Houston Christian Beats Nicholls 16-2 on Three Field Goals and a Pick-six
Nicholls scored two points. The two came on a safety with 28 seconds left in the third quarter, the last points of the game. That is the whole afternoon's scoring for Nicholls, and Houston Christian won 16-2.
Houston Christian did it with their kicker and one big play on defense. Lukasz Smolen kicked a 43-yard field goal in the first quarter and 28- and 23-yarders in the second, so it was 9-0 at the half. Then Javon Bejarano picked off a pass and took it back 48 yards for a touchdown at 6:28 of the third, and it was 16-0. Take away the interception return and it is 9-0 with a safety to come, and Houston Christian still wins by a touchdown. That is how much the three field goals mattered.
Nicholls actually had more yards, 335 to 303, and more rushing attempts, 38 to 32. It also threw the interception, lost a fumble. Houston Christian turned it over zero times. A team can outgain you by 32 yards and still be the one that scores two. Nicholls never tied and never led. Houston Christian led from the first field goal to the last whistle.
Houston Christian is 2-1 and Nicholls is 2-2. Fantasy-wise, this was a game for pass catchers: Jordan Smith for Nicholls caught nine for 122 yards without a touchdown, and Champ Dozier led the winners with 15 carries and six catches. Nobody on the Houston Christian offense scored a touchdown, which is not something you see every week.