No. 15 Nicholls ousted in overtime by Abilene Christian, 37-31

THIBODAUX, La. – The No. 15 Nicholls State University football team erased a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to force overtime against Abilene Christian, but following the Colonels’ third fumble of the day, the Wildcats closed out the game with a touchdown to hand Nicholls a 37-31 setback Saturday evening on Manning Field in John L. Guidry Stadium.

With the loss, Nicholls (4-4, 3-2 SLC) saw its eight-game home winning streak come to an end and it also marked the first back-to-back losses in conference in a season since 2016. Abilene Christian improved to 5-4 overall and 4-3 in the SLC after winning its second overtime game in as many weeks.

Nicholls rushed for three touchdowns on the ground but was unable to get into the end zone before the end of regulation. Trailing 31-28, the Colonels moved the ball to the ACU 3 and had a first-and-goal with three minutes to go, but ACU stuffed three consecutive runs which led to a game-tying 19-yard field goal by Gunnar Jones.

In the extra period, the Colonels’ possession ended on the second play after Jairon Parker forced a fumble on a Kendall Bussey carry. After ACU got a first down, Tracy James scored on a 5-yard rush for the victory.

Chase Fourcade threw for 216 yards and a touchdown on 17 of 22 attempts in the loss. Fourcade’s 1-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter to tight end Bry’kiethon Mouton was the 59th of his career, breaking Doug Hudson’s all-time program record set in 1986. Fourcade now holds the program marks in completions, attempts, yards, passing touchdowns, and points responsible for.

Dion Ray posted a breakout effort with 128 yards receiving on six receptions for his first 100-yard game. Ray had a 52-yard catch in the first quarter that led to one of Julien Gums’ two rushing touchdowns, and he also hauled in a 36-yard grab down the sideline to set up the game-tying field goal.

Gums paced the rushing attack with 79 yards on 15 carries, and Fourcade rushed 15 times as well to total 64 yards and a touchdown. But along with his two TDs on the ground, Gums had two lost fumbles.

Defensively, Sully Laiche had another impressive performance with eight tackles, four total tackles for loss which included two sacks, and a forced fumble. With ACU running 91 offensive plays for a 13-minute advantage in time of possession, four Colonels racked up double figures in tackles led by Laryon James with 12. Aquindas Steib, Kevin Moore III, and Khristian Mims each finished with 10, while Mims also had a 79-yard interception return that led to Fourcade’s third-quarter touchdown pass.

Nicholls led 7-0 after the first quarter and 14-3 in the second following Gums’ second rushing TD of the half. ACU countered with a rushing score by Sama’J Davis, who ran for 146 yards and two touchdowns in the win. Davis was the first 100-yard rusher against the Colonel defense in conference since the 2017 finale.

But before the intermission, Gums fumbled and ACU ended up scoring a touchdown as time expired. The Wildcats gambled on a 1st-and-goal at the 1 with 2 seconds remaining, scoring on James’ first rushing touchdown of the day for a 17-14 advantage.

ACU then made it 24-14 on a Luke Anthony touchdown pass to Josh Fink, but Mims’ interception gave Nicholls some short-lived momentum. Following the Colonel touchdown, ACU returned the kickoff 52 yards and Davis scored on the third play of the drive to push the lead back to 10 at 31-21.

The defense came through with another big play when Chase Brown snagged an Anthony pass for an 18-yard return to ACU territory. Fourcade finished the drive with a one-yard touchdown run to bring Nicholls within three.

After tying the game, Nicholls moved the ball past midfield in the final seconds and had a chance for the win. Fourcade heaved a Hail Mary to the corner of the end zone from the ACU 38 and it was interception in the end zone by Brandon Richmond as time expired.

UP NEXT
Nicholls heads to Texas for the fifth time this season to take on UIW on Saturday, Nov. 2. The Colonels and Cardinals are currently two of four teams in the Southland with two losses, all trailing Central Arkansas which had a comeback win against Sam Houston State. Kickoff in San Antonio is scheduled for 4 p.m. and the game will air on ESPN3.

TICKETS
Tickets for Nicholls football are available by visiting geauxcolonels.com or calling the Nicholls Ticket Office at 985-448-4790.

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