McNeese State Faces-Off Against Nicholls State In Southland Conference Football Action

(Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loco Photography, Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved)

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2010 TexSport Publications

LAKE CHARLES, LOUSIANA (October 30, 2010) The McNeese State Cowboys (3-4, 2-1 conf.) face the Nicholls Colonels (2-5, 1-2 conf.) in Southland Conference football action on Louis Bonnette Field at Cowboy Stadium in Lake Charles, La. Kickoff is set for 7:00 pm CST.

McNeese State leads the series 23-11, with the Cowboys having won last year’s game 38-17.

The Cowboys’ Josh Lewis kicked a 52-yard field goal as time ran out to give McNeese State a 13-10 victory over Southeastern Louisiana last weekend.

The field goal was the third-longest in McNeese history and a career long for Lewis. It was his third game-winning kick in his career.

Last year, he lifted the Cowboys past Appalachian State and Texas State. The win snapped a two-game losing streak.

Andre Anderson led the McNeese running game with 74 yards on 21 carries while Cody Stroud completed 15-of-29 passes for 172 yards.

Anderson was also the team's leading receiver with six catches for 37 yards while Diontae Spencer had 81 yards on two catches.

McNeese is averaging 17.7 points and 317.0 yards per game and limiting opponents to 28.3 points and 363.6 yards per game.

The defense allows 133.0 rushing yards per game, which ranks 41st in the FCS.

Lewis has made 9-of-10 field goal tries this season and has the best field goal percentage in the Southland.

Ths past week, the Colonels fumbled on their first possession of the game, gave up a touchdown, and never recovered in a 31-7 loss at home to Central Arkansas.

Nicholls owned every major offensive statistical category in the game, including total yards (330-to-230), first downs (21-to-11) and time of possession (39:59-to-20:01), but three turnovers led to 21 Bears points.

The Colonels were led by RB Jesse Turner with 178 total yards of offense, including 94 yards rushing and 84 receiving. He scored Nicholls' lone touchdown just 5 seconds into the fourth quarter.

LB Jordan Piper registered 11 total tackles, including four solo stops, one for a loss and a pass break up. The Colonels rank 16th nationally in net punting with 36.5 net yards per punt.

Patrick Dolan is 11th nationally with a net average of 42.5 yards per punt.

Nicholls also ranks 28th in kick returns, averaging 22.7 yards per return.

Joshua Warren ranks 33rd in the FCS, averaging 25.7 yards per kick return.

McNeese is currently in third place in the Southland Conference, while Nicholls ranks number six in the conference.