The Colonel football team notched its first win last Saturday for homecoming after defeating the Southwest Texas Bobcats (4-4, 0-3) 33-14 in conference play for “The Battle for the Paddle”. The Nicholls win marked the first time the Colonels would capture the paddle for the first time in four years. “Before the game we challenged our guys to win it for the seniors,” head football coach Darryl Daye said. “It’s good for us to get the win. The paddle makes it extra competition. You don’t want anyone to come into your own house and beat you, and then take the paddle and run around the field with it. Our guys earned it.”
Defensively for the Colonels (2-6, 1-4), Steve Ellis finished the game with eight tackles, while Lester Magee and David Wills each finished with six. Wills also recorded the only interception of the game. The Colonel defense held Southwest Texas to 14 points, 86 yards of rushing and 188 yards of passing.
“We just wanted to come out and play our hearts out for the seniors,” defensive tackle Burnell Taylor said.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Colonels scored the first points of the game on a 43-yard field goal kick by John Manly, which gave Nicholls a 3-0 edge. Southwest Texas answered with a touchdown on its very next drive when Cody McCauley rushed for a six-yard touchdown, and Justin Matinez’s extra point kick would give the Bobcats a 7-3 lead.
The Colonels would go three-and-out on their next drive, but on the punt play, Senecca McMillan caused a fumble by Bobcat punt returner Justin Vogt. The fumble was recovered by Colonel defensive lineman Doug King, and the Colonels would have another shot at putting six on the board.
The Colonels marched to the Southwest Texas six yard-line , but were unable to punch the ball in the end zone. Manly hit a 23-yard field goal, which brought the Colonels within one point of the lead going into half time. John Manly, the Southland Conference Special Teams Player of the Week, accounted for all six of the Colonels points in the first half.
Nicholls came out of the locker room ready to play in the second half. After a false start penalty pushed the Colonels back five yards, Colt Coletti ran for seven yards on second-and 14, which put Nicholls on the Bobcat 27 yard line. The Colonels took the lead when quarterback Josh Son completed a 27-yard pass to Isiah Mitchell with 9:17 remaining in the third quarter. Although Coletti was stopped on the two point conversion, Nicholls still garnered a 12-7 lead.
On the Colonel’s second drive of the second half, the offense orchestrated an eight-play, 62-yard drive, which would ultimately end up with Nicholls scoring a touchdown. A roughing-the-passer penalty put the Colonels on the Southwest Texas 47 yard-line.
Son ran for an eight-yard gain on third-and-one, which kept the Colonel’s drive alive, and put Nicholls on the Bobcat 13 yard-line. The Colonels were put on the Southwest Texas five yard-line when Coletti manned out an eight-yard run.
Nicholls took a 18-7 lead, with 4:06 left in the third quarter, as Son ran a five-yard touchdown. Son was called upon again for the two-point conversion, and was able to find his way into the end zone, which boosted the Colonels lead to 20-7.
The Colonel defense stopped Southwest Texas’s next drive, and a 28-yard punt by Martinez from the Bobcat 12 yard-line left Nicholls with on the Southwest Texas 40 yard-line.
Son ran for a 20-yard gain on second-and-six from the Bobcat 36 yard-line, which put the Colonels on the Southwest Texas 16 yard-line. The Colonels, who were seemingly unstoppable in the third quarter, put another six points on the board when Son rushed 16 yards for a touchdown with :42 left in the third quarter, Manly’s extra point attempt was good, and the Colonels extended their lead to 27-7.
Southwest Texas’s defense scored the Bobcat’s final touchdown of the game when quarterback Roy Burchett fumbled the ball on the Nicholls 19 yard-line. Bobcat defender Sterling Rogers recovered, and ran seven yards for the score. Justin Martinez added the extra point, which made the score 27-14.
Son and the Colonels were not done scoring yet. Southwest Texas gave the Colonels a first down due to a personal foul committed by a Bobcat defender on fourth-and-12. With Nicholls on its own 42 yard-line, Brock rushed for a 23-yard gain, which put the Colonels on the Southwest Texas 19 yard-line. Son capped off the scoring for the Colonels when he ran a 19-yard touchdown with :54 remaining in the fourth quarter, which made the score 33-14.
“It was close at half, but our coaches did a great job of coming in here and making adjustments,” Son said. “We just took it to them.”
Son ran for 143 yards on 19 carries, while completing five out of 13 passed for 47 yards. Coming out of the backfield, Brock ran the ball 11 times for 73 yards and Brock got 13 touches for 71 yards. Mitchell proved to be Son’s f avorite target for the night as he caught four passes for 41 yards and one touchdown.
