MANHATTAN, Kan. - The Nicholls State University football team was limited to 122 yards of total offense and Kansas State piled up 559 as the Colonels fell 71-3 to the Wildcats on Saturday night at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
Squaring off for just the second time and first since 2019, Nicholls (1-1) trailed Kansas State, 29-0, in the second quarter before scoring its only points of the night. The Wildcats then added six unanswered touchdowns en route to the 68-point victory.
Kennon Loftin and
Skylar Husband led the Colonel defense with seven tackles each. On offense,
Ean Rodrigue completed 7 of 19 passes for 30 yards and added another 24 on the ground.
Tamaj Hoffman rushed nine times for 43 yards and
Jordan Smith had two catches for 14 yards.
For K-State, Avery Johson was 15 of 21 for 199 yards and three touchdowns, while a total of six Wildcats found the end zone via rushing as they finished with 312 yards on the ground.
Kansas State scored on the game's opening possession on a Johnson TD pass, and after the Colonels went three-and-out, Johnson rushed in from 10 yards out. K-State pushed the lead to 22-0 on a 65-yard punt return for a touchdown by Brandon White before the end of the quarter.
The Colonel defense forced the first turnover of the night as
Alex Villavaso punched the ball out of the hands of Jay Harris on a carry and it was recovered by
Kevin Martin Jr. But the offense was forced to punt for the fifth time and K-State followed with a 26-yard touchdown run.
Trailing 29-0 with 10 minutes remaining in the half, the Colonel offense finally got going. Hoffman broke free for a 17-yard run and Rodrigue immediately followed with a 26-yard keeper. After Rodrigue found Smith for a 12-yard catch for a fourth-down conversion,
Kingston Phan kicked a 32-yard field goal to put Nicholls on the board.
In the second half, Nicholls was shut out as K-State scored five more touchdowns to make the final. The Colonels punted five more times and had their lone turnover of the night on a fumble by Rodrigue.
Pharrell Harewood punted nine times with a 39.3 average and had one punt inside the 20.
Up Next
Nicholls will host UTRGV for its Southland Conference opener on Saturday, Sept. 12 for Family Day. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
