – For the second time in three weeks, the Nicholls State University football team needed overtime to determine a winner, but this time, clutch plays by freshmen
Chase Fourcade and
Sully Laiche lifted the Colonels to a 35-28 double-overtime victory over Stephen F. Austin on Saturday at John L. Guidry Stadium.
The teams traded touchdowns in the first extra period before Fourcade, who threw for 195 yards and two scores, fought his way up the middle on a 3rd-and-1 attempt at the goal line for his second rushing touchdown of the night, leading to a 35-28 advantage. On the ensuing possession, Laiche completed his monster game for the Colonel defense by hitting SFA running back Kijana Amous at the 12 to jar the ball loose and it was recovered by the linebacker
Allen Pittman to seal the victory.
A native of Gramercy, Laiche continued his dominant play by racking up a career-high 14 tackles. He added his fifth sack of the year and totaled 2.5 tackles for loss. Pittman, a redshirt freshman, finished with 10 tackles.
With the win, Nicholls improved to 2-3 on the season, 2-1 in Southland play and 1-1 in overtime games after its heartbreaking one-point loss to FBS South Alabama on Sept. 24. The win also upped Nicholls' home record to 2-0, and the next home date will be on Oct. 22 against first-place Sam Houston State. SFA dropped to 3-3 overall and 2-2 in the conference, and saw its eight-game winning streak in the series snapped.
Things started slowly for the Colonels as they fell behind 14-0 in a matter of three minutes. But Nicholls rallied before halftime, scoring its first touchdown of the second quarter on a 1-yard rush by
C.J. Okpalobi. The senior had an outstanding day for the offense, totaling 137 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns.
The second touchdown of the stanza was set up by cornerback
Christian Boutte. On 3rd-and-long, Boutte stepped in front of a pass by Hunter Taylor and returned it 24 yards to the SFA 18. Three plays later, Fourcade sprinted into the end zone from 14-yards out for a touchdown to tie the game at 14-all.
After the break, Fourcade and Okpalobi connected for a 36-yard touchdown to put Nicholls ahead for the first time. Fourcade dumped the ball off on the right side and Okpalobi shook a few defenders en route to his first career TD reception.
The Lumberjacks answered quickly with a bomb from Zach Conque to Tamrick Pace, going for 49 yards at the 3:34 mark to even the game at 21-all. Conque had a solid day for SFA, throwing for 201 yards and two touchdowns in the loss.
The defenses stole the show in the fourth as the teams combined for seven punts in a scoreless 15 minutes, sending the game in OT.
In the first overtime, Conque rushed three times inside the 4 and scored on 4th-and-goal from the 1. On the first play of the Colonels' possession, Fourcade hit high school teammate
Damion Jeanpiere in the middle of the field for a 25-yard touchdown. Jeanpiere had four catches for 78 yards on the day.
The Colonels needed nine plays to find the end zone in the second OT, with six coming on rushes by Fourcade. The Rummel graduate picked up a 4th-and-1 to the 5 before scoring three plays later. On the final drive of the game, SFA converted a 4th-down attempt before Laiche ended it with his first forced fumble of the year.
The defense held SFA to 360 total yards and 6-of-19 on third downs. The 'Jacks ran for 125 yards and two scores, but averaged just 2.5 yards per carry. Including Laiche, the defensive line caused problems all day as
Kenny Dotson tallied eight tackles and
Ronald Ollie had five stops and a sack.
Okpalobi led the Colonels' ground game with 70 yards on 25 carries, while Fourcade totaled 59 yards on 18 rushes. Freshman
Kyran Irvin rushed seven times for 21 yards while Okpalobi had five receptions for 67 yards.
Nicholls will hit the road for its next contest, taking on Houston Baptist on Saturday, Oct. 15. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will air online on FOX Sports Go.
