Pirates' Comeback Runs Out Of Time Against Tulane

Saturday, November 10

New Orleans, La.

4:00 P.M.

East Carolina University

2-7 , 0-6

Tulane

5-5 , 4-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

ECU

Tulane

November 10, 2018 | Football

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NEW ORLEANS — Big plays and an offense that struggled to find its rhythm ultimately proved to be the big undoing for ECU on Saturday as it lost to Tulane 24-18 in Yulman Stadium.

While the Pirates were sputtering on offense, their defense played well, with the exception of three huge plays. Still, ECU had its chances late, even after Tulane extended its lead to six points on a 33-yard field goal that snuck just inside the right upright by Merek Glover with 7:35 left.

The Pirates had four more possessions with a chance to take the lead, but were unable to do so. The first ended with a punt from the Tulane 49, the second with a punt from their own 32, the third ended on downs at the ECU 35, and the fourth ended with the clock running out near midfield.

ECU lost its fifth in a row and dropped to 2-7 overall and 0-6 in the American Athletic Conference. Tulane improved to 5-5 and 4-2 as it won a third consecutive game for the first time since 2013.

"Our guys battled," ECU Head Coach Scottie Montgomery said. "I've got to go into the locker room and get our team together. We've got a great bunch of guys. We've recruited some big-time players, and the heart of Pirate Nation and the heart of the Pirates, we're starting to see it again."

ECU's best opportunity to take the lead late ended by the slightest of margins. On fourth-and-9 from the ECU 35, Holton Ahlers' heave downfield as he eluded defenders was caught by Trevon Brown at the Tulane 37. But as Ahlers was on his back on the field after taking a shot to the ribs, officials reviewed the play and determined that Brown's right foot was on the sideline and called the pass incomplete.

"Heart-breaking," Montgomery said. "The drive with Trevon making a play on the sideline, I thought that was going to be a defining moment for the season, and it didn't happen. Right there at the end, our guys just battled. That was one of the gutsiest performances we've had. They played for one another, they played for us, they played for ECU, they played for Pirate Nation tonight."

It was part of a rough night offensively. Ahlers threw 67 passes and completed just 21 for 360 yards with a pair of touchdown and one interception. He also was ECU's leading rusher with 16 carries for 67 yards, with the Pirates totaling 90 yards on the ground. Hussein Howe was the second-leading gainer with four rushes for 13 yards.

With the exception of three big plays that resulted in all three of Tulane's touchdowns, the defense had a good outing. The Green Wave did have 535 yards of offense, but 238 of that came on scoring passes of 86, 73 and 79 yards. Justin McMillan, a graduate transfer from LSU, completed only 12 of his 28 passes, but they went for 372 yards.

The Tulane rushing attack came in averaging 222 yards per game, but the Pirates held the Green Wave to 163 yards on 49 carries, an average of 3.3.

"Effort," Montgomery said. "I knew we'd be able to bounce back. The only thing they did to us tonight, they hit some slants on us and caught us in a couple of coverages because they knew we were going to stop the run."

Davondre Robinson led the defense with eight tackles, four unassisted, followed by Jalen Price (5 tackles, 2 unassisted), Marcus Holton Jr. (4, 3) and Bruce Bivens (4, 1). Devon Sutton and Nate Harvey had sacks.

Tulane extended a four-point halftime advantage to 21-10 on its first play of the second half. After forcing a punt by the Pirates, the Green Wave scored as McMillan completed a 79-yard touchdown pass to Darnell Mooney. It was nearly a mirror-image of a play earlier in the game, as he hit Mooney crossing from right to left near the Tulane 35. Mooney, who finished with six catches for 217 yards, quickly got behind the defense and raced to the end zone untouched.

Mooney's 86-yard touchdown in the first half came on a similar play, as he was crossing from the left to the right. That score gave the Green Wave the lead at 7-3 with 6:50 left in the first quarter, and they never relinquished the advantage.

In a game in which the teams combined for 26 punts — the Pirates had 14 of those — ECU pulled within 21-18 as Ahlers hit Brown on a 31-yard scoring strike in the front left corner of the end zone with 11:54 remaining, then hit him again on the successful 2-point conversion. The score was set up by a pass interference call on the previous play in which Tyler Snead was the target.

It was part of a big game for Brown, who finished with eight catches for 161 yards and two touchdowns. Snead had five receptions for 124 yards, and Terrell Green had three for 30. Freshman tight end Johnny Bogle had his first career catch, good for two yards.

ECU had taken a 3-0 lead on a 46-yard field goal by Jake Verity with 10:31 left in the first quarter. The Pirates then held Tulane to a three-and-out, but on the Green Wave's next possession, McMillan found Mooney for his first touchdown.

They extended their lead to 14-3 as McMillan hit Terren Encalade on a 73-yard touchdown pass with 5:13 left in the second quarter.

ECU got its first touchdown late in the first half as Ahlers hit Brown on a play covering 80 yards.

"(Getting that touchdown) was huge," Montgomery said. "We had a lot of one-on-one shots, Holton just didn't get to them. "

After the touchdown, the teams traded three-and-outs before Tulane took over at its own 25 with 55 seconds left in the half. On first down, Corey Dauphine fumbled as he ran through the center of the line, and Bivens recovered.

"How great was that? How long have we been waiting for that?" Montgomery said. "I was so happy to get a turnover, I don't know what to do."

Ahlers was sacked on first down, then he had a short gain on second down before throwing an incompletion on third. That set up a 49-yard field goal attempt by Verity. He made the kick, but it was negated by a holding penalty, pushing the Pirates out of field-goal range.

It was the second time the Pirates had points taken off the board, as they lost a touchdown on their first possession. A 32-yard completion from Ahlers to Snead put the ball at the 16, but that was as close at the Pirates got. They appeared to score a touchdown on the next play, a reverse from Ahlers to Brown to Green, but it was called back because of a chop block.

ECU had to settle for the 46-yard field goal by Verity, who also had to punt 12 times in the game after starter Jonn Young was forced out a roughing-the-punter penalty on his second punt.

- Joe Corley