As the Nicholls State University football team heads into their final game of the season, they will have won more than just football games this year.

They have won the admiration of not just the campus community, but also the bayou region. Flanked by head coach Tim Rebowe and University President Bruce Murphy, Thibodaux mayor Tommy Eschete proclaimed Oct. 2nd as Colonel Pride day in the city.

Since the proclamation, every Friday has become Colonel Pride day. All around town people are eager to show off their Nicholls spirit by wearing red shirts to school and work. A marketing campaign called Confused Colonel was created to give away free Nicholls t-shirts to students on campus wearing gear with other University logos made statewide news.

This team also won the affection of Colonel football fans, both old and new. On homecoming, which was the first home game of the season, campus police had trouble finding parking spots for all the fans that attended the game. Over 6,100 fans walked through the turnstiles of John L. Guidry Stadium to watch the Colonels that day, and the enthusiasm has only grown as the wins shortly followed.

“In the game, we tell our guys not to look at the scoreboard and play until the end,” Rebowe said. “It’s the same thing with the season, we don’t look at the record or behind us, we just keep moving forward.”

The Colonel team that will take the field for the last game of the season in Hammond is a much different team than the one that lost the first game of the season in Monroe. It hasn’t always been pretty; Nicholls lost 4 games by 30 points or more this season, but as Southland Conference play began, the Colonels found their stride.
Behind a steady rushing attack spearheaded by quarterback Tuskani Figaro and running back Michael Henry, and a new passing attack led by Terry Lucas Jr. and C.J. Bates, the Colonels won two games in the SLC for the first time since 2010.

The first win of the season shattered a 23-game losing streak that lasted more than 700 days.

Henry is nearly 150 yards short of rushing for 2,000 yards in his career, and will look to cross that hurdle on the same field he gained 175 total yards his sophomore season. Henry is the crown jewel of a senior class that has seen three head coaches in their four years on campus.

Suiting up for the last time in Colonel red and grey will be six-year senior Landry Klann, who embodies the never-give-up attitude this team plays with. Klann has been moved from starting quarterback, to linebacker, to backup quarterback, back to the starter when Figaro broke his clavicle against Lamar University.

In his first start of the season, Klann achieved career highs in passing attempts, completions, yards and touchdowns in a thrilling 34-31 win to the University of Central Arkansas last weekend.

As a coach, Rebowe is more like another teacher for the student-athletes. However, he has also learned from this team, about how 95 players can come together.

“There really is no quit in these guys,” Rebowe said. “They’ve become a family and truly care about each other.”