After a ho-hum first half, the Navy Midshipmen scored 17 points in the second half to defeat the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, 20-17, Friday night at H.A. Chapman Stadium, in front of 16,279 fans.
Following the playing of the National Anthem by the Tulsa March Band, two Army Air National Guard black hawk helicopters flew over the stadium, reminding those in attendance of the strength and grandeur of the U.S. Military.
The first quarter ended with no score, but Tulsa got on the scoreboard first with a 27-yard field goal by Zach Long, with 6:37 remaining in the second quarter.
Navy answered with a 29-yard field goal by Bijon Nichols, with only three-seconds left before halftime.
Both teams combined for fewer than 300 total yards of offense in the first half.
Tulsa began the second half in an exciting way, as Anthony Watkins returned the second half kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown.
With 9:03 left in third quarter Navy’s James Harris scored on a one-yard carry, to tie the game at 10-10. The Midshipmen, scored another touchdown and a field goal before the Golden Hurricane scored their final points of the night on a two-yard pass play from Brin Davis to Ezra Naylor, with 2:21 left in the game.
“You know, disappointing loss,” said Tulsa head coach Philip Montgomery after the game. “Give credit to Navy, they played a good game. You know, we just didn’t execute the way we wanted to throughout the game consistently. Had flashes of it here and there but didn’t convert when we needed to.”
Too many mistakes were the underlining factor once again for the Golden Hurricane. Tulsa’s quarterback, Davis, was sacked three times and he threw one interception. The Golden Hurricane were flagged for eight penalties totaling 70 yards, and fumbled the ball twice, losing one of them.
“Just didn’t make enough plays right there at the end,” Montgomery said. “Had our opportunities early, and didn’t capitalize on them. We had some unfortunate things that happened but we’ve got to overcome all of that.”
Tulsa converted only 4-of-11 third downs, while Navy converted 7-of-15.
“Our focus now has to go to Cincinnati,” Montgomery said. “We got them next week. That’s going to be a great test for us on the road again at their place, and our focus has got to be there.”
Tulsa is on the road this Saturday to face the No. 2-ranked Cincinnati Bearcats at Nippert Stadium for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff. The game will be aired on ESPN2.
PEARSON HONORED
One of the newest members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Drew Pearson, was honored at halftime. The former TU star, became the fourth former Golden Hurricane to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, in August.
He was joined on the field by one of the other Hall of Fame members who played at Tulsa, Steve Largent.
Pearson played at Tulsa from 1970-72, before signing as an undrafted free agent by the Dallas Cowboys in 1973. Pearson went on to enjoy a very successful 11-year career in the NFL.