Nicholls State falls to Bearkats, 16-13

NSU Sports Information Desk

The Colonels outscored the Bearkats in the second half, but it wasn’t enough as Nicholls fell to Sam Houston State, 16-13, Saturday at Bowers Stadium.

“I can not complement the team enough on their effort tonight. They really wanted this one and gave it all they had, but we made to many mistakes,” said NSU coach Jay Thomas.

Senior Alex Romero missed two field goals in the game and finished the contest 2-for-4 with successful tries from 37 and 33 yards.

Leading the way in rushing for the Colonels was junior quarterback Vincent Montgomery with 70 yards on 16 carries. Junior linebacker Dwayne Jones had a career and game-high 11.5 tackles with one for a loss in the defeat.

The Colonels (5-4, 2-3) fumbled on their opening series due to a poor pitch from Montgomery to senior running back Cal Jones, and the Bearkats (5-4, 3-2) took over on their own 21-yard line.

Sam Houston State turned the Colonels offensive misfortune into a touchdown as sophomore Chris Poullard did the honor from 3 yards out. Sophomore Taylor

Wilkins added the extra point for the Bearkats to take the 7-0 lead at the 6:42 mark of first quarter.

The Bearkats then added two field goals by Wilkins to take a 13-0 lead, as Wilkins connected from 33 and 29 yards away.

However, a pooch kickoff by Wilkins was returned by sophomore Kyle Hughes to the 36-yard line, and a Bearkat pass interference penalty two plays later set up a successful 37-yard field goal by Romero.

At the 5:17 mark of the second quarter, the score was 13-3 in favor of Sam Houston State.

The scoring drive covered 16-yards on five plays and used 2:10 of official game clock.

Both teams failed to score for the remainder of the half as the Colonels went into the locker room facing a 10 point deficit.

Junior quarterback Rhett Bomar was 10-for-16 at the half for 159 yards, but left the game due to injury at the 1:17 mark of the second quarter and did not return.

Bomar’s injury was later determined as a left-knee injury and his status for the rest of the season is in question.

The Colonels only had 88-yards of total offense in the first half to the Bearkats 254.

For the game, Nicholls finished with 249 to Sam Houston State’s 409.

The Colonels scored first in the second half at the 5:06 mark of the third quarter via a 33-yard field goal by Alex Romero that split the uprights.

The drive was made possible after junior defensive back Lance Moore recovered a Bearkat fumble at the 50-yard line, and the offense took over from there.

The scoring drive went a total of six plays for 33-yards and used 2:10 of the clock.

Senior safety Kareem Moore intercepted Sam Houston State’s Brett Hicks late in the third quarter, and the Colonels offense scored their first touchdown of the game at the 14:31 mark of the fourth quarter when senior Joseph Tobias ran it in from a yard out. The drive went a total of six plays, covered 48-yards, and used 1:51 of official time.

Romero’s extra point was good, which tied the game at 13.

After both teams traded punts the Bearkats made their way down field, but the Colonels defense stood strong on the goal line and held Sam Houston State to an 18-yard Wilkins field goal to take 16-13 lead at the 6:58 mark of the fourth quarter.

The Colonels failed to score for the remainder of the game, and the Bearkats won their third straight.

The Colonels will be back at home in the friendly confines of John L. Guidry Stadium next week when they host Texas State.

Kickoff is set for 6 p.m., and before the game, Nicholls will honor all their seniors as they play in their last home contest.