THIBODAUX, La. - The Nicholls State University football team came out on the wrong side of a thrilling River Bell Classic when Southeastern booted a game-winning field goal as time expired as the Colonels suffered a 19-16 loss Thursday night in their season finale at Manning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium.
With the loss, Nicholls ended the season with a 4-8 overall record while falling to 2-5 in the Southland. SLU (7-5, 6-1 SLC) kept the winning streak for the road team in the series going with their fourth straight win in Thibodaux, grabbing an 18-17 advantage in the all-time series.
Nicholls outgained Southeastern in total offensive yards, 382-301, but the game's lone turnover proved to be costly. With the score tied at 16-16 with five minutes remaining, the Colonels picked up a first down on 4th-and-1 at the Lion 34, but on the next play, KK Reno intercepted a tipped ball to set up the game-winning drive.
The Lion offense came up clutch down the stretch by moving the chains three times on third down, then had a 10-yard run on 3rd-and-15 to put Riley Callaghan in field goal range with 2 seconds remaining. He was able to drill his fourth and longest field goal of the night from 40 yards to keep SLU's playoff hopes alive.
Pat McQuaide accounted for both of the Colonels' touchdowns, throwing for 298 yards on 19 of 32. Redshirt sophomore
Scrappy Osby had a career night with 123 yards receiving on four receptions, and senior
Terry Matthews closed out his solid season with 83 yards on four catches.
Nicholls was held to under 100 yards rushing for the third straight game, totaling 75 yards on 30 carries.
Collin Guggenheim wrapped up his career with 53 yards rushing, solidifying himself as the No. 2 all-time rusher in program history with 3,282 yards for his career.
Keontae Williams paced the defense with eight tackles and a forced fumble, while
Eli Ennis and
Rasheed Lovelace added seven stops each. Nicholls limited the Southland's leading rusher Antonio Martin Jr. to 64 yards and set a new team record in the process, allowing just 83.9 yards rushing per game for the season.
Southeastern had the momentum early, scoring on a short field goal on the opening drive. Darius Lewis then put the Lions ahead 10-0 after a 1-yard touchdown grab from Eli Sawyer. Lewis, who led SLU with 95 yards on nine receptions, set up the short TD with a 33-yard catch on the play before.
Nicholls answered with its own long reception when Matthews scampered 52 yards to the Lion 9. Then on third down, McQuaide escaped the pass rush and scrambled to pick up his second rushing touchdown of the season, making the score 10-7 late in the first quarter.
In the second, the teams traded field goals with
Ray Vallee connecting on a 33-yarder for Nicholls to put the score at 13-10 with two minutes remaining. But SLU added another short field goal before time expired.
A scoreless third was highlighted by a fourth-down stop by the Colonels. Facing a 4th-and-1 at the Nicholls 11, SLU's Martin was stuffed at the line for no gain, keeping the score 16-10.
Early in the fourth, senior
Zack Bernard had a sack on third down but SLU's Alec Mahler saw his punt downed at the 1-yard line. Four plays later, McQuaide found Osby streaking down the middle of the field for an 84-yard touchdown pass -- the longest play for the Colonels this season. But another gaffe on special teams came into play when Vallee's extra point attempt hit off the upright, keeping the score tied at 16-16.
Nicholls forced a three-and-out before its 10-play drive ended with the interception.
