Colonels can capture Southland title in front of home fans with victory over Lamar

If Nicholls goes on to win a Southland Conference championship, the Colonels are likely to recall a strong second quarter at the University of Incarnate Word that greatly helped them along the way.

Trailing 10-0, the Colonels made their dramatic comeback on a 23-yard Gavin Lasseigne field goal, a touchdown reception by Lee Negrotto one play following a Quinton Sharkey interception, and two Collin Guggenheim touchdown runs to lead 24-10 their way to the 45-32 win.

The win left Nicholls as the only unbeaten team in the SLC. A win at home over Lamar in a game slated for 3 p.m. Saturday would give the Colonels the conference title.

“It was a really good second quarter. One of the best quarters we’ve played in a long time,” understated Nicholls coach Tim Rebowe, whose team moved to 5-0 in the SLC by knocking off a fourth-ranked UIW team that went into the contest with a 15-game home winning streak.

Nicholls takes on a Lamar team that is 4-1 in the SLC and 5-4 overall. The only loss for the Cardinals was a 17-7 defeat at the hands of UIW two weeks ago. Lamar bounced back with 41-21 win last week over Texas A&M-Commerce.

First-year Lamar coach Pete Rossomando has had his team in Southland contention all season after inheriting a team that went 1-10 a year ago. Rossomando spent the previous two seasons as offensive line coach at Charlotte. He has previous head coaching experience at the University of New Haven and Central Connecticut.

“They have been playing well in conference,” Rebowe said. “They’ve proven already (that) they’ve gone on the road and won. We have to be able to hold home-field advantage and hold service here at Guidry Stadium.”

Lamar has won twice on the road in SLC play this season, edging Houston Christian 21-19, and defeating Southeastern Louisiana 30-24.

Directing the Cardinal offense is junior quarterback Robert Coleman. In his first year at Lamar after transferring from Mt. San Jacinto College in California, Coleman has thrown for 1,535 yards on 127 of 203 passing with 11 touchdowns and five interceptions.

“He’s very efficient. He knows what to do. He’s getting better each week, too,” Rebowe said of Coleman. “He was new in there. He came in with the new staff.”

Coleman’s top target is Andre Dennis. The 6-foot-1 sophomore receiver hauled in 32 passes for 426 yards and two touchdowns.

“He’s a guy that can go and get it. He’s a playmaker for them. They find ways to get him the ball. Again, I think we have been playing well in the secondary, but I think it will help us up front. We have to get pressure to limit his catches,” said Rebowe.

Khalan Griffin is Lamar’s top rusher with 145 carries for 666 yards and four touchdowns.

“He’s a really good back. He’s powerful. He’s tough. He runs hard. He reminds me of the kid from SEMO a couple of weeks ago that we played here. He had a big game against us. We will really have to tackle well,” said Rebowe, comparing Griffin to Southeast Missouri State’s Geno Hess, who rushed for 128 yards in a 35-31 Colonels loss.

Defensively, defensive back Josh Ofili leads Lamar in tackles with 56. Linebacker Foday Jalloh has 49 and Caleb Williams 48. Williams, a defensive lineman, also has 6.5 tackles for loss, while defensive lineman Jaymond Jackson has three sacks. Defensive back Kevin Anderson leads the team with two interceptions.

“They are very, very sound,” Rebowe said of the Lamar defense. “I don’t think they are a huge blitz team. They give you some four-down fronts and some three-down stuff. I like their linebackers. I think their defensive ends play really well.

“I think they do a good job in the back end. I think they are very, very solid, very talented. I think they have all new starters in that back end from last year. I like their corners and I like their safety. He aggressive and they try to get him in the run game and the run fits.”

While the big game is quickly approaching, Rebowe is calling for a bit of patience.

“It’s a big game. It’s the next one,” the Nicholls coach said. “It’s the same thing I tell them every week, we can’t play the game today. You can’t play the game tomorrow. We have to do the things that’s important to winning games – the fundamentals, the execution in practice. Let’s handle this day so we can handle tomorrow. Saturday will be here soon enough.”

None too soon for Nicholls fans with hopes of seeing the Colonels lift the conference championship trophy in Thibodaux.

“It would be good for the fans. It would be good for the community. It would be good for everybody,” said Rebowe. “It’s been a couple of years since we were in this position. We have to be able to handle it. Let’s get to the game and let the game take care of itself, and we can worry about that after.”