A flashy fourth quarter with the Colonels scoring 14 unanswered points was too little too late as South Dakota State defeated the Colonels 24-17 at John L. Guidry Stadium. It was the first win of the season for the Jackrabbits as they improved to 1-3 while the Colonels fell to 1-3. SDSU Head Coach John Stiegelmeier said he did not know much about the Nicholls program before he arrived in Thibodaux, but he is relieved to get a win on the road.
“I have a lot of respect for Nicholls’ program and how hard they played,” Stiegelmeier said. “We’re just glad to get a win any way we can get it.”
Head Coach Jay Thomas said he was pleased with the effort his team showed late in the game, but he knows his team must improve in order to win games.
“South Dakota played inspired football, and you have to give them credit for that,” Thomas said. “We didn’t do a good job of making plays. Everybody from top to bottom has got to get better.”
It started on a third and 10 for SDSU when Andy Kardoes ran for 26 yards, giving the Jackrabbits a first down. Then on a fourth and two at the Nicholls 46-yard-line, Cory Koenig got the two yards plus three more, putting them at the Nicholls 41-yard-line.
One play later, running back Anthony Watson broke away from three would-be Colonel tacklers and scored from 41 yards, giving the Jackrabbits the 7-0 lead. With that run, Watson put himself third all-time rushing in SDSU history with over 3,000 yards in his career.
The Colonels went three and out in their first offensive possession of the game and could have kept the drive going if an 8-yard run by junior fullback Broderick Cole was not negated by an illegal block which put the Colonels at third and eight.
SDSU got the ball back at its own 38-yard-line, and 11 plays later returned to the end zone, this time through the air as Kardoes connected with Chris Doblar on a 22-yard touchdown pass, putting the Jackrabbits up 14-0 with 2:44 left in the first quarter.
The Nicholls offense began to come together toward the end of the first quarter and the beginning of the second using the running game to overpower the SDSU defense.
Starting at their own 28-yard-line, the Colonels got within striking distance of the goal line but were never able to capitalize and settled for a field goal, making the score 14-3.
Nicholls’ defense got a break in the second quarter when a forced fumble was recovered by senior linebacker Levon Bailey at the Nicholls 49-yard-line. Junior quarterback Chris Bunch came in for the Colonels and led them to the 8-yard-line, giving them first and goal at the 8.
It took three plays to get the Colonels to the 1-yard-line, and on fourth and goal Bunch tried running around the right side tackle to get the touchdown but was stopped short of the end zone.
SDSU went three-and-out on its second possession of the quarter and punted to Nicholls, leaving the Colonels at their own 27-yard-line. On the second play of the drive for Nicholls, Montgomery threw an interception to SDSU’s Brock Gentile, giving the Jackrabbits the ball back with 1:47 remaining in the half.
Using its two-minute offense, SDSU was able to drive to the Nicholls 13-yard-line and kicked a 30-yard field goal, putting the Jackrabbits up 17-3 with 30 seconds left in the half.
The second half started with the Colonels going three-and-out, giving the Jackrabbits the ball at its own 41-yard-line. SDSU then drove down the field and capped off a 59-yard-drive with a 33-yard touchdown pass from Kardoes to Micha Johnson, putting the score 24-3 in favor of SDSU.
The Colonels fought back in the fourth quarter, capitalizing on an interception by senior linebacker Cory Vavala and eventually scoring on a 7-yard touchdown run by Cole. Nicholls would score again on a 10-yard touchdown run by Montgomery, making the score 24-17 SDSU.
Nicholls got the ball back with 1:07 left on the clock and drove to the Jackrabbits’ 49-yard-line but was unable to score in the final seconds, giving SDSU the win.
“Even though they were 0-3 coming in, we knew they were a solid football team that could put up points,” Thomas said.
Vavala and junior defensive back Jermaine Boggan said the defense could have played better, and both look to improve before conference.
“I know our team is capable of playing better.” Vavala said.
“There’s no excuse for the way we played, and we will play better when conference starts,” Boggan said.
