Nicholls State Week 2 Wrap-Up

By: Alec Miller

The Colonels are coming off of what could have been one of the biggest upsets in college football history when they fell short by just 2 points to the University of Georgia Bulldogs.  Thanks to their solid defensive play and putting points on the board, the Colonels made things interesting for the FBS opponent.  They were going back home with a huge confidence booster before they open up conference play against Incaranate Word.  

Things started off hot for the Colonels as they scored a touchdown on their opening drive.  Chase Fourcade threw a touchdown to Damion Jeanpiere to go up 6-0 on an 83-yard drive.  Shortly afterwards, Dontrell Taylor punched his way through the goal line to add a second early touchdown for the Colonels.  David McKey made both of his conversions but missed his first field goal attempt late in the 1st quarter.  

Solid defense held the Cardinals scoreless in the 1st quarter but things came around for them as Alex Jenkins blocked a field goal attempt which was eventually returned all the way back for a touchdown.   However, Allen Pittman got a block of his own when he blocked Incarnate Word’s extra point attempt.

 It was a convincing first half as the defensive unit held them to just 6 points and only 1 first down throughout the first 3 quarters.   Nicholls came out of halftime just as strong as they started the first half with a convincing 75-yard drive for a touchdown.  C.J. Okpalobi was the most effective runner of the day as he punched his way through for the first touchdown of the 2nd half and also his second touchdown of the day. Incarnate Word was eager to find the end zone and they did just that when they busted through the line on an 85 yard touchdown run.  Shortly afterwards, Nicholls answered back with a touchdown pass from Fourcade to Christian Booker to reestablish that they were the dominant team for the game.  It was Booker’s first career touchdown catch.  

The Cardinals did not slow down as they were hoping for a shootout finish to the game.  Incarnate Word scored two more touchdowns late in the 4th quarter to bring the deficit down to one touchdown.  The Colonels’ early scores in the game proved too much for the Cardinals to handle and ended up winning 35-28 with a late interception to secure the win.