After blocking an extra point attempt with 3:14 left, Texas A&M-Kingsville secured a 27-26 victory over the Colonels football team last Saturday in front of 9,200 fans in Javelina Stadium in Kingsville, Texas.
Trailing 24-0 midway through the second quarter, the Colonels (1-3, 0-0 SLC) scored three second half touchdowns but missed two extra point attempts, hurting any chance of a comeback.
“We turned it over in the first half. We were poor on special teams, and defensively we weren’t tackling. It took us until halftime to regroup and come back out,” Daryl Daye, head football coach, said.
The Colonels’ comeback started when senior wide receiver Isiah Mitchell took a reverse handoff from junior quarterback Yale Vannoy and sprinted 52-yards for the touchdown to pull the game to 24-6.
The Colonels started its second half dominance by going on a six play, 61-yard drive. Junior running back Colt Colletti scored on a 10-yard run to narrow the lead to 24-14.
After Kingsville (1-1) extended its lead to 27-14, Vannoy connected on an 82-yard touchdown pass to sophomore running back Sedgywn Thigpen. The Colonels failed to convert the extra point and trailed 27-20.
With 3:14 left in the game, Vannoy scored a touchdown on a 27-yard touchdown run to make the score 27-26. The Colonels needed an extra point to tie the contest, but Kingsville clinched the victory by blocking sophomore kicker Jay Jones’ kick.
“On the first snap, John (Manly, senior punter) looked like he placed the ball too far over. On second one, our left guard basically got run over. There was one guy that busted through and blocked it. That was easy and was the ballgame,” Daye said.
The Colonels were without three of their starting players against Kingsville. Senior quarterback Josh Son, senior running back Phillip Brock and junior defensive back David Willis all sat out due to injuries.
Playing in front of his hometown fans, Vannoy completed three-of-seven passes for 99 yards and one touchdown pass.
Mitchell led the Colonels in by rushing for 52 yards. Vannoy rushed for 46 yards and a touchdown, and Colletti rushed for 34 yards and a touchdown.
Senior linebacker Torrian Thomas led the Colonels defensively by collecting nine tackles and one fumble recovery. Sophomore linebacker Larry McNeal collected eight tackles, while junior lineman Chris Hester added eight tackles with one sack.
Sophomore Joseph Ogletree added seven tackles with two interceptions and senior defensive back Chris Thompson added an interception.
After spending three straight weeks on the road, the Colonels return home to Guidry Stadium to take on Southwestern Athletic Conference member Texas Southern (3-1) Saturday at 4 p.m.
Quarterback Carlso Pierson, who leads the team in rushing and passing, leads Texas Southern offensively. He has a 4.3 rushing average with 154 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Through the air, he has a 110.2 passing efficiency.
Defensively, Texas Southern is led by Damondric Goins, who has 16 tackles and two sacks on the season.
Daye said the game will be decided in the trenches and predicts a physical football game against Texas Southern.
“They are an athletic team overall. It is definitely going to be a very physical ballgame, and it will most likely come down to a fourth-quarter game.
They are a more traditional styled football team, and they love to play physical football. They play football the way it is designed to be played,” Daye said.
In their first home game in three weeks, Daye said he is pumped up with the chance to play in front of its own crowd.
“I have a good feeling about it. Even though the wins are not on the board for us right now, the community and the people who are Nicholls fans understand that our kids are playing their hearts out. I hope the weather is good, and it should be an excellent football game,” Daye said.