Nickson shines in Vandy victory
Published 12:00 am Monday, September 3, 2007
Brundidge native Chris Nickson continued to shine as quarterback for Vanderbilt, leading the Commodores to a 41-17 victory over the Richmond Spiders Saturday.
Nickson went 18-for-24 for 281 yards passing and four touchdowns.
The Commodores first scored on Jeff Jennings' four-yard touchdown run. Then Nickson and Earl Bennett combined for a pair of touchdown passes, including a one-yarder with 12 seconds left in the second half to put the Commodores up 21-10.
Vanderbilt blew the game open with a 49-yard touchdown pass to Bennett with less than a minute gone in the third quarter.
Nickson then hit Jennings on a three-yard strike with 14:54 to go in the game. Brian Hahnfeldt kicked a 26-yard field goal for the final score for Vandy.
Nickson went 160-for-292 passing for 2,085 yards in 2005, with 15 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in his first year as a Vandy starter. He also rushed for 694 yards on 146 carries and nine rushing touchdowns in 2006.
Nickson led the Pike County Bulldogs to a 2004 state championship and was named Alabama's &uot;Mr. Football&uot; that year.