Tulane Green Wave rolls past Tulsa

By David Seeley
The Sequoyah County Times

Thanks to a dominant performance over the final 2.5 quarters of football, the Tulane Green Wave ended up winning going away by a final of 31-14 over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane last Saturday afternoon at Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium.

Read more: Tulane Green Wave rolls past Tulsa

With the game tied at 14-all with 6:57 left before halftime, the Green Wave (4-1 overall, 1-0 in American Athletic Conference play) took the lead for good on Javin Gordon’s second of three touchdown runs as he took to the house from 25 yards out. Patrick Durkin’s extra point put Tulane ahead 21-14 with 2:13 remaining in the first half.

The Golden Hurricane (2-3, 0-2) looked as if they might score the final points of the first half, but they went for it on fourth down. After the initial ruling was made that Tulsa got the first down, instant replay overturned the ruling and said the ball carrier failed to get to the line to gain. Thus, the Green Wave were awarded the ball at the Tulane 36-yard line with 58 seconds remaining before halftime.

The Green Wave got into the red zone and capped the drive with a 28-yard field goal by Durkin with 12 seconds left in the first half to give Tulane a 24-14 halftime lead.

The only points of the second half came on Gordon’s hat trick of TD runs as he scored his third touchdown on a 4-yard run with 5:28 left in the third quarter. Durkin’s PAT put Tulane ahead 31-14.

The Golden Hurricane could do little offensively until their final drive of the game as Tulsa drove as deep as the Tulane 8-yard line with just more than a minute remaining in the game. On fourth down, a swing pass play was halted for only a two-yard gain, and the Green Wave took over at their own 6-yard line with 59 seconds left and they ran out the clock.

The Green Wave took the opening drive and went 75 yards in seven plays as Tulane quarterback Jake Retzlaff took it up the middle from seven yards out. Durkin hit the extra point to put the Green Wave ahead 7-0 with 11:28 left in the first quarter.

The Golden Hurricane responded as they went 75 yards in seven plays as when they got to the Tulane 1-yard line, Tulsa went to defensive lineman Tim Hardiman to do his William “The Refrigerator” Perry impression by lunging into the end zone with 9:14 remaining in the period. Seth Morgan’s PAT tied the game at 7-all after the first quarter.

Thanks to converting on a Tulane drive that started with 22 seconds left in the opening period and ended in the early minutes of the second quarter, the Green Wave went 55 yard in seven plays as Gordon scored his first of three TDs on a 12-yard run. Durkin’s extra point regained the lead for the Green Wave at 14-7 with 12:10 left before halftime.

On Tulsa’s second drive of the second quarter, it started at their own 7-yard line with 9:28 remaining in the first half, but it only took one long pass play to make the drive be a successful 93-yard drive with points as Tulsa quarterback Baylor Hayes connected with an open Brody Foley near the Tulane sideline. Foley rambled 72 yards for the touchdown with 6:57 left in the first half. Morgan’s PAT knotted the game at 14-all.

The Golden Hurricane will travel to meet the Memphis Tigers at 7 p.m. next Saturday.

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