Nicholls’ strong first-half performance was not enough against Louisiana Tech as the Colonels fell to the Bulldogs 48-13 in Ruston Saturday.Nicholls trailed Louisiana Tech 13-3 going into halftime, but injuries and fatigue caught up to the Colonels.
“I feel like we grew up and matured tonight in a lot of areas, but we still have some things to clean up,” head coach Jay Thomas said. “I told the team in the locker room after the game that we played hard, just did not execute for the entire game. We have to improve and learn from this loss.”
Senior receiver Antonio Robinson became the Colonels’ star by gaining a total of 131 yards-101 receiving and 30 rushing. Senior kicker Ross Schexnayder put the Colonels on the board by making two out of two field goal attempts. Schexnayder’s field goals were of 48 and 44 yards.
Red-shirt freshman quarterback Jake Witt took the majority of the snaps and had four turnovers, including three interceptions. Witt finished the game by going 9-of-20 completions with 107 yards through the air, while rushing for another 41 on seven carries and a touchdown.
The Colonels defense was led by sophomore defensive back Bobby Felder, who totaled nine tackles.
Junior quarterback Ross Jenkins led the Bulldogs’ offense, throwing for a career-high 357 yards and completing 21-of-30 passes for two touchdowns.
The Colonels made things interesting early by driving down the field, converting two fake punts, to bring the ball to the Bulldogs’ 31-yard line before Witt’s fumble. The Colonels and Bulldogs, who both have a 1-2 record, were tied at 3-3 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Bulldogs summoned a six-play, 81-yard drive to gain the lead. The Bulldogs led 10-3 with 14:55 left in the second quarter due to a two-yard run by senior running back Daniel Porter.
Despite turning the ball over twice on a fumble and interception, the Colonels went into halftime only down 13-3 and had one penalty, a defensive offside call.
“We played smart fundamental football in the first half despite turning over the ball, and our offense had some positive things happen,” Thomas said. “It was good to have some momentum swing our way in the first half, and we are starting to see some of our younger players mature.”
The Bulldogs pulled away in the third by out-gaining the Colonels 232 to 72 in yards and leading 34 to 3 points going into the fourth.
The Bulldogs went on to score 34 unanswered points until Witt rushed in the end zone from 24 yards out at the 10:47 mark of the fourth quarter to make the score 41-10.
The Bulldogs dominated the Colonels in total yards 558 to 271 and controlled the time of possession, 31:09 to 28:51.
The Colonels will face Ryan Perrilloux and the Gamecocks of Jacksonville State Saturday for the Homecoming game which will begin at 3 p.m. in John L. Guidry Stadium.
