Box Score

THIBODAUX – LaQuinton Caston rushed for 139 yards on 24 carries, including a decisive 43-yard TD run with 4:23 remaining that helped Nicholls State pull away and edge Southeastern, 27-25, in the final game for both teams Thursday at John L. Guidry Stadium.

Caston added touchdown runs of 7 and 1 yard as Nicholls (4-7, 3-4 Southland) rushed for 213 yards and closed out the season with two straight victories. Southeastern, which lost six games by a combined 20 points, ended its season at 2-9 and 1-6 in the Southland Conference.

After Caston's final score, Southeastern drove 78 yards in nine plays with Tyler Beatty capping the drive with a 1-yard sneak with 2:19 left. The Lions kept the drive alive when Beatty hit Brandon Collins for a 9-yard gain on third-and-7 to the SLU 43 before connecting with Kory Theodore for a 47-yard completion to the NSU 1 on the next play.

Forced to attempt a two-point conversion, Beatty's pass was batted down by Jordan Piper and the Colonels recovered the ensuing onsides kick and ran out the clock.

“We ran a crossing route on the two-point play, but they (NSU) jammed our receivers at the line of scrimmage and were able to make a play,” Southeastern head coach Mike Lucas said. “I feel really bad for our seniors, our fans, our administration and all of our supporters. It's very disappointing the way the season went because we know we're better than that.”

Trailing 14-0 at halftime, Southeastern opened the second half with an 80-yard drive that took 12 plays and resulted in a 24-yard TD pass from Beatty to Simmie Yarborough. The Lions, who were 1-for-7 on third-down conversions in the first half converted on two third-down attempts along with a 20-yard catch by Yarborough on fourth-and-10 to the NSU 12.

A bad snap that resulted in 7-yard loss and a false start penalty moved the ball back to the NSU 22, but Beatty found Yarborough in right corner of the end zone two plays later to get the Lions on the board.

Both teams traded field goals on their next drives before Southeastern cut the lead to 17-16 after Tommy Connors recovered a Caston fumble at the NSU 47.

Southeastern needed four plays to reach the end zone as Zeke Jones took an inside handoff, bounced outside and scored from 11 yards with 2:13 left in the third quarter. The Lions were not able to tie the game as snap was mishandled and Nicholls held on to a one-point lead.

Andrew Dolan booted a 32-yard field goal to put Nicholls ahead, 20-16, with 14:56 remaining in the game before Southeastern closed to within 20-19 on a 24-yard field goal by Seth Sebastian at the 7:09 mark.

Nicholls took the opening kickoff and drove 53 yards in four plays with Caston capping the drive with a 7-yard scoring run. The Colonels opened the drive with a 15-yard pass to Brandon Johnson to the SLU 38 before Marcus Washington rumbled 30 yards to the 8.

Caston gave the Colonels a 14-0 lead just before halftime when he scored on 1-yard plunge to cap a nine-play, 60-yard drive. Caston kept the drive alive when he scrambled 28 yards on third-and-14 to the SLU 7 before scoring his second touchdown of the game two plays later.

Yarborough, who caught six passes for 84 yards, surpassed former Lion Felton Huggins as Southeastern's all-time leader with 168 receptions. Collins caught 10 passes for 140 yards – his fourth 100-yard performance in the past five games – while Sam Fairley rushed for 105 yards on 14 carries.

Nathan Clophus, one of 19 seniors playing in his final game for Southeastern, led the Lions with seven tackles while Curtis Strong and Keiron Jones added five tackles each.

Southeastern outgained Nicholls, 468-326, with Beatty completing 19-of-43 passes for 321 yards.

Southeastern La..... 0 0 16 9 - 25 Record: (2-9, 1-6 Southland)
Nicholls State...... 7 7 3 10 - 27 Record: (4-7, 3-4 Southland)

Scoring Summary:
1st Quarter
NICH – Caston 7 run (A. Dolan kick), 13:08

2nd Quarter
NICH – Caston 1 run (A. Dolan kick), :34

3rd Quarter
SLU – Yarborough 24 pass from Beatty (Sebastian kick), 10:54
NICH – FG Dolan 39, 7:26
SLU – FG Sebastian 44, 4:16
SLU – Jones 11 run (Run failed), 2:13

4th Quarter
NICH – FG Dolan, Andrew 32 yd field goal, 14:56
SLU – FG Sebastian 24, 7:09
NICH – Caston 43 run (A. Dolan kick), 4:23
SLU – Beatty 1 run (Pass failed), 2:19

SLU NICH
FIRST DOWNS................... 21 17
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............ 30-147 44-213
PASSING YDS (NET)............. 321 113
Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 43-19-0 19-11-0
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS..... 73-468 63-326
Punts (Number-Avg)............ 6-34.2 4-45.8
Fumbles-Lost.................. 2-0 2-2
Penalties-Yards............... 11-83 5-35
Possession Time............... 27:14 32:46

RUSHING
Southeastern La. – Fairley 14-105; Jones 10-35; Beatty 6-7. Nicholls State – Caston 24-139; Washington 9-54; Turner 8-26; TEAM 3-minus 6.

PASSING
Southeastern La. – Beatty 19-43-0-321. Nicholls State – Caston 11-19-0-113.

RECEIVING
Southeastern La. – Collins 10-140; Yarborough 6-84; Theodore 3-97. Nicholls State – Wynn 2-22; Blair 2-18; Turner 2-9; Smith 1-24; Warren 1-19; Johnson 1-15; Nelson 1-5; Washington 1-1.