10/26/2002 - Football
Tulane 51, Navy 30
Links associated with this release:
0
0
0
New Orleans, LA (Sports Network) - J.P. Losman tossed a season-high five touchdown passes and threw for 329 yards to lead the Tulane Green Wave to a 51-30 non-conference rout of the Navy Midshipmen. Losman completed 25-of-35 passes with one interception in guiding Tulane (6-3) to its fourth consecutive victory.
Mewelde Moore added 87 rushing yards and a touchdown on 17 carries, in the process becoming the Green Wave's all-time leading rusher with 3,127 career rushing yards. Moore, who has 816 on the season, broke the old Tulane rushing mark of 3,095 yards set in 1949 by Eddie Price.
Navy (1-7) was sent to its seventh straight loss, with its only win coming in the season opener against SMU. The Midshipmen racked up 355 rushing yards, but added just 76 yards through the air.
Losman wasted no time in getting his terrific passing day underway, finding Damarcus Davis for a 54-yard touchdown pass just 1:01 into the game.
The Midshipmen tied the game with a 26-yard run by Tony Lane, but Seth Marler put the Green Wave back on top, 10-7, with a 41-yard field goal at the 8:05 mark of the first quarter.
Navy quarterback Craig Candeto responded with a 21-yard touchdown scamper, but the extra-point attempt failed, leaving the Midshipmen with a slim 13-10 edge. With 11 seconds left in the frame, Moore plunged in from one-yard out for the Green Wave, giving Tulane a 17-13 lead after one action-packed quarter of play.
The see-saw continued in the second quarter, as the Midshipmen took a 20-17 advantage on Kyle Eckel's 18-yard run. It was Navy's final lead of the game, however, as Losman answered with touchdown passes to Nick Narcisse and Bobby Hoover from 29 and two yards, respectively, to give Tulane a 30-20 halftime lead.
Tristan Smith put the Green Wave up 36-20 in the second half with an eight- yard reception from Losman. In an effort to make up for a failed extra-point attempt earlier, the Green Wave went for two following the touchdown, but were once again thwarted.
Navy inched closer with a 44-yard field goal at the 3:37 mark of the third quarter, but Chris Williams sealed the Midshipmen's fate when he returned a fumble 35 yards for a touchdown as the quarter wound down. This time the Green Wave converted their two-point attempt, giving them a convincing 44-23 lead entering the fourth quarter.
Losman tossed a 20-yard TD pass to Smith early in the fourth to give Tulane 51 points in the contest, while Navy capped its scoring with a nine-yard touchdown run by Aaron Polanco with 1:16 left to play.
The Midshipmen were led on the ground by Lane's 80 yards on six carries, while Candeto rushed 16 times for 65 yards and Eckel added 63 yards on 15 totes.
Smith led the Green Wave on the receiving end with 89 yards and two touchdowns on seven catches.
10/26 21:25:07 ET
Game Notes:
