Defense Lifts Football To 12-3 American Win Over UConn

Saturday, October 11

Yulman Stadium

7:00 PM

Tulane University

2-4 , 1-1

Connecticut

1-5 , 0-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

UConn

Tulane Green Wave

Senior defensive end Tyler Gilbert and the Green Wave defense converge on running back Max DeLorenzo in the endzone for a safety during Tulane's 12-3 win over UConn.

Defense Lifts Football To 12-3 American Win Over UConn

Oct 12, 2014 | Football

Box Score

Oct. 11, 2014

Final Stats | Quotes | Notes | Photo Gallery

Tulane/UConn Game Book In PDF Format

NEW ORLEANS - The Tulane University defense did just about everything on Saturday evening when they took the field at Yulman Stadium for its schedule American Athletic Conference contest against UConn.

The unit controlled the line of scrimmage and tallied four sacks among 10 tackles for loss and held the Huskies to 217 yards of total offense while forcing three turnovers courtesy of a pair of fumble recoveries by junior strong safety Darion Monroe and an interception by junior cornerback Lorenzo Doss. They even added to the scoreboard as senior defensive end Tyler Gilbert snared running back Max DeLorenzo in the endzone for a third-quarter safety as Tulane posted its first gridiron victory as a member of The American with a 12-3 victory over the Huskies.

With the win, Tulane snapped a two-game skid to improve to 2-4 on the year and even its conference record at 1-1. UConn, meanwhile, dropped its fourth consecutive ballgame to fall to 1-5 overall and 0-3 in league action.

"I thought our defense played outstanding," Tulane head coach Curtis Johnson said. "The first time [UConn] got the ball and went down the field on us we only gave up 3 points. [Darion] Monroe had one of his best games ever here. He had two fumble recoveries and six tackles. [Lorenzo] Doss had a great interception. [Royce] LaFrance played one of his better games with two sacks.

"This one was just outstanding. Look at last week. [UConn] made some big plays against Temple, and I thought we really controlled them. The calls were great but the guys and the way they executed the defense, it was just magnificent to watch."

The yardage allowed (76 rushing, 141 passing) was the fewest given up by the Green Wave since holding UAB to 193 on Sept. 17, 2011, at Legion Field. After watching UConn drive 48 yards on the opening drive of the game for what proved to be its only points of the ballgame, Tulane held the Huskies to just 131 on their next nine possessions. The only other time UConn threatened to score was on its final drive when they marched to the Green Wave 18 before kicker Bobby Puyol pushed his 36-yard field goal try wide left.

While the defense dominated the day, the Green Wave offense was equally up to the task as senior quarterback Nick Montana - who made his first start of the season in the place of the injured Tanner Lee - was an efficient 19-for-26 passing for 135 yards and a score while spreading the ball around to nine different receivers.

Tulane added 167 yards on the ground, with redshirt-freshman Sherman Badie posting 77 yards on 14 carries while sophomore Lazedrick Thompson had 73 on 12 totes. Badie, senior fullback Dante Butler, senior wide receiver Xavier Rush and freshman wideout Teddy Veal shared team-high reception honors with three grabs each and Butler led the squad with 34 receiving yards.

"We just wanted to win the game," Johnson said. "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 did some stuff in the throwing game that was good and that's how you got to win these games. You see your defense is hot and you just put it on their back."

Senior strong safety Sam Scofield led the team with eight tackles (5 solo, 3 assists) while senior nickelback Brandon LeBeau added a career highs of seven solo stops and 3.0 tackles for loss along with his first career sack. Monroe forced one of the two fumbles he recovered - snared the other on a force by sophomore defensive tackle Tanzel Smart - and junior defensive end Royce LaFrance tallied career highs with 2.0 sacks among 2.5 tackles for loss.

UConn drew first blood with a 44-yard field goal by Puyol just under eight minutes into the contest, but Tulane came right back with a six-play, 80-yard drive which Montana capped with a seven-yard touchdown strike to freshman tight end Charles Jones for the only points the Green Wave would need.

Neither team could get much going offensively the rest of the half and the lone points of the third quarter came via Gilbert's safety. Tulane's opening drive of the second half ended at the UConn 43 when a fourth-and-one rushing attempt fell short, but Smart's strip of UConn running back Arkeel Newsome and subsequent recovery by Monroe thwarted the Huskies' ensuing drive at the Green Wave 24.

While Tulane failed to score on its following possession, junior Peter Picerelli's punt was downed at the one-yard line by junior safety Richard Carthon, and Gilbert swallowed up DeLorenzo in the endzone on the next play from scrimmage to stake the Green Wave to a 9-3 lead. Tulane closed out the scoring early in the fourth quarter when freshman Andrew DiRocco split the uprights from 38 yards to account for the final margin.

"The thing I'm most proud of is the kids," Johnson added. "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 was big. We're at home and we win this one. It's just one of those things where you know you're beginning to see some fruit of your labor."

Newsome led UConn with 40 rushing yards on 11 carries while Chandler Whitmer completed 17-of-24 passes for 141 yards. Geremy Davis was Whitmer's favorite target on the day and finished with eight catches for 63 yards. Graham Stewart paced the Huskies' defense with eight tackles (3 solo, 5 assists) with Bryon Jones and Andrew Adams both posting seven.

The Green Wave return to action on Saturday, Oct. 18, when they travel to Orlando, Fla., to square off against UCF at Bright House Networks Stadium. From there, the Wave will enjoy their second bye of the season before playing host to Cincinnati for a Halloween contest at 7 p.m. in Yulman Stadium.

For tickets to that game, as well as future Green Wave events, contact the Tulane Athletics Ticket Office at (504) 861-WAVE (9283). The Tulane Ticket Office is located on the first floor of the James W. Wilson, Jr. Center and is open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets can also be purchased on-line at the official website of Tulane Athletics - www.TulaneGreenWave.com.