THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University football team held Lamar to -14 yards rushing while the offense rushed for a season-high 235 yards in a convincing a 35-10 victory Thursday night at John L. Guidry Stadium.
The Colonels (5-4, 5-2 SLC) churned out 5.0 yards per carry en route to their fifth Southland Conference victory, which matches the program's most wins in the league set by the 2005 championship team. The win also sets up a huge matchup at No. 17 Central Arkansas next Saturday. The Bears enter the weekend with an unblemished 6-0 record in league play.
The defense allowed negative yardage on the ground on 27 carries, posting their lowest mark since a 10-yard effort in 2007 against Azusa Pacific. The performance was aided by three sacks for -24 yards – two from freshman
Sully Laiche one by
Ronald Ollie. The Colonels surrendered a field goal in the second quarter and kept Lamar (3-6, 3-4 SLC) out of the end zone until late in the fourth after building a 35-3 lead.
Quarterback
Chase Fourcade accounted for three touchdowns, passing for 169 yards and a score and added his sixth and seventh rushing TDs of the year.
Mason Boudreaux had the other two, scoring on 4- and 1-yarders.
Kyran Irvin eclipsed the century mark with 102 yards on six carries, while fellow freshman
Stefano Guarisco racked up 62 yards on 12 carries.
The Colonels set the tone right out of the gate, piecing together a 13-play, 6-minute drive for a 7-0 lead. The longest play of the drive was a 10-yard pass to
Josh Singleton, and Fourcade put Nicholls on the board on a keeper for a 9-yard touchdown.
In the second, Lamar's Juan Carranco made a field goal to make the score 7-3, but Nicholls answered immediately with its second touchdown of the night. A 22-yard strike to reigning Southland Offensive Player of the Week
C.J. Bates started the drive and Fourcade then went to his other primary target,
Damion Jeanpiere, for a 25-yard touchdown to make it 14-3. Jeanpiere led the Colonels with four receptions for 47 yards.
Later in the quarter, the teams traded turnovers, which led to a Boudreaux's first touchdown run. Fourcade threw a pick deep in Lamar territory, but the Colonels got the ball back on the very next play as
Hezekiah White intercepted a pass from Adam Morse at the 26 and returned it 10 yards. White was one of three Colonels last weekend to intercept a pass and gave Nicholls at least one interception in each game this season.
With the score 21-3 late in the third, Irvin busted loose for a 78-yard run before being brought down at the Lamar 2. Boudreaux capped the drive as he barreled through the defense for his third rushing touchdown of the season.
The Colonels' final scoring drive was an 8-play, 75-yarder to start the fourth.
Mason Roberts ran free for a 40-yard reception and following three straight 6-yard runs by Irvin, Fourcade scored on a bootleg to make it 35-3.
Allen Pittman continued his outstanding play for the defense, finishing with a team-high 10 tackles. Pittman, who broke up a pass on a fourth-down attempt in the third, has had double figures in tackles in four of the last five games.
Corey Abraham also had a solid game on defense, finishing with six tackles and forced one fumble.
Lamar was led by freshman quarterback Adam Morse, who threw for 255 yards and a touchdown in his first career start. The Cardinals were held to just 2-of-13 on third-down conversions and were 0-for-3 on fourth down.
The Nov. 12 matchup at Central Arkansas will be televised nationally on the American Sports Network. The game is scheduled to kick off at 2:30 p.m. The Colonels' final home contest is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 17 against rival Southeastern Louisiana.
