Posted on by jeffrey9910
WEEK 8: TULANE GREEN WAVE (2-4) @ EAST CAROLINA PIRATES (3-4)

Coming into the game, all the experts expected East Carolina would make easy work of Tulane. Evidently, the players all believed the experts as the Pirates let a game they should have won get away from them and they dug themselves a hole they couldn’t get out of.

The first quarter saw only one score, as each team traded punts back and forth. That finally changed with 5:17 remaining in the opening quarter when on a 2nd and goal from the ECU 7-yard line, the Green Wave did some trickery, and backup senior quarterback Wallace Whitlock connected with senior wide receiver Michael Ruiz to put the Green Wave up 7-0.

It stayed that way until 11:08 left in the second quarter. With 1st and 10 from the ECU 12-yard line, Tulane’s senior wide receiver Eric Vega caught a 12-yard pass from senior quarterback Herbert Yoder to put Tulane up 14-0.

It took just 65 seconds and three plays for ECU to finally get on the scoreboard on their next drive. With a 2nd and three from their own 42-yard line senior quarterback Carlos Ramos connected with his freshman wide receiver Charlie Brooks for a 57-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 14-7.

The teams traded touchdowns to close out the first half. Senior wide receiver Eric Vega caught a 34-yard pass from Yoder to stretch the Green Wave lead to 21-7 before sophomore tight end Richard Holloway caught a five-yard reception from Ramos to cut it to 21-14 heading into the locker room.

The Tulane Green Wave quickly scored 10 points in the third quarter to take the 31-14 lead. The Pirates finally scored with just four seconds remaining in the third quarter on a 22-yard field goal by Steven Stokes. The Pirates opened the scoring in the fourth quarter with another field goal, this one from 29 yards out to cut the lead to 11 at 31-20. Tulane closed out their scoring with a three-yard rushing touchdown by sophomore running back George Mitchell to stretch the lead to 38-20. The Pirates attempted a comeback scoring 14 points in the final 3:45 but it wouldn’t be enough as the Green Wave picked up the three-point 38-35 win. Freshman running back William Barfield broke free for a 32-yard touchdown with 3:45 left before senior wide receiver Ryan Craft caught a nine-yard touchdown reception to cut the score to 38-35 after the converted 2-point conversion.

Carlos Ramos ended the game going 25-of-34 for 317 yards with three touchdowns. Freshman wide receiver Charlie Brooks led all ECU receivers with 123 yards on six receptions with one touchdown. Freshman running back William Barfield and junior Eddie Sharp combined for 138 yards, 80 for Barfield and 58 for Sharp.