The Colonels lost the battle for the paddle in Saturday’s football game against the Bobcats of Texas State: 34-28.The coveted paddle represents the rivalry between Nicholls and Texas State. The winner between the Colonels and the Bobcats gets to have the year painted on the respective side of Nicholls or Texas State and keep the paddle until next season’s game. The Bobcats came and left Thibodaux with the paddle in its six-point victory.
The Bobcats opened the game putting three points on the board after recovering a fumble on the Colonels first possession.
The Colonels then took its only lead of the game after an exchange of punts. It only took the Colonels 10 plays and 61 yards for junior running back Brandon Johnson’s touchdown reception by redshirt freshman quarterback LaQuinton Caston. This was the Colonels second touchdown pass of the season.
The 7-3 Colonels lead was the last of the game. With only 34 seconds coming off of the clock, the Bobcats threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to give the Bobcats a 10-7 lead.
The Colonels fumbled again, giving the Bobcats great field advantage. The Bobcats only needed four plays to set up the four-yard touchdown run that extended the Bobcats’ lead, 17-7.
The Bobcats capitalized on another Colonels fumble from the kickoff. The Bobcats recovered the ball on the 11-yard line and took two plays to score and extend the lead to 24-7.
However, the Colonels turned around and forced a Bobcats fumble as a result of a sack from Marquis Russell with Zac Reddix recovering the ball. The Colonels needed four plays to find the end zone when Caston ran for an 11-yard touchdown run. This decreased the Bobcats’ margin of lead with a 24-14 score going into the half.
The Colonels came out with drive to give the Bobcats a run for its money in the second half.
On the second play of the second half, senior running back A.J. Williams broke away for a 70-yard run, finally getting stopped at the one-yard line. Caston posted his second touchdown of the game, rushing in for one yard to pull the Colonels within three points, 24-21.
The Bobcats replied when a 13-play drive led to a Bobcats field goal from 26 yards out to increase its lead 27-21. The Bobcats then increased its lead to 34-21 on a 12-play touchdown run after a Colonels punt.
The Colonels and Bobcats battled back-and-forth, traveling the lengths of the field, forcing fumbles and missing field goals before Williams scored on a touchdown run with 2:41 left in the game with the Colonels trailing six points, 34-28.
The Colonels were not able to gain possession of the ball again, resulting in a 34-28 loss to the Bobcats and another year without the coveted paddle.
“We are definitely improving, but still need to work a little harder to get over the hump,” head coach Jay Thomas said. “The opportunities were there for us, but we failed to take care of the ball, and in the process, took away chances for our offense.”
The Colonels hope to capture its first conference win when it takes on the Bears of Central Arkansas in Conway, Arkansas.
