Nicholls Beats Northwestern State 31-27 on Last-Second End Zone Interception

For the second year in a row, the Real NSU Trophy came down to one throw into the end zone in the final seconds. For the second year in a row, a Nicholls defender caught it.

Nicholls held off Northwestern State 31-27 on Oct. 24 at Turpin Stadium in Natchitoches. With five seconds left and the Demons at the Nicholls 15, Kevin Martin Jr. pressured quarterback Zach Wilcke, and Skylar Husband intercepted the pass in the end zone as time expired. It was the only turnover of the game.

The win snapped a four-game skid for Nicholls, which improved to 3-5 and 2-3 in the Southland Conference. It was also the Colonels' first road win since 2024, ending a 13-game road losing streak. Northwestern State fell to 0-8 and 0-5.

A fast start for the Demons

Northwestern State needed three plays to take the lead. Wilcke found Amaaz Eugene for an 82-yard touchdown, the longest touchdown catch by a Demon since 2022 and the longest scoring pass in the Southland this season. It was 7-0 almost before the crowd had settled in.

Nicholls clawed back. Kingston Phan made a 26-yard field goal to make it 7-3. Then, in the second quarter, Chase Chesser blocked a Northwestern State field goal attempt, and the Colonels took advantage. Quarterback Chase Richardson found Isaiah LeBlanc for a 25-yard touchdown, the first score as a Colonel for both players, and Nicholls led 10-7.

The Demons answered with a 15-play, 75-yard drive before halftime. Wilcke finished it with a 1-yard sneak, and Northwestern State took a 14-10 lead into the locker room.

The third quarter swings

The second half started with a big play that almost became a disaster. Ellis Stewart made a 52-yard catch-and-run, dragging a defender inside the 10, then lost the ball. Parker Smith fell on it for Nicholls, and on the next play Shane Lee bulled in from 2 yards out for the go-ahead score, Lee's first touchdown of the season. Nicholls led 17-14.

Northwestern State answered quickly. Gavin Duplechin appeared to intercept Wilcke on the Demons' next drive, but a penalty wiped it out. Wilcke made Nicholls pay, hitting Jimmie Duncan for a 10-yard touchdown that put the Demons back in front, 21-17, midway through the third quarter.

The turning point: Richardson's legs

That is when Richardson took over. On the first play of the next drive, the quarterback scrambled for 30 yards, pushing past 100 rushing yards for the game. A third-down catch came up just short of the sticks, but a targeting penalty gave Nicholls a first down in the red zone. Two plays later, Tamaj Hoffman made one cut and went untouched for a 7-yard touchdown. Nicholls led 24-21.

The defense then made the stop that set up the knockout. To open the fourth quarter, Erin Moore broke up a fourth-down pass, and the Colonels took over. They needed only six plays to score again, with Richardson hitting Greg Donaldson down the sideline for a 35-yard touchdown. It was 31-21.

Northwestern State coach Blaine McCorkle knew exactly what had hurt the Demons. "The quarterback draw killed us," McCorkle said. "We finally got it stopped but probably a drive too late."

One more chance, one more interception

The Demons did not go quietly. Trailing by 10 with less than seven minutes left, Wilcke led a drive that included two catches for 38 yards by Eugene and a 15-yard grab by Brendan Webb. Webb then caught a 2-yard touchdown pass with about four minutes remaining. But the extra point never got off cleanly. The Northwestern State recap blamed a low snap, and Nicholls described a botched hold. Either way, the score stayed 31-27, and a tying field goal was off the table.

Nicholls punted the ball back, and the Demons took over at their own 14 with 1:45 to play. Wilcke hit Camryn Davis for 16 and 18 yards, Webb for 11 and Duncan for 31. Northwestern State converted two fourth downs along the way and reached the Nicholls 15 with five seconds left. Then Martin pressured Wilcke, and Husband caught the last pass of the night.

"That's about as hard a loss as we've had since we've been here," McCorkle said. "For the second time in two years we drive down the field and throw the ball into the end zone to win and can't finish it."

The players who decided it

Richardson had a career day. The quarterback completed 12 of 24 passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns and ran 22 times for 151 yards. Richardson also converted five of the seven third downs Nicholls picked up all night. Stewart led the receivers with five catches for 72 yards.

The Nicholls defense bent but made the plays it had to make. Kennon Loftin and Antoine Okelo-Johnson each had 11 tackles, and Okelo-Johnson added 2.5 tackles for loss, including a sack. Lynard Harris and Kasai Jones had six tackles apiece. Pharrell Harewood punted five times for a 43.8 average, including a 55-yarder downed at the 3.

For Northwestern State, Wilcke threw for a career-best 340 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 74 yards and another score, accounting for 414 yards and all four Demon touchdowns. Eugene caught seven passes for a career-high 161 yards, the second 100-yard game of the season. "He's a warrior," McCorkle said of Eugene. "He's one of the guys that was here when we got here three years ago. He doesn't say a word. He just shows up and goes to practice every day." Linebackers Danny Sears, Blake Fann and KB Anderson-Dale combined for 24 tackles.

The stats that matter

On paper, Northwestern State should have won. The Demons outgained Nicholls by more than 100 yards, with 463 total yards, their most against an FCS opponent since 2022. They held the ball for more than 33 minutes. They did not turn it over until the final snap.

But Nicholls won the plays that swing games: a blocked field goal, a fumble recovered by its own player inside the 10, a fourth-down stop and a botched extra point by the other side. Add Richardson on third down, and the margin was four points.

What it means

For Nicholls, this was a needed breakthrough. The Colonels had lost 56-0 at home to Stephen F. Austin a week earlier and had been held out of the end zone in their first three road games. Now they have their ninth win over Northwestern State in the last 10 meetings and a trophy that stays in Thibodaux. Next on the schedule was a trip to McNeese on Saturday, Oct. 31.

For Northwestern State, the search for a first win goes on. The Demons came in looking for their first victory of the season and their first conference win since 2022, and for the second straight year they were one play from beating their rival. "There are no moral victories," McCorkle said. "The only standard is to win and the hardest part about this program right now is watching them get so much better and not be able to finish it." The Demons visit UIW in San Antonio on Saturday at 1 p.m.

The last word

"Our guys continue to fight unbelievably hard," McCorkle said. "There is absolutely no quit in them."

That was true on Saturday night. It was true last year, too. And for the second straight season, Nicholls had one more defensive play left in it. More details are in the recaps from Nicholls (opens in a new tab) and Northwestern State (opens in a new tab).

Sources: Nicholls Athletics and Northwestern State Athletics recaps, Nicholls game preview, and BVM Sports. More college football coverage on Undrafted.

Photos: Nicholls Athletics.