THIBODAUX, La. – Freshman Chase Fourcade threw for 289 yards and two touchdowns and C.J. Okpalobi rushed for a career-high 115 yards and two scores as the Nicholls State University football team fended off a late comeback by UIW for a 35-28 victory on Saturday at John L. Guidry Stadium.
 
Fueled by Fourcade, Okpalobi and a suffocating performance by the defense, Nicholls (1-1, 0-1) held a 35-14 lead in the fourth after Christian Booker hauled in an 11-yard touchdown catch with less than 12 minutes to go. UIW (1-2, 1-1) answered with two long touchdown catches by Jamari Gilbert to make it a one possession game, but senior cornerback Jeff Hall picked off a pass on fourth-and-long in the final minute to seal the Colonels' first Southland-opening victory since 2013.
 
Nicholls outgained UIW in total offense, 498-257, but the majority of UIW's yardage came on home-run plays and after the third quarter. The Colonels led 21-6 after the third as they kept UIW to a total of 23 yards on offense and one first down. For the game, Nicholls nearly doubled UIW in time of possession and had four times as many first downs, 28-7.
 
The Colonels came out firing as Fourcade led the offense to a touchdown on their opening drive. He connected with Damion Jeanpiere for a 23-yard jump ball for a 7-0 lead, and helped by a Sully Laiche sack - one of three on the day for the true freshman - Nicholls had great field position on the next drive, starting at the UIW 40.
 
Another freshman, Dontrell Taylor, opened the possession with a 37-yard run and capped it with a 3-yard touchdown - his second in as many games. Taylor rushed for 78 yards on the day on 17 carries.
 
The only score in the second quarter came on a blocked field goal for UIW. Nicholls trotted out David McKey for a 43-yard field goal attempt and it was swatted away by Alex Jenkins. The ball was scooped up by Robert Hayes Jr. who returned it 76 yards for a score. Allen Pittman returned the favor by blocking the extra point to keep the score at 14-6.
 
In the third, the Colonels opened the half with a methodical 16-play, 75-yard drive that chewed up nearly eight minutes off the clock. Okpalobi ended the drive with a 5-yard rush, giving Nicholls a 21-6 edge.
 
The fireworks in the fourth started on Okpalobi's second TD run of the day. The drive stayed alive on a tremendous catch by C.J. Bates on fourth-and-13 from the UIW 28. Bates, who had 107 yards on six grabs, leaped on the sideline and was able to get his foot down at the 4. Okpalobi punched it on to make the count 28-6.
 
UIW quickly countered on an 85-yard touchdown run by Desmond Hite. Before the play, Nicholls had made UIW's rush offense non-existent with -5 yards.
 
Nicholls then answered with a big play, by another freshman, as Stefano Guarisco returned the kickoff 43 yards to the 50, and added another 15 yards on a facemask. Six plays later, Fourcade and Booker connected for the Colonels' final touchdown of the game, making the score 35-14.
 
Gilbert's first long score came on a 40-yarder at the 9:23 mark and he and Trent Brittain hooked up again for a 63-yard strike five minutes later. The Colonels were forced to punt with 95 seconds remaining on the clock, but UIW picked up just one first down before Hall's interception ended the comeback.
 
The defense totaled eight tackles for loss, helped by five sacks. Along with Laiche, Terrell Encalade and Kenny Dotson added a sack each. Encalade led the team with five tackles.
 
Nicholls will step back out of conference next weekend with a 6 p.m. matchup at South Alabama on Saturday, Sept. 24. The game will be streamed live on ESPN3.