Colonel quarterback Josh Son, the Southland League player of the week, ran for 161 yards and passed for 162 yards as the Nicholls football team defeated Samford, 20-16, in a non-conference game Saturday night. “Wins are precious,” Colonels head coach Daryl Daye said.
The Colonels (1-3) were not able to generate much offense on their first drive, but their second drive of the ball game would put them on the board.
The Colonels started the drive on the Samford 45 yard line, and were put in Bulldog territory when Josh Son ran the ball for an eight-yard gain, which put the Colonels on the Samford 47 yard line. Son ran the ball on the very next play for a gain of 46 yards, which put Nicholls on the Samford goal line.
Although two penalties pushed the Colonels back to Samford’s (1- 2) 11 yard line, Nicholls was able to score. Son threw a 5-yard pass to David Laphland with 11:20 left in the first quarter, which put the Colonels up 6-0. James Wilcox’s kick was good, which put Nicholls up 7-0.
Samford answered the Colonels touchdown with one of its own on a 6-play, 55-yard drive. Fred Gilliam rushed to the Nicholls 38 yard line on a 17-yard run on 3rd and 2. The Bulldogs were able to move the ball to the Nicholls 22 yard line, where Samford quarterback Ramon Nelson found tailback Gary Reed in the end zone. Samford’s Chip Walters added the extra point, which tied the ball game at 7-7.
A pass interference call on 2nd and15 against the Colonels in the second quarter put Samford on the Nicholls 17 yard line. The Bulldogs reached the Colonels 14 yard line, but a holding penalty on 4th and seven pushed them back to the Nicholls 24 yard line. Samford went up 10-7 in the second quarter when Walters completed a field goal attempt from the Nicholls 41 yard line.
The Colonels then orchestrated a 12-play, 56-yard drive which would put them up 13-10 before the end of the half. After being sacked for a 4-yard loss by Samford cornerback Tony Tucker, Son completed a 17-yard pass to Thurman Lewis.
“The offensive line gave Josh plenty of time to make great throws, actually I had the easy part because I just had to catch it,” Lewis said.
Son and Colt Coletti both rushed for 12 yards on back to back plays, which put Nicholls on Samford’s 47 yard line. Son rushed for a gain of 14 yards on 3rd and seven from the Bulldog 44 yard line, which put Nicholls on its 30 yard line. Five plays later, Son completed a pass to Phillip Brock where he was able to find his way in the end zone with 27 seconds remaining in the first half, but Wilcox was not able to convert on the extra point.
On the Colonels first drive of the second quarter, Son completed a 51-yard pass to Lewis on the first play of the drive, which put the Colonels on the Samford five yard line. An illegal shift penalty pushed the Colonels back to the Samford 10 yard line.
“My arms coming around a little bit, and now teams have to worry about the run and the pass,” Son said.
After Coletti ran for a gain of four yards, Son rushed for five yards on the next two plays, which put Nicholls on the Bulldog one yard line. The Bulldog defense stopped Coletti up the middle for a loss of one yard on 4th and goal on Samford’s one yard line, which gave Samford the ball back with 8:03 left in the third quarter.
Samford was able to drive the ball 98 yards in 10 plays, which allowed it to take a 16-13 lead on its very next drive in the third quarter.
On 2nd and 9, Samford quarterback Josh Kellett found Aryvia Holmes, for a 23-yard gain, which put Samford on its own 26 yard line.
Kellett completed a pass to tight end Daniel McClurkin on the next play for a gain of 18 yards, which put Samford on its own 46 yard line. The Bulldogs found themselves on the Colonel 48 yard line when Kellet completed a six-yard pass to wide receiver Adrian Horstead.
A 33-yard pass to Holmes, courtesy of Kellett, put the Bulldogs on the Nicholls five yard line. John Williams rushed for a five-yard touchdown on the next play with 3:36 left in the third quarter, although Samford failed its two-point conversion.
The Colonels would not stay down for long, as they would score on the next drive. LeJuan Walker, who leads the division I-AA in kick return yardag, fielded the kickoff on the Nicholls three yard line and returned it 42 yards to the Nicholls 45 yard line.
On 2nd and seven on the Nicholls 48 yard line, Son ran for a 14 yard gain, which put the Colonels in Samford territory. Three plays later, the Colonels got to the Bulldog 20 yardline, due to a 20 yard pass from Son to Brock.
A holding penalty on the next play pushed the Colonels back 10 yards to their own 30 yard line, but Brock rushed for a 30-yard touchdown. Wilcox converted the extra point, and the Colonels regained the lead with a score of 20-16.
Neither team scored in the fourth quarter, as the Colonel defense stopped Samford from completing a 53-yard pass to Reed with 5 seconds remaining in the ball game.
Defensively, Todd Rivera led the team in tackles with a total of 13, while Lester Magee finished behind him with seven. Antonio Knox recorded the only sack of the game, tackling Nelson for a loss of 20 yards.
“The offense played real good, they gave us rest, and we got them the ball,” Rivera said.
This week, the Colonel football team will have a week off, but they will be in action next week, when they will face Sam Houston for Family Day.
