Nicholls could not survive the Bears’ attack as Central Arkansas defeated the Colonels, 42-13, Saturday.Central Arkansas’ offense proved too much for the Colonels as the 14th-ranked Bears posted 545 yards of total offense.
The Bears had a huge first half, posting 35 points and more than 400 yards of offense. Of the 400 yards, 164 were recorded on the ground, with Brent Grimes leading the way with 95 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries.
Grimes, a Baton Rouge native, finished the game with 155 rushing yards. The Colonels only had 106 total yards of offense in the first half and finished the game with 253.
“I’m highly disappointed in the way our defense played the first two quarters, and in my 11 years coaching here, that was the worst I have ever seen us play through two quarters on defense,” head coach Jay Thomas said. “We are going back to the practice fields this week, and we are going to keep on working to get better.”
The Bears improved to 5-2, 2-1 SLC while the Colonels fell to 1-6, 0-3 SLC. One of the Colonels’ few bright spots of the game came when redshirt freshman quarterback Laquinton Caston completed a 41-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Antonio Robinson at the 11:00 mark of the second quarter.
The scoring drive became possible when the Colonels had a successful fake punt where senior linebacker Kyle Hughes ran 15 yards for the first down.
Senior kicker Ross Schexnayder’s extra point was blocked to make the score 14-6, and unfortunately for the Colonels, that’s the closest the game got.
Leading 35-6 at halftime, the Bears continued where they left off with an opening second half scoring drive due to the legs of Grimes and his offensive line. Grimes rushed twice on that series and scored a 42-yard touchdown to put the Bears up 42-6.
The Colonels scored again when Robinson sprung loose on a reverse that went 42 yards for the score. Robinson finished the game with two touchdowns and 83 yards of total offense.
Senior fullback Marlin Meeks led the Colonels in rushing yards with 73 yards on 17 carries, and senior linebacker Yashua Willis led in tackles with nine.
The Bears had 287 yards on the ground while their quarterback Robbie Park checked out in the third quarter after going 12-of-20 and throwing for 245 yards and two touchdowns.
The Colonels look to bounce back Saturday in John L. Guidry Stadium when they will play 12th-ranked McNeese State at 1 p.m. in the Family Day game.
