Defense carries Tulane past UConn, 12-3 Great offenses win games, great defenses wins Championships, Go Tulane Green Wave! NEW ORLEANS – Nick Montana threw for 135 yards and a score as the Tulane Green Wave survived against Connecticut, 12-3, in an American Athletic Conference clash at Yulman Stadium. Montana converted 19-of-26 for the Green Wave (2-4, 1-1 AAC) as they snapped a two-game slide. Sherman Badie and Lazedrick Thompson ran for 77 and 73 yards, respectively, as the hosts survived despite converting only 3-of-13 on third down. The Huskies (1-5, 0-3) generated only 217 yards of total offense on the night, with quarterback Chandler Whitmer hitting 17-of-24 for 141 yards, but he was also sacked four times. UConn scored the first points of the meeting on a 44-yard field goal by Bobby Puyol at the 7:02 mark of the opening frame, but from there the Huskies were barely heard from again. A seven-yard TD catch by Charles Jones three minutes later put Tulane on top for good. Coming out of the break with the four-point advantage, the Green Wave added to their lead with a safety registered by Tyler Gilbert in the third quarter. Early in the final frame kicker Andrew DiRocco used a 38-yard field goal to put even more distance between Tulane and the visitors. UConn entered the week ranked 121st in the nation in total offense (264.0 ypg) and 122nd in scoring (14.8 ppg). The team is still winless against FBS opponents this season, its only victory coming against Stony Brook by a scant three points (19-16) at home on Sept. 6. The triumph for the Green Wave was the program’s first against another team from the FBS since it crushed UTEP inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, 45-3, back on Nov. 23, 2013. NOTES FOLLOWING TULANE FOOTBALL’S 12-3 CONFERENCE WIN OVER UCONN Tulane 12, UConn 3 Tulane Game 6 Yulman Stadium New Orleans, La. · Saturday’s game between Tulane and UConn marked the first-ever meeting between the two schools on the gridiron. With the win, the Green Wave improved to 2-4 on the season and even their American Athletic Conference record at 1-1. The victory also marked the program’s first win as a member of The American. · By holding UConn to just three points, Tulane held an opponent without a touchdown for the first time in 2014. The last time the Green Wave kept a foe out of the endzone was last Nov. 23 when Tulane downed UTEP, 45-3, in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. · Tulane’s 12-3 win over the Huskies marked the Green Wave’s lowest point total in a victory since defeating UCF 10-9 on Nov. 18, 2006 in the Superdome. The 15 combined points are the fewest in a Tulane football game since the Wave posted a 10-0 victory over William & Mary on Sept. 18, 1993 in the Dome. · Saturday’s game marked the second-consecutive contest Tulane did not turn the ball over. The last time the Green Wave went without an offensive turnover in back-to-back games was back in 2001 against UCF on Sept. 22 and Southern on Sept. 29. · With a pair of fumble recoveries by junior SS Darion Monroe and an interception by junior CB Lorenzo Doss, Tulane has forced at least one turnover in all six games so far in 2014 to bring the season total to 14. The Green Wave have now recorded at least one turnover in their last 15 games. The last time Tulane did not force a turnover came on Sept. 21, 2013 at Syracuse. · The Green Wave defense also contributed on the scoreboard as senior DE Tyler Gilbert tackled UConn’s Max DeLorenzo in the endzone with 4:06 to play in the third quarter for a safety. It was Tulane’s first safety since Sept. 7, 2013, when the Green Wave scored a deuce against South Alabama when a deep snap on a punt attempted was mishandled and rolled out of bounds. · By holding UConn to 76 rushing yards on 28 carries, Tulane has now held an opponent to under 100 yards for the second time so far in 2014. The Green Wave previously held Southeastern Louisiana to 58 yards on 36 totes back on Sept. 13. · The 217 yards of total offense allowed (76 rushing, 141 passing) marked the fewest given up by the Green Wave defense this season. It was the fewest yards allowed since holding UAB to 193 (48 rushing, 145 passing) on Sept. 17, 2011, at Legion Field. · Tulane had season highs 10.0 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks on Saturday against UConn. The last time the Green Wave had double-digit tackles for loss and at least 4.0 sacks was in last year’s New Orleans Bowl against Louisiana-Lafayette when they had those exact numbers. · The Wave have now tallied at least four tackles behind the line of scrimmage in each of the last 20 games dating back to the 2012 season finale. The last time Tulane had less than four tackles for loss was on Nov. 17, 2012, when the Green Wave had one sack against East Carolina. · Junior CB Lorenzo Doss’ interception of a Tim Boyle pass with 8:12 to play in the second quarter was the second of the season and the 14th of his career. Doss is now tied for second in Tulane history in career interceptions with Lynaris Elpeage (2000-02). He is now four interceptions behind Green Wave leader Paul Ellis’ total of 18 from 1969-71. · Senior QB Nick Montana made his first start of the 2014 season on Saturday against the Huskies and finished the day 19-of-26 for 135 yards and a touchdown. Nine players catching at least one pass is a season-best, surpassing the mark of eight vs Tulsa, at Duke and at Rutgers. The last time Tulane had nine different players haul in at least one pass came last Sept. 12 at Louisiana Tech. · Montana completed his first seven passes of the game and saw his streak of 12-consecutive completions to open the season snapped on a deep ball with 6:56 to play in the second quarter. In his lone previous action, he went 5-for-5 in late action at Rutgers on Sept. 27. He also completed his first seven pass attempts of the second half. · Redshirt-freshman Sherman Badie led the Green Wave with 77 rushing yards on 14 carries. For the season, he has now run 74 times for 534 yards (7.2 avg) and three touchdowns. With an average of 89.0 yards per game to date, he is currently on pace to finish the year with 1,068 yards which would surpass the Tulane freshman rushing record of 925 set by Orleans Darkwa in 2010. · Senior DB Brandon LeBeau tallied career highs with seven tackles (all solo) and 3.0 tackles for loss, including the first sack of his career. · Junior DE Royce LaFrance enjoyed the first two-sack performance of his career and had a career-best 2.5 tackles for loss. His previous career highs were 1.5 sacks at Rice on Nov. 30, 2013, and 2.0 tackles for loss against East Carolina on Oct. 12, 2013. · Seven Tulane players extended their double-digit starting streaks on Saturday against UConn: junior SS Darion Monroe (31), junior CB Lorenzo Doss (28), senior FS Sam Scofield (19), junior OL Arturo Uzdavinis (19) and senior OL Sean Donnelly (17). · True freshman Sean Wilson made his first collegiate start on Saturday against the Huskies, opening the game at nose tackle. He becomes the 12th rookie to start a game for the Green Wave in 2014, joining RBs Sherman Badie and Dontrell Hilliard, WRs Terrren Encalade, Leondre James and Teddy Veal, TEs Charles Jones, II and Trey Scott, QB Tanner Lee, CB Parry Nickerson, LB William Townsend and DE Daren Williams. · Junior linebacker Brandon Laborde made his collegiate debut on Saturday, lining up with the kickoff coverage unit to open the contest. He is now the 23rd student-athlete to make his first collegiate appearance so far during the 2014 season. · Tulane’s game captains for Saturday’s contest against UConn were reds-shirt senior QB Nick Montana representing the offense, junior CB Lorenzo Doss representing the defense and junior DB Richard Carthon representing the special teams. · Redshirt-freshman cornerback Parry Nickerson had the honor of carrying the No. 18 flag onto the field before Saturday’s game. The flag has been a mainstay at Tulane football games in honor of Devon Walker, who suffered a career-ending spinal injury during the 2012 season which left him paralyzed. QUOTES FOLLOWING TULANE FOOTBALL’S 12-3 CONFERENCE WIN OVER UCONN Tulane 12, UConn 3 Tulane Game 6 Yulman Stadium New Orleans, La. TULANE QUOTES HEAD COACH CURTIS JOHNSON Opening Statement “They tell me pink is my color. My sister had breast cancer and she’s good and in remission. So I was a little afraid to wear the pink today, but it worked out good for us. I thought our defense played outstanding. The first time [UConn] got the ball and went down the field on us, we only gave up three points. I thought they were outstanding all night. [Darion] Monroe had one of his best games ever here. He had two fumble recoveries and six tackles. [Lorenzo] Doss had a great interception. You won’t see it. You just have to look at it on tape to do it justice. [Royce] LaFrance played one of his better games with two sacks. Nick Montana really managed this football game the way we wanted it to be managed. It was one of those times that was just great.” On the offense “We just wanted to win the game. You just never know with guys a little bit nicked up. We called it close to the vest. I love the way Nick played today. He played well. Lazedrick and Sherman ran the ball well. We had some timely third downs. We didn’t get all of them. We did some stuff in the throwing game that was good. That’s how you got to win these games. You see your defense is hot and you just put it on their back.” On Tulane’s touchdown “It was very important. It was the game. When we got the touchdown, I felt very comfortable. Our defense was playing relaxed. After that it was just good play calling. They called the game exactly how we talked about. It was a good game for us.” On Nick Montana’s performance “I thought Nick did a good job. He managed the game and it was just a great job getting us in and out of plays.” On the secondary and coming off a bye week “I thought Speedy [Lionel Washington] and Jason [Rollins] did an outstanding job this past week with those guys and John [McDonell] with those linebackers, too. Just getting the right calls and communicating…I thought we had a few less calls. Speedy did one thing and once we got going, we stuck to stuff. He dressed some stuff up, but it was a lot of the same calls.” On Andrew DiRocco’s field goal “It was just amazing. It was like we won the World Series or the Super Bowl. One thing I like about our kids, they’re really, really behind him. They were jumping up and down. It was one of the best moments that you see. Then [Lorenzo] Doss was struggling and he got the great big interception. You see how those kids respond. I was very, very proud of DiRocco. We opened up the competition again this week, and here he goes again. He beat the guys out with the majority of his kicks, and when it was time to be called upon it was a great job kicking.” On what he told DiRocco after the kick “I told him he will have many, many more. He will. I think this guy is a really good kicker. He is just a freshman.” On players redeeming themselves “It goes back to coaching. Aaron [Price] coaches those guys and he coached Nick [Montana] and [Andrew] DiRocco. You’ve got to tell them, they just never, never know. Those guys never quit. A lot of kids will go and pack it in, and Nick never did. He was always a positive influence, and he got his shot and I thought he played remarkably. DiRocco, the heat was on him more than anybody. I’ve heated him up. His team heated him up. He’s getting texts from people and all of the sudden in a moment like this, he makes one of the outstanding kicks of the year.” On the win against UConn “It’s our first conference win at home. That’s one thing we got to do is start taking care of – our home. It was a good place. I thought there wasn’t going to be anybody here with the fall break and it was a really good crowd. It was a loud crowd.” On Nick Montana and game strategy “It was very important. I thought he understood it better than anyone else. He did some stuff that was just getting us in the right place. He had some kill plays that were just outstanding. It was just one of those great games. It’s just maturity. Last year, he would take the hits and if it looked bad he just threw it away. He did exactly what he was coached to do.” On Tanner Lee’s contribution “The thing about Tanner, he was really into it. He was helping out, making great suggestions. He is always a calming factor. Tanner is a California cool guy.” On Darion Monroe’s performance and his contribution to the team “If you asked me who was the most vocal leader, Monroe is probably one of them and [Nico] Marley. Sam Scofield is probably one. Monroe is one of those players that is very capable of doing those things. He’s getting more and more comfortable in the leadership role. He’s leading us. He’s thinking beyond thinking. The strip fumble was just fantastic. He just did a great job doing it. He’s one of the guys who is being coached, and he’s doing exactly what he’s being coached to do. He may be our most valuable player.” On the defensive line “They played better. The pass rush was really, really critical. You saw Royce [LaFrance] had a couple sacks. Sean Wilson, a true freshman, had a sack. I thought they played their best game.” On this potentially being the best defensive performance of the season “This one was just outstanding. You look at last week, [UConn] made some big plays against Temple. I thought we really, really controlled them. The calls were great but I thought the way they executed the defense, it was just magnificent to watch.” On the performance of his special teams “The thing about Peter is he can do that. He can catch it. I was telling him we know that [Matt] Marfisi is a little bit slower, so I was just telling him catch it and kick it. I thought he did that. He made some great punts. And then on the whole, I mean it was a great catch. Peter is a leader. He does everything with them and he does a fantastic job.” On the holding calls in the beginning of the game “If you look at this game and take away some of those penalties, we’ve got to get better at that. Every time we got a positive play, there was a negative. We’ve just got to get rid of those penalties. If we can do that, we’ll be a much better football team.” On turnovers and field position “I think our field position flipped with those penalties. Our game plan was to call it like that and then all of the sudden, we got some turnovers to help that. I thought the clock execution was excellent. Coach Price did a great job, and the offensive staff did great. It was an outstanding win.” On the payoff after the bye week “The thing I’m most proud of is the kids. They played with vigor. They never quit. They never quit on us. They’re always positive and that’s the type of program we have. Just to get a big reward like this in our first conference game. We’re at home and we win this one and it’s just one of those things where you’re beginning to see some fruit of your labor.” QB NICK MONTANA On getting the start and the win “It was so much fun to be back out there. We may have struggled a little bit, but we were able to move the ball and come up with a big win.” On what it means for the Tulane program to get a win in the American Athletic Conference “We really needed one. We needed to get back on the winning track. A conference win is big for us, and a win in general is big for us as well.” On how he is feeling “I am feeling good. I am just happy to be out there honestly. I had good protection, our backs and receivers ran great routes, and I had everything going for me tonight.” RB LAZEDRICK THOMPSON On what it means to get this win “It means a lot. It is our first conference win, and we know that it is one of many.” On how the offense was able to function effectively tonight “We ran our no-huddle package and they weren’t able to keep up with us. They are still a good football team, but we overcame them.” On the double-headed running attack of himself and Sherman Badie “It is more than a double attack. We have myself, Sherman [Badie], Dante [Butler] and Dontrell [Hillard]. All of us are very talented, and we can just break it at any time.” CB LORENZO DOSS On what it means to get this win “It is great. It is a team win. We played well on both sides of the ball and in all facets of the game – on offense, defense and special teams.” On Tulane’s dominance on defense “Our coaches told us in the meeting room, before the game, to just come out there and get takeaways. Takeaways are a big part of this team, and we just had to go out there and get them.” On his interception and Darion Monroe’s two fumble recoveries “We were just getting to the ball and making something happen. We had to trust in what the coaches were telling us all week.” UCONN QUOTES HEAD COACH BOB DIACO Opening statement “Credit to Tulane and to their coaching staff and their players. They fought hard for four quarters. Their coaches did a nice job for four quarters. They’re a class outfit and a bunch that plays hard. [They have] a couple of talented ball carriers. Hard to tackle guys. Break tackles, talented guys. Credit to them. They fought hard and made less mistakes with the ball. They produced points when they needed to. and that was the difference in the game. We squandered away scoring opportunities with turnovers. Turning the ball over on the plus-30 yard line, the 24 yard line, and the 24 yard line ended up producing on the back half of that with the safety. As we got the stop, and they pooched us down their tight. That was at a minimum a-five point swing, and maybe even a nine-point swing. In a game like that, it ended up however it ended up – 12-3 or whatever the final was. You cannot make mistakes like that.” “I’m not surprised with anything. We are playing so many young players, and they have a maturing process; a cooking process that needs to happen. They need to play in the games. There’s no other way to simulate it. No other way to simulate the game, except to play in the games. So they have to play in the games. You know what? They’re doing a fine job. They’re just creating at the point of attack of some game-changing plays.” On overcoming the inexperience in the rest of the season “Practice. We need to keep practicing. We’re getting better in a lot of areas. Things are improving in every single area. We continue to focus on ball security. It needs to be a priority. It has been a priority and is a priority. Just young guys doing young guy stuff.” On the frustration on having a good defensive performance, but not the offense to support it “We are sick that we lost this football game, that we lost those other games and what the record is. The guys are in [the locker room] and they’re crushed because we lost the game. We’re going to mourn this loss for 24 hours, and then we’re going to get better as a football team. And, we’re not going to let anyone splinter us apart. We’re not going to let anyone drive a wedge between the offense and the defense or create a frustration between one group or the next. We’re going to love each other, we’re going to care about each other and we’re going to practice the plays and get better. That’s all we’re going to do. They’ve all been trying as hard as they can, and we’re going to keep getting better and better. Eventually, we’re going to stop doing the game-changing, altering, mind-boggling mistakes. The points will show on the scoreboard. It will absolutely happen. I’ve got a great offensive staff. They’ve got a plan. They’re doing fine.” On the team’s reaction to the adversity in the game “Our culture is strong and we covet perseverance, persistence and strength. We have a belief that in pain there will be strength. And, there’s a lesson in every part of it. We can absolutely use this moment, though it may be painful, hard and gut-wrenching for strength. And, we will.” On Arkeel Newsome’s two fumbles ”He’s going to play. He wasn’t ready to go back in. If he was ready to go back in, I would’ve put him back in. He’s going to play. He’s a great player. He’s eventually going to carry that ball high and tight. He’s a young guy right now. He’s just trying to find his way. He’s doing a hell of a job. He makes some beautiful plays for us. He’s going to be a spectacular player. Right now, he’s just a really talented player. He just doesn’t have a complete game because he’s got to protect that football. But, he’s not the reason that we lost the game.” On the late field goal “It looked a little low. I think we got it on the ground. I think Blake got it down, but it was a little low.” QB CHANDLER WHITMER On the fumbles “In low scoring games, it’s hard to overcome this type of thing. We put together some good drives, but it’s all about finishing.” On the performance of Arkeel Newsome “It’s football. He’s fighting, he’s trying to make plays, fighting for extra yards. It’s something he’ll learn as a young guy. You have to learn sometimes to go down instead of fighting but it’s honest, it’s honest mistakes and he’s fighting hard and we love him. He was on the end of a lot of positive plays as opposed to some of those negative plays. We’re going to keep giving him the ball and just keep working.” On the team’s turnovers “It stinks. You don’t want to turn the ball over. That’s something we try to work on this week and in practice and during the bye week is protecting the ball. We did a good job, we’ve just got to carry it over into the game.” On the team’s morale “As it would be, after any loss, it’s not good. Looking back, you can’t get focused on that because then you dig yourself a hole that you can’t get out of. You’ve just got to get better each game, keep working, and stay positive.” WR GEREMY DAVIS On being disappointed with the loss “I’m just frustrated with the loss in general, I feel like we do work so hard during the week and to come out and not really display the hard work and effort we do in practice, we’ve got to stress that a lot more in practice and try to turn it around. We’ve got a bye week coming up and we just need to get ready for East Carolina now.” On being 1-5 “The faith is still there, it’s just frustrating to keep coming out with the losses. The faith is still there, these guys want to get the corrections down and they want to move on to the next game and they want to win. It’s not like we’re just going by and passing through the games – we all want to win. We’ve just got to face the mistakes and stop shooting ourselves in the foot.” WR DHAMEER BRADLEY On personal performance “Just getting the ball out quick and trying to make some plays. I fell on one of them, but other than that I’m just not coming out there and making good plays.” On team performance “We’re just defeating ourselves with turnovers. As a team, we just have to come together and put all the pieces together.” On the team’s morale “We’re still together. We’re still a family. Everybody’s sad, but we’ve got to come back this week and get ready for next week.” K BOBBY PUYOL On missing the 36 yd attempt “During the week, I was just having problems with part of my form and it just came to fruition. I didn’t put this one through the goal as well as I wanted to.” On the low snap and if it affected his timing “Not at all. Blake and Dom, the whole operation was fine. It was all me.” < PREV Delahoussayes 50-yard field goal gives LSU 30-27 win at Florida NEXT > Volleyball: Cajuns rally past Troy Sports Network Read more > CONTACT ME FOLLOW SPORTSNOLA icon icon icon SportsNOLA Contact Us Advertise with SportsNOLA Meet the Staff SportsNOLA/LeSEA Broadcasting --- 839 St. Charles Avenue, Suite 307, New Orleans, LA 70130 PH: 504.681.0170 -- No information contained within this site may be reproduced or used without the express written consent of SportsNOLA. © 2014 LeSEA Broadcasting. All Rights Reserved. About LeSEA Defense carries Tulane past UConn, 12-3 - SportsNOLA BOX SCORE PHOTO GALLERY NEW ORLEANS – Nick Montana threw for 135 yards and a score as the Tulane Green Wave survived against Connecticut, 12-3, in an American Athletic Conference clash at Yulman Stadium. Montana converted 19-of-26 for the Green Wave (2-4).... — via Douglas Gauld Defense carries Tulane past UConn, 12-3 - SportsNOLA BOX SCORE PHOTO GALLERY NEW ORLEANS – Nick Montana threw for 135 yards and a score as the Tulane Green Wave survived against Connecticut, 12-3, in an American Athletic Conference clash at Yulman Stadium. Montana converted 19-of-26 for the Green Wave (2-4, 1-1 AAC) as they snapped a two-game slide. S… sportsnola
Posted on: Sun, 12 Oct 2014 18:45:21 +0000
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