Daniela Chapa-Reyes 
Jose Rodriguez/THE RIDER
The UTRGV Football Team (7-3, 3-3 SLC) secured yet another win 28-21 at home tonight against Nicholls University(3-7, 3-3) at the Robert and Janet Vackar Stadium in Edinburg.
Head coach Travis Bush said it was a good battle.
“We talked all week it was going to be a gritty, tough battle and Nicholls is a gritty team,” Bush said. “We knew they were going to be tough, physically and defensively; they just wear you out offensively, they execute well and don’t make many mistakes.”
He said the team made some mistakes but is “proud of the way our young men fought.”
“Tough win, proud of our guys and hats off to Nicholls,” Bush said.
Jose Rodriguez/THE RIDER
The first quarter of the game brought an intense feeling to the stadium as redshirt sophomore kicker Brysen Gardner’s attempt at a 44-yard line field goal was too far to the right.
The quarter continued slowly, but with a little over three minutes left into the quarter, redshirt freshman wide receiver Tony Diaz marked the first touchdown of the night after a total of eight plays and 59 yards.
As the quarter came to an end, the Colonels were given a five-yard false start penalty; shortly after, redshirt sophomore Ean Rodrigue was sacked for a total of five yards.
The second quarter was just like the first. Both teams were playing aggressive on defense, having little to no outcome all throughout.
Nicholls ended up tying up the score after a touchdown from sophomore running back Miequle Brock Jr. To celebrate, Brock blew kisses into the student section.
Jose Rodriguez/THE RIDER
To follow, the Vaqueros got an offsides penalty. However, shortly after, redshirt sophomore quarterback and Mission-native Eddie Lee Marburger passed deep to the left to graduate running back Nathan Denney for a total of 23 yards.
Denney went on to make the second touchdown of the night for UTRGV. However, the team was given a false start penalty right before Gardner’s kick, which then brought the score to 14-7.
As the first half came up to an end, the Vaqueros took the lead in passing yards with a total of 131, while the Colonels fell slightly behind with 97.
Nicholls tied up early on into the third quarter, tying the game once again after a touchdown from junior tight end Everett Hunter, completing 16-yards after a pass from Rodrigue. A kick from senior kicker Gabriel Showalter brought the score 14-14.
Jose Rodriguez/THE RIDER
As the third quarter came to an end, there was a bit of a tussle as the teams were desperate to see which of the two was going to finally take the lead.
Shortly thereafter, Denney made a touchdown for the Vaqueros, bringing the score to 21-14.
Into the fourth quarter, redshirt junior wide receiver Tavian Cord scored a 44-yard touchdown after eight plays and 65 yards, bringing the score to 28-14.
The Colonels tried to even out the score after another touchdown, bringing the score to 28-21, but fell short as the time on the scoreboard ended.
The Vaqueros will next play away against McNeese State University Cowboys on Nov. 15.
Jose Rodriguez/THE RIDER
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