The McNeese Cowboys fell to the Nicholls Colonels 31-10 in the Southland Conference opener for McNeese on Saturday night inside Cowboy Stadium. The loss puts McNeese at 0-1 in Southland play and 0-5 overall on the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Nicholls started with the football, and their drive stalled out. However, the punt was muffed by McNeese, giving Nicholls the ball inside the 10 yard line. From there, Nicholls was able to score on a two-yard pass from running back Collin Guggenheim to Neno Lemay.
After the initial score, both defenses started trading stops. The first quarter ended with Nicholls leading 7-0. However, shortly into the second quarter, the Colonels struck again on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Pat McQuaide to David Robinson.
This time, McNeese answered with a score of their own. A drive led by quarterback Nate Glantz ended with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Jon McCall to make it 14-7 in the second quarter.
Nicholls was able to go down and get a field goal with three minutes left in the first half. Gavin Lasseigne connected on a 25-yard field goal to make it 17-7 with Nicholls leading. Just a few plays later, McNeese made a critical mistake before the half. Glantz’s pass was intercepted by Quinton Sharkey and returned for a touchdown to make it 24-7 at the half.
Both defenses again played well at the beginning of the second half. McNeese was able to strike first, putting together an eight play, 64-yard drive that ended in a 44-yard field goal by Garrison Smith to make it 24-10. That was the only score in the third quarter.
The story of the night was McNeese not finding a way to finish their drives. Eventually, Nicholls put together a 12 play, 80-yard drive to put this game away. It ended with a Jaylon Spears two-yard touchdown run. That made the score 31-10 Nicholls.
McNeese totaled almost 300 yards on the night, but could not convert their opportunities. The loss moves them to 0-5 on the season.
BIG NUMBER: 293
McNeese has almost 300 yards of offense but just could not convert those drives into points. The loss continues a tough start to the season.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Collin Guggenheim
The New Orleans native tallied over 100 yards on 22 carries in the win for the Colonels. Nicholls got their first win of the season in this one.
UP NEXT: McNeese will travel to Texas A&M Commerce to face the Lions on October 7th at 7:00 PM.