LAKE CHARLES – Lightning forced a 1-hour, 6-minute delay in the highly anticipated matchup between 15^th-ranked McNeese and No. 12 Nicholls.
 
But once the all clear was given, all-conference linebacker B.J. Blunt created his own electricity on the opening kickoff when he forced a fumble which turned into the fastest non-kickoff return score in school history and leading to a 20-10 McNeese win in front of 13,140 in the Cowboys' home opener on Saturday.
 
Blunt kept the fire burning within the Defense With Attitude crew as the unit kept pressure on the talented Nicholls quarterback Chase Fourcade all night.
 
"I thought out players took it as a challenge, especially out defensive players," said head coach Lance Guidry who mention that his DWA squad landed just one player on the preseason all-conference team while Nicholls had six despite McNeese leading the nation and league in a combined 10 defensive categories last year.
 
"The kickoff team went down and set the tone for the whole night," said Guidry. "They showed that we were going to be the more physical team."
 
McNeese (3-0, 2-0 SLC) scored four seconds after forcing the turnover when James Tabary found Lawayne Ross from 16-yards out to put the Cowboys up 7-0 just 10 seconds into the game.
 
"I thought the whole team fed off of that. That's what a kickoff team can do. It's the first play of a defensive snap. We've got some guys that run down and make some big hits and Alex Kjellsten has been kicking the ball really well."
 
Tabary continued to display his efficient play after he completed 14 of 19 passes for 133 yards and two touchdowns, and for the second straight game, did not throw an interception.
 
"Shout out to the kickoff team," said Tabary. "Coach (Landon) Hoefer came over to me and said 'lets score'. Called our play that we've been working on in the red zone this past week against the scout team and it was there like we expected it."
 
The defense kept the pressure on the Colonels (1-2, 0-1 SLC) the next two possessions, forcing back-to-back three-and-outs then back-to-back missed field goals.
 
"Coming into a game against Nicholls, it's a game we always want to win," said Blunt who ended the night with nine tackles, three sacks, and four tackles for a loss to go along with his forced fumble. "Making a play like that, to be honest, the play was okay. But looking at the sideline and seeing those guys go crazy, offensive guys, defensive guys, special teams, that was amazing."
 
The Cowboys went up 14-0 when Tabary threw his second TD pass on the night on an 11-yard dart to Cyron Sutton with 12:37 to play in the second quarter.
 
Nicholls got on the board following a 21-yard field goal by Lorran Fonsecda to make it 14-3 with 3:08 to play in the first half.
 
Gunnar Raborn added field goals of 24 and 42 yards, one in the third and one in the fourth quarters, to make it a 20-3 game before Nicholls found the end zone with six seconds to play to cap the scoring.
 
The victory was sweet revenge from last year's last second 37-35 loss at Nicholls to open the season, a game that more than likely kept the Cowboys out of the playoffs despite posting a 9-2 record.
 
"We have a lot of Southland Conference championships on that wall. We've been doing it longer than everybody else in the conference, so I challenged them," said Guidry. "We were very determined and I thought our guys outplayed them."
 
Nicholls got 257 yards passing by Fourcade and had a few plays where he had receivers open downfield, but the McNeese defensive backs found ways to come up with the big plays with their coverage and not allowing the Colonels to score like they did last year.
 
"Chase (Fourcade) creates that," said Guidry. "There were a couple of plays that were play-action pass and he had us deep, but a lot of the plays that he did make, he extended it with his feet. But I do think we played a lot better in this game than the previous two."
 
Fourcade led Nicholls with 45 yards rushing on 14 carries.
 
McNeese ran for 147 yards on the night, led by Justin Pratt's 45 yards on 11 carries. Six different runners had carries for 10 yards or more and four with a 20-plus yard carry on the night.
 
In the receiving department, Sutton led the team with five catches for 56 yards and a score, his third touchdown in the last two games.
 
McNeese entered the game ranked No. 2 in the FCS in turnovers gained with seven and added two more to that total with two fumble recoveries, both leading to scores.
 
GAME DAY NOTEBOOK:
• QB James Tabary threw two TD passes on the night, giving him 50 in his career. He's 17 short of matching the school record of 67 held by his QB coach Kerry Joseph.
• Tabary's 14 completions gives him 502 in his career, moving him to No. 4 on the school's all-time list.
• BJ Blunt's three sacks is the most in a game for a McNeese player since Everett Ellefsen's three sacks against West Alabama in 2013.
• With four total sacks in the game, McNeese now has 14 on the year.
• Florida transfer DE Keivonnis Davis saw his first action on the season and recorded two tackles on the night.
• McNeese is 3-0 to start the season for the fourth time in the last seven years.
• The 2-0 conference start is the first since winning the league title in 2015.