16th-Ranked Nicholls Too Much for ‘Jacks in Road Affair

Saturday, November 10

Thibodaux, La. / Guidry Stadium

3 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin

2-7 , 2-6

No. 16 Nicholls

7-3 , 6-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Stephen F. Austin

Nicholls

Photo by: SFA Athletics

16th-Ranked Nicholls Too Much for ‘Jacks in Road Affair

11/10/2018 6:06:00 PM | Football

Box Score

SFA scores 14 points in second half on pair of touchdown receptions but Nicholls’ strong defense and ground attack proves to be challenging in setback

By: Luke Bolanos | Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations

Photos

THIBODAUX, La. – Despite playing inspired in the second half and scoring a pair of touchdowns, the SFA football team was unable to recover from a 24-point halftime deficit at 16th-ranked Nicholls Saturday afternoon inside Guidry Stadium in Thibodaux, Louisiana. The host Colonels (7-3, 6-2 Southland) racked up 536 yards on offense, including 275 on the ground and 261 through the air, and held the Lumberjacks (2-7, 2-6 Southland) to just 270 yards on the day in a 47-14 Southland Conference road setback.

"We executed a little bit better in the second half on offense but we didn't execute as well in the second half defensively," interim head coach Jeff Byrd said following the game. "Let me tell you, that is a big, physical football team and we have got to get bigger and more physical to stand in there with those guys. Coach (Tim) Rebowe has done a great job with those guys and they play with an attitude that's to be envied. We've got to find a way to be able to do that on our side."

"We got some young guys in the game late that did some things and I was excited about that," continued coach Byrd. "I thought Amad Murray played well on the defensive line in his first chance he got to play for us. Parker (Dylan) came in and made a couple of catches and we got Foster (Sawyer) out there throwing the ball around a little bit, which was good for him being his senior year. It was a big, physical football game just like I thought it would be going in and they were more physical than we were."

All Colonels
Nicholls took its opening drive of the game 75 yards in just five plays and scored on an 11-yard pass from starting quarterback Chase Fourcade to Dai'Jean Dixon. The touchdown put the Colonels ahead 7-0 after just two minutes of play before Fourcade found Dixon once again at the 4:52 mark, this time from 38 yards out. The second score of the game capped a six-play, 67-yard Nicholls drive.

The home team went ahead 21-0 with 7:33 to go in the second quarter when Fourcade tossed his third touchdown pass, a seven-yard completion to Gabe Fuselier to finish a 10-play, 43-yard drive that took just over four minutes of play. A seven-play, 85-yard drive by the Colonels took up the final 2:50 of the first half and resulted in a 22-yard field goal by Nicholls' place-kicker Lorran Fonseca.

At the Half
Trailing 24-0 at the break, the 'Jacks were outgained 290-101 in total offensive yards during the first 30 minutes of action, including being held to a mere 33 yards in the second quarter. The Colonels posted 100 yards rushing in the first half and threw for another 190 as Nicholls collected 14 first downs and held SFA to just six.

Third Quarter Start
The 'Jacks opened up the second half of play with a successful 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that resulted in a two-yard pass from junior starting quarterback Jake Blumrick to junior wide receiver Tamrick Pace. The score made it a 17-point game at 24-7 with 12:15 to go in the third quarter as Pace snagged his sixth touchdown of the season.

More Colonel Scores
Nicholls scored 13 points off an additional pair of touchdowns in the third quarter, capping a six-play, 72-yard drive with a two-yard rush by Dontrell Taylor and ending a 12-play, 76-yard march with a Julien Gums four-yard run.

Sawyer Enters
Senior gunslinger Foster Sawyer entered the game behind center late in the third quarter and led SFA on a 10-play, 75-yard scoring drive. Sawyer found senior wide receiver Terian Goree from two yards out for the Lumberjacks' second touchdown of the afternoon, making the score 37-14 with 13:30 to go.

10 More for Nicholls
The Colonels scored 10 points in the final quarter of play, getting a 48-yard touchdown pass from Fourcade to Kendall Bussey at the 10:42 mark following a seven-play, 65-yard drive and seeing Fonseca nail his second field goal of the contest from 26 yards out to complete an eight-play, 39-yard drive.

The Bottom Line
Nicholls made 28 first downs, compared to SFA's 17, and had three different players rush for at least 60 yards. Taylor (77), Fourcade (67) and Bussey (64) led the Colonels' ground attack as Gums gained 44 yards and Fourcade recorded 261 yards and four touchdowns on 13-of-19 passing. Dixon finished the game with five catches for 98 yards and his two scores, while Damion Jeanpiere Jr. made two receptions for 74 yards. Defensively, Nicholls' front line was relentless, making five sacks for a loss of 27 yards and totaling nine tackles behind the line of scrimmage for a loss of 39 yards. The Colonels also forced a fumble and picked off a pair of passes. Blumrick finished the game with 132 yards on 16-of-25 passing as Sawyer was 9-of-16 for 81 yards. Pace led all SFA receivers in the game with seven receptions for 75 yards and a touchdown and sophomore wideout Dylan Parker notched a career-best two catches for 32 yards. Sophomore safety Trenton Gordon and senior linebacker Ryan Woods led the Lumberjack defense with eight total tackles each.

Of Note
For the first time in the series, Nicholls has won three consecutive games. With his 75 receiving yards, Pace moved into 12th place on SFA's all-time career receiving yards list. He has now amassed 1,976 yards receiving in three seasons donning the Purple and White.

Up Next…
The 'Jacks will wrap up their regular season next week with the 53rd Battle for Chief Caddo against border state rival Northwestern State. Playing its first Thursday night game since 2011, SFA will kick off against the Demons at 6 p.m. inside Homer Bryce Stadium on Thursday, Nov. 15.

Stay tuned to SFAJacks.com, as well as SFA's social media platforms, for complete coverage of Lumberjack football throughout the 2018 season.

-SFA-