Nicholls State University

NATCHITOCHES, La. - For the second straight year, the Nicholls State University football team needed a defensive stand in the final minute in its rivalry matchup against Northwestern State as the Colonels retained The Real NSU Trophy with a 31-27 victory Saturday inside Turpin Stadium.

Nicholls (3-5, 2-3 SLC) led by 10 early in the fourth quarter before Northwestern State (0-8, 0-5 SLC) found the end zone with four minutes remaining. But on the extra point, a botched hold kept the deficit at four and erased the chance of a game-tying field goal. The Colonels punted the ball back with less than two minutes to go and NSU drove all the way to the Nicholls 15 with five seconds left on the clock. 

On the final play, Kevin Martin Jr. pressured Demon quarterback Zach Wilcke and his pass was intercepted in the end zone by Skylar Husband to seal the Colonel victory.

The win snapped a four-game skid on the season and gave Nicholls its first road win since 2024, ending a 13-game drought. It was also the ninth win over NSU in the last 10 meetings.

Quarterback Chase Richardson had a career day for the offense, racking up 151 yards on 12 of 24 passing and 151 yards rushing on 22 carries. With Nicholls trailing 7-3 in the second quarter, Richardson found Isaiah LeBlanc in the end zone for a 25-yard touchdown, giving both players their first TD as a Colonel.

But looking for their first win of the season, the Demons scored before halftime on a 15-play, 75-yard drive. Wilcke polished off the drive with a sneak and a 14-10 advantage at the break.

In the third quarter, the Colonel offense caught fire with two touchdowns. Ellis Stewart fueled the first drive with a 52-yard catch-and-run, dragging a defender inside the 10 before losing the ball, but Parker Smith was able to recover it. On the next play, Shane Lee muscled his way for a 2-yard rushing touchdown -- his first of the season.  Stewart led the Colonels with 72 yards on five receptions.

Nicholls looked to have an interception by Gavin Duplechin on the next possession, but it was negated by a penalty. Wilcke followed with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Jimmie Duncan to put NSU back on top, 21-17, midway through the third.

Richardson scrambled for 30 yards on the first play on the ensuing possession, pushing him over 100 yards rushing for the game. A third-down catch was just short of the sticks, but a targeting penalty gave Nicholls a first down and put the ball in the red zone. Two plays later, Tamaj Hoffman made one cut and went untouched for a 7-yard touchdown run.

Leading 24-21, the defense came up with a fourth-down stop to start the fourth as Erin Moore broke up a pass. Nicholls then needed only six plays for its final touchdown of the day as Richardson found Greg Donaldson down the sideline for a 35-yard score. 

After scoring to bring the count to 31-27, NSU tried to duplicate its miraculous comeback of 2022, converting two fourth-down tries on its final drive. But like last year, Nicholls picked off the final pass to hang on for the victory.

For the defense, Kennon Loftin and Antoine Okelo-Johnson both had 11 tackles. Okelo-Johnson added 2.5 tackles for loss including a sack to his career outing. Lynard Harris and Kasai Jones each chipped in with six stops. 

Pharrell Harewood punted five times for a 43.8 average, highlighted by a 55-yarder that was downed at the 3. Kingston Phan made his lone field goal attempt from 26 yards.

For NSU, Amaaz Eugene paced the offense with 161 yards on seven receptions. He started the scoring with an 82-yard touchdown catch on the opening possession. 

Up Next
Nicholls will play on the road again as they head to McNeese on Saturday, Oct. 31 for a 2:00 p.m. kickoff.