HOUSTON – No. 20 Nicholls piled up more than 300 yards both through the air and on the ground in a 41-20 victory over HBU in Southland Conference football Saturday at Husky Stadium.
Sophomore quarterback
Bailey Zappe completed 22-of-38 for 258 yards and a touchdown for the Huskies (1-8, 0-7 SLC). Freshman
Jerreth Sterns tied his own school record with 11 catches for 67 yards and rushed for a touchdown, while junior
Terry Tillmon made two catches for 80 yards and a touchdown, plus blocked a punt that resulted in a touchdown.
Freshman safeties
Jack Blanco and
Colton Manning each made 13 tackles for HBU, with Blanco adding a 40-yard blocked punt return for a touchdown. Sophomore linebacker
Langston Tunson made 10 tackles, freshman cornerback
Alfred King and freshman linebacker
Brennan Young each recorded nine, with Young adding a strip sack. Sophomore linebacker
Caleb Johnson had eight tackles and recovered a pair of fumbles.
Chase Fourcade completed 24-of-30 passes for 279 yards and a pair of touchdowns and also added a pair of rushing touchdowns for Nicholls (6-3, 5-2). Dontrel Taylor rushed nine times for 104 yards, while Kendall Bussey carried 12 times for 64 yards and a touchdown. Damion Jeanpiere caught seven passes for 96 yards and Dai'Jean Dixon had five catches for 74 yards and a touchdown.
The Colonels had 616 total yards of offense, with 313 on the ground and 303 passing, while holding the Huskies to 237 total yards and minus-21 yards rushing, due to seven sacks. Nicholls committed three turnovers, all lost fumbles, while HBU did not commit a turnover and the Colonels were penalized six times to the Huskies' three. Nicholls controlled the clock, leading in time of possession, 37:39-22.21.
Khristian Mims had eight tackles for the Colonels and Allen Pittman made six. Sully Laiche had three sacks and Patrick Riley recorded a pair.
Fonseca got the scoring started, hitting a school-record 56-yard field goal for Nicholls. The Colonels then went on a six-play, 45-yard drive, capped by Bussey's 4-yard touchdown run to lead 10-0.
Fourcade's 13-yard touchdown pass to Taylor extended the lead to 17-0 with 11:04 remaining in the second quarter, then Fonseca's second field goal of the half made the score 20-0. The Colonels took a 27-0 lead into halftime when Fourcade completed a two-yard pass to Dixon with 14 seconds remaining to cap an 11-play, 80-yard drive.
Nicholls opened the second-half scoring on a six-yard touchdown run by Fourcade, but HBU answered with Zappe's 67-yard touchdown up the right sideline to Tillmon. The Huskies couldn't convert back-to-back fumble recoveries into points, then the Colonels got a 30-yard run by Fourcade to set up his own 1-yard touchdown plunge just before the third quarter ended.
In the fourth, Tillmon blocked a Nicholls punt and Blanco took it to the house for the score. Sterns caught three passes during a 68-play drive that he capped with a 1-yard touchdown run.
The Huskies hit the road to face Lamar Saturday, Nov. 10 at 3 p.m. at Provost Umphrey Stadium in Beaumont, Texas.
