RUSTON, La. - After finishing in the top 10 of the nation and takeaways last season, the Nicholls State University football team continued where they left off with five in their season opener at FBS Louisiana Tech, but it wasn't enough as the Bulldogs held off a late rally for a 25-17 victory on a rainy Saturday night at Joe Aillet Stadium.
 
The Colonels scored their first touchdown on an interception return by Rasheed Lovelace for an early lead but the offense did not find the end zone until Quincy Brown came down with a highlight 27-yard catch with over two minutes remaining in the game that trimmed the deficit to 25-17. 
 
Following a failed onside attempt, the Colonel defense forced a three-and-out and got the ball back with just under two minutes to go. But Louisiana Tech returned the favor with a turnover on downs before lining up for victory formation.
 
With the loss, Nicholls falls to 0-5 all-time against Louisiana Tech and suffered its 10th consecutive loss to an FBS program. The Colonels will have another chance next weekend as they head to LSU for their first ever meeting with the Tigers.
 
Eli Ennis led the defense with 10 tackles and had a fumble recovery and an interception. Former Bulldog Joe Mason added nine tackles while Zack Bernard finished with seven.
 
To start the game, Nicholls forced a punt but the ball was downed at the one yard line. On the Colonels' first offensive play, Louisiana Tech stuffed the run in the backfield for a safety and a 2-0 advantage.
 
The Colonels got on the scoreboard when Lovelace caught a pass thrown under pressure at the Bulldog 25 and rumbled into the end zone. But the lead was short lived as Tech answered quickly with a touchdown pass to Solomon Lewis for 28 yards.
 
Nicholls pieced its longest drive of the night of 12 plays but it ended on a 35-yard missed field goal by Ray Vallee. The heavy rain then started early in the second quarter and it resulted in the teams trading turnovers. 
 
LA Tech used a long punt return for a short field and their second TD pass of the night. Laurence Sullivan Jr. blocked the extra point as the Bulldogs led 15-7.
 
Another Louisiana Tech turnover on a muffed punt gave Nicholls the ball at midfield but the Colonels came up empty in the red zone. The Colonels had it first-and-goal inside the 1 and were kept out of the end zone. Then a short field goal was missed by Vallee.
 
However, Malik Woodery stepped in front of a pass for an interception and returned it 49 yards to set up a 38-yard field goal by Gabe Showalter to make the halftime score 15-10.
 
The defenses flexed their muscles in the third quarter as all but one possession ended with a punt. The lone exception was when Ennis tallied his pick for the final takeaway.
 
LA Tech scored a field goal and their final touchdown on back-to-back possessions before Nicholls made it's late rally. A couple of long runs by Collin Guggenheim helped set up Pat McQuaide's strike to Brown for the final points of the night.
 
Guggenheim grinded out 79 yards rushing on 18 carries while Brown had four catches for 70 yards. McQuaide was 10 of 26 for 138 yards passing. LA Tech limited the Colonels to 66 net yards on the ground with the help of six sacks.
 
Kylan Dupre set a new career high with four punts inside the 20 on nine punts. He averaged 43.6 yards per punt and had two over 50 yards.
 
Other leaders on defense included Kershawn Fisher, Jake Dalmado and Alex Villavaso each with a sack.
 
UP NEXT
Nicholls returns to action at LSU on Sept. 7. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.