Near-perfect second quarter sparks Nicholls into top spot in SLC with 45-32 win over UIW

One of the best second quarters in the history of Nicholls football allowed the Colonels to take command of the Southland Conference on Saturday afternoon in San Antonio at Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium.

Nicholls trailed 10-0 after one period before exploding for 24 points in the second quarter to give the Colonels a 24-10 lead on their way to a 45-32 win over fourth-ranked University of Incarnate Word.

The only thing to mar a near-perfect quarter was a Colonel penchant for allowing a late score in the opening half. Nicholls allowed a 51-yard Mason Lawler field goal as time expired to cut into the Colonels’ halftime lead of 24-13.

Any thoughts that the late first-half field goal would be the springboard to a big rally for the Cardinals came to an end a little more than five minutes into the second half when Nicholls defensive lineman Joe Mason stripped the ball from a UIW runner, with Devonte Mathews racing 60 yards on a scoop-and-score to increase the Colonels’ lead to 31-13.

From that point, Collin Guggenheim added two touchdown runs to his two from the first half. It was the second time this season the Nicholls running back had four rushing touchdowns in a game to give him a total of 11 on the season. He finished with 153 yards rushing.

The Cardinals came up a pair of touchdown passes from quarterback Zach Calzada to Caleb Chapman and another to Jaelin Campbell in the second half to into the deficit, but the Colonels simply had built too big a lead for UIW to seriously threaten Nicholls down the stretch.

Down by 13 points in the closing moments, a desperate drive to score by the Cardinals came to an end on an interception by Mathews with 56 seconds left in the game.

Nicholls moved to a perfect 5-0 in the Southland and evened its overall record at 4-4. The loss snapped a seven-game winning streak for UIW, which dropped to 7-2 on the season.

Having been highly ranked all season and now with only two losses, the Cardinals are likely playoff bound, barring a late-season collapse.

At 3-4 going into the game, the Colonels needed the win to put themselves into playoff contention but games against Lamar and rival Southeastern Louisiana still loom on the schedule.

The game against UIW was the start of three games in a 13-day period for the Colonels.

Jaylon Spears led all rushers with 160 yards as the Colonels amassed 331 yards on the ground, averaging 6.0 yards per attempt to run past a UIW team that entered the game allowing less than 125 yards on the ground.

Nicholls quarterback Pat McQuaide passed for 108 yards.

Calzada passed for 394 yards, but the Colonel defense held UIW to 45 yards on 16 attempts.

A pair of fourth-down conversions, along with penalties that both helped and hurt Nicholls, allowed the Colonels to get back in the game early in the second quarter.

On the second fourth-down conversion of the drive – on a pass from McQuaide to Brown – a roughing the passer call advanced the Colonels to the UIW 10-yard line.

On third down from the 6-yard line, a face mask penalty on the Colonels backed Nicholls up, leading to a 23-yard Gavin Lasseigne field goal to make the score 10-3 at the 12:30 mark of the second quarter.

Less than a minute later, the Colonels found themselves in a 10-10 tie.

On the ensuing possession, pressure by Nicholls linebacker Eli Ennis led to an errant throw by Calzada that was picked off by defensive back Quinton Sharkey.

On the very next play, McQuaide drilled a 19-yard pass to Lee Negrotto over the middle just beyond the goal line to tie the game with 11:37 remaining in the first half.

Led by runs of 20 and 19 yards by Spears, the Colonels scored once again. A 5-yard touchdown run by Guggenheim capped a 69-yard drive, putting Nicholls on top 17-10 at the 5:10 mark of the second quarter.

Nicholls extended its lead late in the first half.

A 90-yard drive was highlighted by a leaping pass reception of 34 yards by David Robinson Jr. to the UIW 23-yard line. That eventually set up a 6-yard touchdown run by Guggenheim to extend the Nicholls lead to 24-10 with 25 seconds left before halftime.

In a surprise, Calzada started at quarterback for UIW.

Fourth in the nation in total offense and third in passing, Calzada, a Texas A&M transfer, missed the previous two games because of an injury. There were media reports earlier in the week that he might need season-ending surgery.

Calzada immediately showed his arm was in fine shape, tossing 43 yards to Brandon Porter only three plays into the game, giving the Cardinals a first down at the Nicholls 3-yard line.

Like the Nicholls defense has done throughout Southland play, the Colonels held, forcing UIW to settle on a 24-yard Lawler field goal less than three minutes into the game.

Nicholls pinned UIW deep twice on punts but failed to take advantage of favorable field position following kick exchanges.

The Cardinals drove 86 yards late in the first quarter with Calzada and Porter hooking up once again. This time, a 7-yard strike gave UIW a 10-0 lead at the 4:25 mark of the first quarter.