Eagles swamped by Nicholls State
THIBODAUX, La. – Nicholls State surprised Eastern Washington with three quick scores in the first half and went on to drub the Eagles 37-14 in the college football opener for both teams Thursday.
The first 21 points NSU scored all came on two-play drives, which totaled just 138 yards and took only 50 seconds. The result was a 30-0 lead for Nicholls State at halftime as the Colonels took advantage of four Eagles turnovers in the first half – with three leading to 16 points.
“We just turned the ball over too many times,” Eagles coach Paul Wulff said. “We played poorly and turned the ball over on special teams. And we had some assignment errors that were big plays against our defense.”
Because of a downpour during pre-game warm-ups, the entire first half was played on a rain-soaked and slippery grass field. The two teams combined for eight fumbles (four lost) in the game, as well as several other mishandled snaps and dropped passes. Eastern lost three fumbles and had three interceptions, compared to just one fumble lost and no interceptions for NSU.
“I’m not going to use it as an excuse, but it was a mess,” said Wulff.
En route to what eventually became a 37-0 deficit, the Eagles had 99 yards of total offense and four first downs before getting untracked late in the third quarter. Eastern finished with 250 total yards, while the Colonels had 359 – 246 rushing and 113 passing.
Nicholls State got its option offense untracked in the first quarter, driving 68 yards on two plays that included a surprise 45-yard touchdown pass from Vale Vannoy to David Plaisance. Broderick Cole scored on a 3-yard run late in the quarter after a fumbled punt.
After an Eagles punt early in the second quarter, Colt Coletti scored on a 35-yard run to give NSU its 21-0 led with 14:52 to play in the half.
A fumble by Eagles quarterback Erik Meyer led to a Colonels field goal, then Coletti scored again on 7-yard run with just 37 seconds to play. That came after another fumble – Eastern’s fourth turnover of the half.
Nicholls State took a 37-0 lead in the third quarter before Eastern responded with its first score of the day – a nine-play, 65-yard drive that was sparked by Darius Washington. The senior running back accounted for 51 of the yards – 37 rushing and 14 on a reception – as he scored on a 7-yard run with 27 seconds to go in the quarter.
Eastern scored again on its next possession on a 13-play, 80-yard drive, capped by a 3-yard run by Dezmon Cole. The touchdowns helped Eastern avoid being shutout for the first time since getting thumped 51-0 by North Texas on Oct. 1, 1988.
Washington finished with 57 yards rushing on 14 carries. Meyer finished 16 of 27 for 122 yards. He had two interceptions after throwing just three the entire 2003 season. Eric Kimble caught a career-high nine passes for 66 yards.
Plaisance finished with 212 yards of all-purpose yards for the Colonels, including 27 rushing, 96 receiving, 43 on punt returns and 46 on kickoff returns. Vannoy had 77 yards rushing and completed 4 of 6 passes for 113 yards.
Thursday’s outcome was a surprise considering the developments in the NSU football program in the last month.
The Colonels were missing 14 players as the NCAA continues to investigate evidence of academic fraud that surfaced at NSU in August. Nicholls State changed head coaches in the middle of fall camp amid evidence that involved an assistant football coach who was working with a group of student-athletes. Assistant head coach and defensive coordinator Jay Thomas took over the helm on Aug. 18 – three days after head coach Daryl Daye and the assistant were released.