Nicholls defense gift-wraps win No. 50 for Rebowe with stellar effort against Lions

The Nicholls defensive gift-wrapped coach Tim Rebowe’s 50th win as Colonels coach.

Through two Southland Conference games, the Nicholls defense gave up an average of 8.5 points per game and 292.5 yards of total offense.

At Texas A&M-Commerce on Saturday afternoon, the Colonel defense decided to basically dispense with those totals on the Lions’ opening drive of the game.

Texas A&M-Commerce travelled 75 yards on its opening drive of the game to take a quick 7-0 lead.

The Nicholls defense would allow the Lions only 76 yards the remainder of the opening half and no more points in the entire game as the Colonels took a 27-7 win in Commerce, Texas.

Nicholls ended up allowing a total of 309 yards, but three second-half interceptions in the red zone by the Colonel defense effectively kept the Lions from getting back in the game.

Nicholls moved to 3-0 in the conference with the win and evened the Colonels’ overall record at 3-3.

The Lions fell to 1-2 in the league and 1-6 overall.

With quarterback Josh Magana directing a no-huddle, shotgun offense, and getting plays signaled in from the sideline, the Lions marched down the field on the opening possession of the game. Texas A&M-Commerce eventually faced fourth-and-4 at the Colonels’ 33-yard line.

Keith Miller hauled in a short pass from Magana and raced into the end zone to give the Lions a 7-0 lead at the 9:46 mark of the opening quarter.

The Colonels answered on their second possession of the game to tie the score.

A 16-yard reception by David Robinson, followed by a pass interference call against the Lions, gave Nicholls a first down at the Texas A&M-Commerce 35.

Nicholls followed the Lions’ script for its first score when Neno Lemay took in a short pass from quarterback Pat McQuaide and turned it into a 35-yard score to tie the game with 2:20 remaining in the first quarter.

The Colonels were on the march early in the second quarter until the Lions defender Daryion Taylor intercepted McQuaide at the 5-yard line. The Nicholls defense forced a punt from deep in Commerce territory, giving the ball back to the Colonel offense at the Nicholls 48.

A 20-yard catch by Robinson and another personal foul call against the Lions had the Colonels quickly on the move. Two plays later, Collin Guggenheim ran 14 yards from the wildcat formation to give Nicholls a 14-0 lead with 9:51 remaining in the second quarter.

Nicholls extended its lead to 21-7 at halftime on a 17-yard run by Jaylon Spears with 50 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

Although Magana was 17 of 20 for 130 yards and a touchdown, he was replaced at the start of the second half by Lake Bennett at quarterback.

Bennett had the Lions on the move, but he threw three red zone interceptions on three of the next four possessions, including the first two to open the second half.

His first interception came after the Lions reached the 16-yard line. Devonte Mathew picked off Bennett at the 1-yard line and ran the errant throw back to the Nicholls 11 to end the threat.

On Texas A&M-Commerce’s next drive, the Lions advanced to the Nicholls 19. On third-and-13, Bennett was hit by Joe Mason, resulting in an errant throw that was intercepted by Ethan Lee at the Colonels’ 2-yard line with 2:26 left in the third quarter.

Early in the fourth quarter, a 59-yard catch-and-run by Terry Matthews eventually set up a 2-yard touchdown run by Guggenheim and a 27-7 Nicholls lead.

Bennett, the second of three quarterbacks used by the Lions, finished 6 of 14 passing for 101 yards with three interceptions.

The Nicholls defense held the Lions to 78 yards on the ground. The Lions’ top rusher was Mitchell McGarry. The Commerce punter ran 21 yards early in the second half when forced to run after he mishandled a snap from the deep snapper.

The only other Lion to reach double figures in rushing was Jordan Hamilton, who netted 18 yards on two attempts.

Guggenheim rushed for 78 yards, allowing him to top the 2,000-yard mark in his career.

McQuaide finished 16 of 26 passing for 240 yards, with one touchdown and one interception.