The Annual River Bell Rivalry lived up to its billing once again last night as it went all the way down to the wire for Coach Ron Roberts and his Southeastern Louisiana Football Team. Not surprisingly, this game turned out to be all about momentum almost all of the way through, as the game was a constant tug of war on the offensive side. Southeastern was able to start off by taking a lead in the first quarter.
The defense would get a huge confidence booster by disrupting a missed 34-yard field goal attempt on their first defensive series. A couple of series after that, the Lions offense made a quick but steady offensive first touchdown drive of 65 yards (capped off by a 2-yard goal line run from Julius Maracalin) that took about two and a half minutes off the clock.
It only took two plays for the Lions to score again. On the first defensive play of the following drive at the 15 yard line, defensive back Max Lyons intercepted a pass from opposing quarterback Chase Fourcade to give the ball back to the Lions offense. With very good field position on the Nicholls State 9 yard line, Lions’ quarterback Justin Alo used his legs to take it into the end zone for his first rushing touchdown of the season, giving the Lions a 14-0 lead.
The Nicholls State Colonels fought their way back into it by scoring two touchdowns in their following two offensive drives. The third offensive drive would be stopped short once again as Nicholls State kicker David McKey would miss his second field goal attempt in a row, this time from 39 yards out.
The next Lions’ offensive drive was stopped short as Colonels defender Corey Abraham picked off Justin Alo on a 3rd down pass attempt. This would lead to another Colonels touchdown giving Nicholls State a one-score lead. The Lions offense would give it one more go for the half, but would turn the ball over on downs. Afterwards, the Colonels would try to make a final push to possibly put up more points, but they would run out of time and the first half finished with a score of 21-14.
Nicholls State would receive the kickoff in the third quarter and took the ball a long way down the field, but once again, a missed field goal by David McKey at 32 yards would keep the score as is. It wasn’t until the following defensive drive that the Lions would take the momentum of the game back, and again, it was the defense forcing a Chase Fourcade interception, but this time it was picked off by defensive back Demareyeh Lane for his second of the year. Lane would return it from around midfield to the Nicholls 10 yard line. Once again with good field position, The Lions offense would capitalize. On third down, relief quarterback D’Shaie Landor would find Landry-Walker high school alum Javon Conner in the end zone for a 9-yard touchdown pass, and Conner’s first touchdown reception of his college career. Unfortunately, Jonathan Tatum would miss the extra point, still giving the Colonels a one-point lead.
Once the defense forced Nicholls State to punt, the Landor and the Lions would start at their own 10 yard line and take it piece by piece to the 50 yard line. On the next two plays, big runs were made. Landor would scramble downfield for 29 yards, and Maracalin finished it off with a 21-yard touchdown run. A good extra point by Tatum this time now gave the Lions a27-21 lead into the fourth quarter. On the following Lions’ offensive drive, Landor would make two big pass completions of 37 and 12 yards to senior fullback Juwaan Rogers, which would bring the Lions back the Nicholls’ 10 yard line with goal to go, and “Juice” Maracalin would punch it in from 10 yards out on the very next play to extend the lead by a score of 34-21. Chase Fourcade and the Colonels would finally respond to the Lions with a big play 57-yard touchdown pass, but Landor and wide receiver Juwan Dickey would answer right back with 48-yard air strike of their own, making the score then 41-28, with 9 minutes and 45 seconds still to play in the game.
After a successful three-and-out stop by the Lions defensive unit and a 24-yard return by Torrance Mosley, Coach Roberts and the Lions offense knew that scoring on this drive would create an insurmountable lead. After the Lions were called for a holding penalty, Landor took matters into his own hands (literally) and completed a 27-yard pass to tight end Brandon Schwebel on a 2nd and 20 play. This would bring the Lions down to the Colonels’ 11 yard line, but after a few missed opportunities in the red zone, the Lions would have to settle for a 22-yard field goal by kicker Dillon Burkhard. Luckily, the Lions burned 4 minutes and 15 seconds off the clock, leaving the Colonels with less than 5 minutes to recover a 16-point deficit with the score at 44-28.
The Lions defense stalled their first chance at a comeback by once again intercepting a 3rd down pass from Fourcade. The defense had now picked off Fourcade three times, and this was the second interception of the season for Lions playmaking defensive back Jacorey Fuller. Although the Landor and the offense did not capitalize, it wasted an extra minute off the clock.
Even though Fourcade had been picked off three times to this point, that was not going to stop him from willing his Colonels to attempt the comeback. It took only 2 minutes and 19 seconds for this team to march down the field for a touchdown. After a successful two point conversion, the score was 44-36.
If the Lions could catch the onside kick then the River Bell would be all theirs, but David McKey kicked one that was slippery enough for the Colonels to get a hold of, and Nicholls state would have one more chance to extend this game to overtime. A 22 yard pass by Fourcade and a couple of crucial penalties by the Lions defense gave the Colonels a chance with 1st and goal at the SLU 7 yard line. Fourcade missed two passes in a row to the end zone, but cornerback Ryan Sigers would be called for a personal foul and a new set of downs. Now at the 2-yard line, Fourcade called his own number for a quarterback rush and punched it into the end zone, but the Colonels still needed a 2-point conversion to tie the game. This time, the Lions defense held on and denied Fourcade a Colonels a pass into the end zone and a chance at overtime.
Unfortunately, the Lions special teams let lightning strike twice, and the Nicholls State Colonels special teams unit led by kicker David McKey, recovered their onside kick two times in a row. After a personal foul penalty called on Juwaan Rogers, the Colonels had one more chance to actually win the game this time at SLU’s 37 yard line. Fourcade lobbed up a Hail Mary into the end zone for the final play of the game, and the defense would break up the pass, winning the River Bell Rivalry trophy by the skin of their teeth.
Coach Roberts and the Lions finished their regular season now with a 7-4 overall record, and a 7-2 record in conference play, finishing an uncontested third place in the Southland Conference. Only time will tell now if the Lions will potentially get a nod into FCS Playoffs, but regardless of that, congratulations to coach Roberts and the Lions as they get to take the River Bell back home to Hammond, Louisiana!