Tulane University
Army (Homecoming)
Football Enjoys Happy Homecoming With 42-28 Win Over Army
Oct 28, 2006 | Football
Oct. 28, 2006
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NEW ORLEANS, La.-It was the Tulane University football team's first homecoming contest in the Louisiana Superdome since the 2001 season, and the tandem of senior quarterback Lester Ricard and junior running back Matt Forté made sure it was a happy one as the Green Wave defeated Army, 42-28.
Ricard threw for a season-best 409 yards - the fourth most in school history - and Forté posted his fourth consecutive 100-yard rushing effort with 124 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries to pace the Tulane offense. Defensively, junior strong safety David Skehan and senior cornerback Jeremy Foreman each posted an interception while the unit limited the Black Knights to 267 yards.
"The last three or four weeks, (Ricard) has played the way he is capable of playing," Tulane head coach Chris Scelfo said. "Our offensive line hasn't given up a sack in three weeks and a tremendous amount of credit goes to them. But he made great checks and he is really doing a nice job. I think we had 8 or 9 different guys catch the ball today. It was a total team win today."
Ricard completed 33 of 43 passes, including touchdown passes of 15 yards to sophomore wideout Brian King in the first quarter, 23 yards to sophomore receiver Michael Batiste in the third, and five yards to junior tight end Gabe Ratcliff in the fourth. He completed nine consecutive passes at one point in the first half, and was a perfect 12-for-12 for 161 yards and a touchdown in the third quarter.
"It was tough for (Army) to figure out what we were trying to do," Ricard said. "In the passing game, we do so many different things: we run so many inside routes, we run so many outside routes. And with Matt Forté running the football as well as he is, it makes my job that much easier."
While Ricard and Forté helped the Green Wave pile up a season-high 586 yards of total offense, the Tulane defense did more then its share of providing a difference as the Green Wave held the Black Knights to just 267 yards - the fewest yards allowed by Tulane since holding SMU to 127 yards on Sept. 24, 2005 in Dallas.
In addition, the defense held Army without a touchdown in the first half, marking the first time a Green Wave squad has done that since last Oct. 1 against Southeastern Louisiana - a span of 14 games. Skehan paced the defense with eight tackles, including seven solo stops, while junior defensive end Antonio Harris and sophomore defensive tackle Julian Shives-Sams each recorded a sack.
Skehan's interception of a Carson Williams pass in the first quarter set up King's 15-yards touchdown catch with 7:32 on the clock. Army followed with an eight-play, 47-yard drive, but the Tulane defense stiffened when it had to and held the Black Knights to a 44-yard field goal by Austin Miller to make it a 7-3 ball game.
The two teams traded field goals as rookie Ross Thevenot booted a 27-yarder 17 seconds into the second quarter and Miller connected from 25 yards out with 5:55 on the clock. The Green Wave offense, however, took the ensuing kickoff and marched 79 yards on 12 plays before Forté bolted over from three yards out to give Tulane a 17-6 lead with just 58 seconds to play in the opening stanza.
Army made things interesting early in the second half, as Williams connected with Walter Hill from 16 yards out following a Tulane turnover to make it a four-point ball game less then three minutes into the period. The Green Wave quieted any talks of a comeback, though, as rookie running back André Anderson capped a 79-yard drive with a four-yard scoring plunge and Batiste ended a 93-yard drive with the first scoring play of his career.
The Black Knights used a big play - a 71-yard pass from Williams to tight end Tim Dunn - late in the third quarter to make it a one-score affair, but Tulane followed with a nine-yard run by Forté and Ratcliff's touchdown to put the game out of reach. Williams capped the scoring with a 10-yard pass to Dunn with 4:19 left to play before Tulane snared the ensuing on-side kick and ran out the clock.
"They have moved the ball well against some good football teams," Army head coach Bobby Ross said of the Green Wave offense. "They seem to have found their niche offensively. I don't think we touched the ball the whole day in terms of a pass breakup or interception. Run-wise, we were soft and they had control of the line of scrimmage. We had a lot of situations where if we just stopped them one time we've got the momentum. And we never did."
The Green Wave returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 4 when they travel to Huntington, W.Va., for a 6:30 p.m. (CDT) Conference USA contest against Marshall. The game against the Thundering Herd will be televised live on College Sports Television, and Tulane will be back in the Louisiana Superdome for back-to-back home contests against league foes Southern Miss (Nov. 11) and UCF (Nov. 18). Tickets for those game, and future Green Wave contests, remain for sale through the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office.
The Ticket Office is located on the first floor of the James W. Wilson, Jr. Center, and tickets can be purchased in person, via the telephone at (504) 861-WAVE or via the internet at www.TulaneGreenWave.com. In addition, single-game tickets are also available via Ticket Master at www.TicketMaster.com and at all Ticket Master outlets.
