Southeastern (3-8, 3-4 SLC) was unable to get a fourth straight victory a month ago to the day in Strawberry Stadium against Nicholls (6-5, 7-0 SLC) during the 34th edition of the River Bell Classic, ultimately losing 21-16 (Nov. 16).

SLU easily drew its largest crowd of the season with 5,398 of the 7,408 possible seats filled for a lively Hammond night. NSU entered the game having already clinched the Southland Conference title the week before and its luxurious automatic bid to the FCS playoffs.

Early on it looked as though good fortune was on the Lions’ side in their quest to play spoiler. After forcing a quick Colonels three-and-out to start the tussle, punt returner Darius Lewis fielded the ball at the Southeastern 15 and weaved his way out past midfield to the Nicholls 47-yard line, good for a 38-yard return.

Junior quarterback Zachary Clement and co. took advantage of the favorable field position, getting inside the Colonels’ ten before being stopped on third down.

Faced with a fourth and five at NSU’s six-yard line, Coach Scelfo rolled the dice to perfect success. Redshirt sophomore holder Justin Dumas received the snap for the anticipated field goal attempt and pirouetted before racing to the far corner of the end zone for the score.

The St. Charles Catholic product made a nifty hesitation move on the outside as he picked up a block before diving inside the right pylon.

Sophomore kicker Riley Callaghan tacked on the extra point to make it 7-0 SLU with 9:49 to go in the first quarter.

Both sides traded punts as the first quarter concluded with the Lions in front by seven, but the Colonels were threatening.

Nicholls embarked on a 12-play, 69-yard drive that took up the latter stages of the first quarter and bled into the second.

TCU transfer wide receiver Quincy Brown had back-to-back receptions of 21 and 18 yards, which laid the groundwork for NSU’s first scoring march of the contest, capped off by sophomore quarterback Pat McQuaide’s three-yard touchdown run on third and goal via a QB draw.

Senior placekicker Gavin Lasseigne converted the extra point to make it 7-7 just 32 seconds into the second quarter.

Following an SLU punt, the Colonels struck quickly, this time through senior wideout David Robinson Jr. The rangy 6’3 200 pounder took advantage of a slip in the Southeastern secondary, finding himself all alone down the near sideline.

Senior safety Victor Tademy had the angle on him but Robinson made a great cutback against the grain and outran everyone for a 78-yard touchdown, giving Nicholls its first lead of the game, 14-7 (Lasseigne PAT) with 8:17 remaining in the first half.

The Green and Gold responded with an 11-play, 64-yard drive that ultimately stalled out in the red zone, resulting in a successful 31-yard field goal from Callaghan, making the score 14-10.

After cutting into the NSU lead, SLU’s defense came up with a timely takeaway just before halftime.

Redshirt junior defensive tackle Tyrik Mitchell shot into the backfield untouched before meeting Colonels’ running back Jaylon Spears well behind the line of scrimmage and jarring the ball out.

Hammond High’s own forced the fumble, which was recovered by redshirt senior defensive end Arlen Williams at the SLU 41 with 1:41 to play in the second quarter.

Southeastern got as far as the Nicholls’ nine but an incompletion on third down forced the Lions to settle for three. Callaghan converted, sending SLU into intermission trailing by one, 14-13.

Following a quick Lions’ three-and-out, Nicholls produced their second 70+ yard touchdown of the night through redshirt sophomore running back Jaylon Spears, amending for his earlier mishap.

The New Orleans native and former Brother Martin Crusader caught a screen pass from McQuaide on third and 21 from his own 27-yard line and raced 73 yards to the house, silencing a stunned Strawberry Stadium.

Spears knifed his way through traffic before eluding one final SLU defender and galloped into the end zone virtually untouched. Lasseigne tacked on the extra point, extending the Colonels’ lead, 21-13 with 11:40 remaining in the third quarter.

Later in the period, Southeastern was the beneficiary of great field position following Lewis’ 26-yard punt return. The speedster from New Orleans set up the Lions’ offense inside the Colonels’ 30 at the 28-yard line.

SLU wasted its opportunity to find paydirt and had to trot out the field goal unit once again. Callaghan’s 41-yard attempt subsequently sailed wide left as NSU’s lead remained at eight.

Just as the momentum had seemingly swung in the Colonels’ favor, the pendulum swung back to the Lions’ side on Nicholls’ ensuing possession.

Faced with a third and six at his own 41, McQuaide’s pass was picked off by Southeastern safety Ian Conerly-Goodly. The sophomore standout made a sensational diving interception near the SLU sideline, greeted by an eruption from the home crowd.

The Lions took over at the Colonels’ 46 looking to get back into the ball game.

However, Nicholls’ defense stood tall once more after only surrendering one first down and out came the field goal unit for SLU.

This time Callaghan’s 36-yarder was true as Southeastern cut into the lead; NSU remained on top 21-16 through three quarters of action.

The Lions got the ball back at the start of the fourth and Coach Scelfo was faced with a tough decision. His team was tasked with a fourth and six at the Colonels’ 35 trailing by five.

Ultimately, the 2022 Southland Conference Coach of the Year kept his offense on the field. Junior transfer quarterback Zachary Clement was granted a nice pocket by his O-line and coolly delivered an accurate pass over the middle to senior tight end Jacob Logan, who shed a would-be tackler around the line to gain before rumbling down inside the Nicholls’ 20 to the 19.

The two former Northwestern State Demons combined on the crucial conversion to set up shop for Southeastern in the red zone.

After a 13-yard Harlan Dixon run, SLU was first and goal at the Colonels’ six-yard line. Unfortunately for the Lions, that was as far as they would reach.

Southeastern’s offense sputtered backwards to the 13 and Callaghan was called upon for his fifth attempt of the contest with roughly nine and a half minutes to play.

The 30-yard attempt clanked off the right upright as everything seemed to freeze for just that moment in time. A pin drop could be heard inside the ‘Berry outside of the gleeful cheers from the away fans.

The Lions had squandered what would turn out to be their final opportunity of any substance.

Southeastern eventually got the ball back following a Nicholls’ punt with two minutes remaining, but were backed up inside their own 15-yard line and out of timeouts.

A quarterback change couldn’t spark SLU’s struggling offense as Eli Sawyer was swallowed by a relentless Nicholls’ pass rush on fourth and 13.

This marked the Green and Gold’s final chance to pull off the upset as the Colonels took three kneel-downs to end the 34th edition of the River Bell Classic, 21-16.

Southeastern ultimately fought valiantly in defeat and gave the Lion faithful a tremendous spectacle for its fierce duel with the Colonels.

With the victory, Nicholls evened the all-time series at 17-17, adding more lore to an already treasured rivalry.

If there is any silver lining for SLU fans, NSU was trounced 35-0 at the hands of Southern Illinois in the first round of the FCS playoffs in Carbondale, Illinois on Saturday, Nov. 25.

Southeastern will enter the offseason needing to lick its wounds after an overall disappointing 2023 campaign. The former SLC champions fell flat in their title defense and will look to get back to their winning ways in the near future.

Thanks for your support this year Lion fans! Until 2024…