AUG. 31: Football Report
Aug. 31, 2006
FRISCO, Texas -
Defending Southland Conference co-champion Nicholls State got its 2006 season off to a great start with a 35-0 blanking of Southern Arkansas on Thursday. In other Southland action, Southeastern Louisiana lost, 30-15, at New Mexico State and Stephen F. Austin dropped a 45-7 decision at Tulsa. Transitioning Southland member Central Arkansas took a 39-6 win over Henderson State.
NICHOLLS STATE 35, SOUTHERN ARKANSAS 0
Nicholls took control early in their game Thursday night against Southern Arkansas, and never looked back as it cruised to a 35-0 win at John L. Guidry Stadium.
At the 10:24 mark in the first quarter, Broderick Cole muscled it in from the 1-yard line for the touchdown. The score was the end result of a 9-play 68-yard drive that took 4:36 off the clock. The PAT by Alex Romero was good, and the Colonels would go on top 7-0.
Michael McLendon would score the second touchdown of the first quarter at the 5:09 point from 1-yard out as well. Romero's PAT was good, and the Colonels would close out the 1st quarter of their season opener with a 14-0 advantage over the Muleriders.
Late the seconnd Quarter, a bad snap on a punt attempt by Tommy King put the ball in the Colonels endzone and King was unable to avoid Nicholls' Jermaine Boggan from diving on it for the touchdown. Romero's PAT was good. Boggan finished the game with two interceptions, a special teams touchdown, and 0.5 tackles.
The only touchdown scored in the third quarter of play was set up by another Muleriders special teams mistake. King bobbled the ball, and Levon Bailey for the Colonels made him pay for it by forcing the fumble. Kyle Hughes picked up the loose ball for Nicholls and scampered 14 yards before he was tackled at the 1-yard line. A play later, Zach Morgan found paydirt and Romero's PAT was good. The third quarter ended with the score 28-0 in favor of the Colonels.
It wasn't until late in the 4th quarter that Michael McLendon scored on a 1-yard run that capped off 9-play 80-yard drive that lasted 5:09. The Muleriders only got into field goal range once and did not score in their contest against the Colonels.
Nicholls will face the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, Neb., next weekend. The game will be played on Saturday September 9th, and a time has yet to be determined.
NEW MEXICO STATE 30, SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA 15
The New Mexico State football team (1-0) snapped the nation's longest losing streak of 13 games with a 30-15 victory over Southeastern Louisiana (0-1), 30-15, Thursday, Aug. 31, in Las Cruces, N.M.
In his Aggie debut, sophomore quarterback Chase Holbrook was 29-for-40 with 381 yards. Holbrook spread the wealth in head coach Hal Mumme's `Air Raid' offense with sophomore wide receiver Chris Williams and junior wide receiver Derek Dubois both recording seven receptions. Williams had a game-high 146 yards while Dubois contributed 93 yards. Junior running back Justine Buries led the team in rushing with 107 yards on 22 carries.
The Aggies didn't waste anytime jumping on the scoreboard. On the opening drive, Buries 10-yard touchdown run capped off an 11-play 80-yard drive. Holbrook was 5-for-6 for 58 yards on the drive.
After the New Mexico State defense held the Lions on fourth down, the Aggies took advantage on the ensuing play. Holbrook recorded his first career touchdown when he connected with Williams for a 37-yard strike to give the Aggies a 14-0 lead on their second possession.
Southeastern Louisiana cut into the Aggies lead, 14-6, with a five-play 80-yard drive. Sophomore wide receiver Merrick Lanaux grabbed a 25-yard pass from senior quarterback Seth Babin and freshman kicker Jeff Turner missed the extra point.
The Lion offense continued when sophomore running back Jay Lucas found his way into the end zone from 11 yards out. In an attempt to tie the game, Southeastern Louisiana tried and failed a two-point conversion.
The Aggies increased their lead, 20-12, when Holbrook found Dubois for a 15-yard touchdown.
The first half ended when both teams converted turnovers into field goals and NMSU had a 23-15 advantage at halftime.
The only score of the second half was with just over a minute left in the third quarter and Holbrook turned a fourth-and-15 into a 29-yard gain when junior tight end Nick Clever muscled his way to the one yard line. The play set up a quarterback sneak, which was Holbrook first career rushing touchdown at NMSU.
TULSA 45, STEPHEN F. AUSTIN 7
The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjack football team started the 2006 season on a down note with a 45-7 loss to NCAA Bowl Subdivision opponent Tulsa on Thursday evening. The size of Tulsa's offensive line finally wore down SFA as the Golden Hurricane piled up more than 500 yards of total offense, including 194 on the ground. The Lumberjack offense was held to 185 yards, including 122 on the ground.
Senior running back Jerome Brooks finished the game with three carries for 50 yards, including a long of 39 yards for SFA. Redshirt freshman Vincent Pervis also carried the ball three times for 32 yards, including a 28-yard touchdown scamper with six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. It was Pervis' first career touchdown as a running back.
The Lumberjacks will open the 2006 home schedule Saturday, Sept. 9, against Delta State. The game against the Statesmen is scheduled for a 6 p.m. kick.
CENTRAL ARKANSAS 39, HENDERSON STATE 6
The University of Central Arkansas Bears made their NCAA Division I-AA debut a success Thursday night with an easy 39-6 victory over Henderson State before a crowd of 10, 515 in the Capital City Classic at War Memorial Stadium.
UCA, moving up from Division II, got 269 passing yards from sophomore quarterback Nathan Brown, who completed 23 of 29 passes with two touchdowns. Senior All-American receiver Aaron Fairooz caught eight of those passes for 84 yards, including an early 48-yard touchdown strike from Brown.
Junior running back Ross Brown, in just his second start, scored twice and rushed for a career-high 117 yards on 15 carries. His touchdown runs of 57 - on a one-play drive - and 4 yards gave the Bears a 22-0 cushion early in the second quarter. The lead reached 25-0 when James Paul kicked a 27-yard field goal to close the first half.
The Bears finished with 478 yards of total offense, with 312 coming through the air. UCA quarterbacks Brown and Robbie Park combined to complete 25 passes to 10 different receivers. Oklahoma State transfer Chijuan Mack caught the other TD pass, a 39-yarder from Brown that gave the Bears a 32-2 lead to open the fourth quarter.
The Reddies, 3-8 a year ago, got a pair of field goals from Brian Giambastiani from 31 and 39 yards for their only scores. UCA's defense held HSU to just 203 total yards of offense, with quarterback Garett Manning rushing for 65 of those.
Senior cornerback Ahmad Brown intercepted two passes for the Bears and led the way with eight tackles. Senior safety Jasper Johnson followed with seven tackles and another UCA interception. Freshman James Lancaster returned the fourth interception 36 yards for the game's final touchdown with 9:03 remaining in the game.
UCA travels to Normal, Ill., next Saturday to take on Illinois State.