Army rolls past Tulane, ends streak

• By LES EAST
• Special to The Advocate
• Published: Oct 5, 2008 - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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NEW ORLEANS — Army hadn’t won going into its game against Tulane on Saturday at Tad Gormley Stadium.

But it’s unlikely the Black Knights had faced an opponent as accommodating as the Green Wave was.

Tulane committed four turnovers, two of which were returned for touchdowns, allowed a blocked punt that set up a touchdown, allowed a blocked field goal that stymied their last opportunity to make a game of it, and committed 10 penalties.

The result was a 44-13 victory for the Black Knights (1-4), who had scored just 37 points coming in. The victory ended Army’s 10-game losing streak, dating to a 20-17 overtime victory against Tulane last season.

“I apologize for our performance,” Green Wave coach Bob Toledo said. “I’m really disappointed in our performance. It was a comedy of errors. That was a terrible performance on our part, and I take the blame for that.”

Quarterback Kevin Moore accepted his share of the blame after losing a touchdown-producing fumble when Tulane had reached the Army six, and throwing two interceptions.

“I was awful,” Moore said. “I just played terribly and their defense played extremely well and made a bunch of plays.”

Army fullback Collin Mooney, whose only previous touchdown came two years ago, scored four touchdowns and ran for 187 yards. His play and Tulane’s miscues offset the Green Wave’s advantage in total yards (486-334).

“It felt good to get in the end zone again,” Mooney said. “I’d love to do this every game. After the first touchdown I was just like, let’s do it again. I just felt good and wanted to run the ball more.”

The Black Knights’ triple-option attack produced runs of 47, 28, 16, 13, 35, 55 and 10 yards as they rushed for a season-high 291 yards. They’re the first Tulane opponent to rush for 100 yards this season.

“We worked on it against the scout team all week,” defensive tackle Julian Shives-Sams said, “but you can’t tell how fast it happens by watching film. When you see it live, you see how fast the option happens. Their fullback did a great job. You make one mistake and he’s gone for 60 yards.”

The victory by the Black Knights left Washington and North Texas as the only winless teams in the Football Sub Division, going into their games later Saturday. The Green Wave, 2-3 after completing a four-game homestand with its Homecoming game, plays at UTEP next Saturday.

Tulane, which fell behind, 23-0, in the second quarter gradually climbed back into the game Andre Anderson’s 1-yard touchdown late in the second quarter and Moore’s 49-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Williams midway through the third quarter made it 23-13.