Just between the lights that shine bright over John L. Guidry Stadium when the sun finds its home in the darkened sky, the Nicholls State University football team practices as if they are playing for a Southland conference championship, but this team is not.

The Colonels’ record this year is 1-8 and dreams of playing for a conference championship are long gone, but the players still practice their hearts out and some stay after practice as if they are 8-1.

Senior defensive back Bobby Felder’s days as a Colonel are limited and drawing to a close, but the 2010 first team All-Southland conference player is proud to be a part of this team, this family.

“I know this program is going to come up,” Felder said. “Whether it’s next year or the year after that. When those guys win a championship, I’ll still be proud to say that I was a part of that rebuilding process.”

Even though the Colonels’ season has not gone the way the team has hoped, getting motivated to continue to compete week in and week out has not been a problem according to head coach Charlie Stubbs.

Stubbs said that the players know he is behind them, and Stubbs shows it by putting his arm on players’ shoulders and letting them know he is here for the long haul. Part of being a player for Stubbs is not dwelling on the mistakes, but it is playing up the positives.

In the Colonels’ 57-21 loss to Stephen F. Austin, Stubbs said he saw a lot of good from the game. For instance, he noticed his players refused to quit. According to Stubbs, had they quit, they would not have blocked field goals and taken kick returns to the house for touchdowns.

Stubbs has preached over and over that rebuilding a program is a process. It is a process that involves building a firm foundation based on the philosophies taught, building that philosophy with youth and high school recruits and then implementing the scheme taught on the field.

“The bottom line is I wanted to build it that way first,” Stubbs said. “It takes time to implement all your schemes defensively and offensively, and I think with patience and persistence, we’ll continue to climb.”

In a season full of negatives and disappointing outcomes, the Colonels see it differently. Quite frankly, Stubbs is excited about the future. He knows that he has a lot of players returning, and most of those players are getting valuable experience this year.

Felder plays up the fact that the Colonels are playing younger players, and that he and his teammates “have to keep having faith” in the program.

“Older guys were having injuries earlier this season, and it’s been forcing younger guys to step up and play,” Felder said. “People that watch the game really don’t see that young guys are playing, but experience really plays a big part in coming out and playing football on Saturdays.”

Stubbs knows that with the players getting experience the team will benefit with getting playing experience and going through the weight program over the offseason.

“Right now, you can’t see it on the scoreboard and win/loss column, but I really see us making strides,” Stubbs said.

As far as the older players staying motivated to go out and compete with other teams, the Colonels have nothing to worry about. Junior quarterback LaQuintin Caston starts prepping for next season with these last few games on the schedule and says that he is motivated by pure competition.

“Anytime you get another chance to go and have another game to show that everything is not what it seems and erase the bad taste in your mouth, that’s what motivates me,” Caston said.

The Colonels final home game is this Saturday against Lamar at 5:30 p.m. in John L. Guidry Stadium, and for the seniors it will be their last time to play in front of the home crowd as a Colonel.

For some players, the last home game of a season filled with heartache and disappointments might not mean a whole lot, but it means the world to seniors like Felder.

“I’m a team player,” Felder said.