THIBODAUX, La. - Jackson Dufrene tied a school record with three touchdown catches, two coming as the first scores of the night, and the Colonels never trailed as the Nicholls State University football team held off UTRGV, 31-28, on Saturday night on Manning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium.
Making its first-ever trip to Thibodaux, UTRGV (1-2, 0-1 SLC) answered with two touchdowns before a long Dufrene reception made way for a
Kingston Phan field goal before halftime. Dufrene added his third touchdown catch in the third quarter and
Ean Rodrigue completed his big night with his fourth TD pass to
Shane Lee for a 31-14 advantage.
But Nicholls (2-1, 1-0 SLC) was unable to put the Vaqueros away as the visitors rallied behind backup quarterback Aidan Jakobsohn who tossed two fourth-quarter touchdowns with his last coming with a minute remaining. But Lee fielded an onside kick as Nicholls held on to win its Southland opener.
Rodrigue threw a career-high four touchdowns, racking up 235 yards on 21 of 36 passes. Dufrene finished a yard shy of 100 on five receptions en route to becoming the first player since Dai'Jean Dixon in 2019 to tie the school record of three touchdown catches.
Jordan Smith also had a busy night with seven receptions for 51 yards.
Kennon Loftin set the tone early with an interception off a tipped pass at the line, ending UTRGV's opening drive. Loftin went on to lead the defense with 12 tackles to go along with his interception. Starting at the Vaqueros 31, Nicholls needed six plays to take a 7-0 lead after Rodrigue and Dufrene hooked up for a 18-yard score in the back corner of the end zone.
UTRGV tried to respond with three points, but
Alec Haynes dashed around the outside to block a 53-yard field goal attempt.
Early in the second, the Red and Gray pieced together a 12-play, 80-yard touchdown drive which ended with the catch of the night. Rodrigue threw a dart through the middle of the defense and Dufrene dove, snagging it with one hand for a 20-yard TD.
The Vaqueros countered with a 29-yard touchdown catch by Kyran Lee from Garret Rangel, cutting the deficit in half. Then after Nicholls muffed a punt inside its own 5, UTRGV tied it when TJ Dement rushed it in from a yard out.
But Dufrene came through again with a 52-yard catch-and-run, setting up Phan's go-ahead 32-yard field goal.
To start the third, the offense converted three first downs to spark a 17-play scoring drive. Facing a 4th-and-goal at the 3, Rodrigue and Dufrene hooked up one last time for a 24-14 advantage.
The defense stepped up on the next drive as Hayne forced an intentional grounding, leading to a punt and the ensuing possession starting at midfield. Rodrigue found
Greg Donaldson and
Ellis Stewart for first-down catches before dumping one off to Lee, who plowed through a defender and trotted into the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown.
Skylar Husband intercepted a pass for his first pick as a Colonel and after a punt,
Kasai Jones had a sack on third down to make it 4th-and-23 from the Nicholls 36. However, Jakobsohn tossed a pass down the middle of the field to Jaydon Smith for a 36-yard touchdown, keeping UTRGV alive with nine minutes remaining.
Nicholls went three-and-out but Husband pounced a botched exchange for the third turnover of the night for the defense. But once again, the Colonels punted the ball away, setting up a touchdown pass by Jakobsohn to Christian Sabsook with 53 seconds remaining to make the final.
The victory improved the Colonels' mark to 5-0 in league play at Guidry Stadium under head coach
Tommy Rybacki. He also won his second Southland opener in as many seasons.
The teams played fairly balanced as UTRGV outgained Nicholls, 327-322, with most of the yards coming in the passing game. The Colonels were a perfect 5-for-5 in the red zone while the Vaqueros were 2-for-3.
Lee led Nicholls with 47 yards rushing on 13 carries while Husband and Jones added seven tackles for the defense. Jones finished with two sacks as the unit totaled four.
UTRGV's Lee had 125 yards on eight receptions. Spencer Rich led all defenders with 15 tackles.
Up Next
Nicholls will step back out of conference play for the last time with a trip to former Southland foe Sam Houston on Saturday, Sept. 19. Kickoff in Huntsville, Texas is scheduled for 6 p.m.
