By MALCOLM BUTLER, Lincoln Parish Journal
RUSTON — Defending Southland Conference champion Nicholls ran into a nightmare on Saturday night.
The Louisiana Tech defense.
A much-maligned unit a year ago, the Bulldogs D put a sleeper hold on the Colonels’ prolific run-heavy offensive unit which helped lead Nicholls to a postseason appearance in 2023.
And ultimately it led Tech to a season-opening 25-17 win at Joe Aillet Stadium.
“I didn’t think we were very good offensively or on special teams tonight,” said Tech third-year coach Sonny Cumbie. “But our defense bailed us out. And that’s what we told the guys in the locker room. Good teams pick each other up and our defense picked us up tonight.”
It was a Fields day, so to speak. Kolbe Fields, that is.
The transfer linebacker, who had to sit out all of last year, made his Bulldog debut in style, recording 11 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.
He made an immediate impact. On the first Nicholls offensive play from scrimmage, Fields teamed up with David Blay to tackle Colonels all-everything tailback Jaylon Spears in the end zone for an early safety.
It was the start of a stellar night for Fields and the Tech defense.
“I woke up at five this morning, and I prayed and cried,” said Fields, who transferred from LSU. “I also thought about my people, and it wasn’t me out there, it was God.”
At the end of the night, it was the Nicholls offense that was shedding some tears.
The Colonels managed just seven points and 200 total yards, that TD coming late in the fourth quarter. Nicholls State was just 3-of-16 on third down conversions, only 1 of its last 14.
“It’s always a blessing to win, and you cannot take it for granted,” said Fields. “We have to do what we do week in and week out. We need to just improve and compete and keep going.”
After Tech took the early 2-0 lead on the safety, a pick-six by Nicholls defense lineman Rasheed Lovelace on an attempted screen pass by Jack Turner gave the Colonels their only lead of the game at 7-2.
Turner responded in style, hitting Solo Lewis for a 28-yard TD pass just over one minute later to give the Bulldogs a 9-7 lead. On Tech’s next offensive possession, Turner left with an apparent knee injury and did not return.
Redshirt freshman Blake Baker replaced Turner and completed 12-of-24 passes for 207 yards and one TD while throwing two interceptions. Baker hit Marlion Jackson with a 14-yard TD pass during a monsoon midway through the second quarter to up Tech’s lead to 15-7.
“I thought Blake played well,” said Cumbie. “Obviously, ball protection was an issue for us tonight (with five turnovers). However, he made some plays and showed some composure.
“The effort was there from an offensive standpoint. But it was arguably one of the sloppiest games I have been part of from an offensive and special teams standpoint.”
While the Bulldogs’ offense and special teams units were inconsistent, the Bulldog defense was not. Tech recorded six sacks of Colonels’ starting QB Pat McQuaide.
“It is a good start and we need to continue to have numbers like that,” said Cumbie of the sacks. “J’Dan Burnett and Jessie Evans are good pass rushers. We are letting them play fast and they have an opportunity to rush the passer. That was one of our goals of the season, to get to the quarterback more.”
Tech held a 15-10 halftime lead. In the third quarter neither team was able to put points on the scoreboard as both defenses held strong. The Bulldogs unit held Nicholls to just 53 total yards on its first six offensive possessions of the second half.
The dominance allowed the Bulldogs to add a 24-yard Buck Buchanan field goal and a 6-yard Jimmy Holiday touchdown run in the fourth quarter to push the advantage to 25-10.
“Overall, I am proud of the resiliency we had on offense,” said Holiday. “We fought through some adversity and some hiccups, but we kept going and did not drop our heads. We kept to our motto to improve and compete.”
Nicholls’ offense finally found the end zone on a 27-yard pass from McQuaide to Quincy Brown with 2:17 to play in the game, cutting the deficit to 25-17.
The Colonels got one final opportunity to tie the game, but on fourth and 10 from inside its own 20-yard line, McQuaide was sacked by Burnett and Zach Zimos to clinch the outcome.
“I am excited our football team is 1-0,” said Cumbie. “It was a great effort from a defensive standpoint.”
Tech returns to action Sept. 14 at North Carolina State.
Contact Malcolm at lplnewsla@gmail.com