Perry, Mids blow past Hurricane
TULSA, Okla. — Navy extended its hex over Tulsa on Saturday night, catching some early breaks en route to a fifth straight wins in the series.
Quarterback Malcolm Perry ran wild again, and the Midshipmen rode the wave of a major momentum shift in the first half to a 45-17 victory over the Golden Hurricane on Military Appreciation Nigh at H.A. Chapman Stadium.
Perry rushed for 218 yards and three touchdowns for Navy (4-1, 2-1 American Athletic Conference). He scored on runs of 29 and 25 yards as the Midshipmen closed the first half with four unanswered touchdowns to take a commanding 28-3 halftime lead.
After a shaky start, the Navy defense was equally responsible for the big cushion at intermission, forcing Tulsa to punt on five straight possessions.
It could have been a different story after a pair of major mistakes by the Midshipmen. The Golden Hurricane missed a golden opportunity to take an early lead after being handed the ball at the visitors’ 18 to start the game.
Later in the first half, a length-of-thefield touchdown pass that was the result of a bad gamble by a Navy defender was brought back because of a penalty. Tulsa potentially could have taken a 21-point lead but instead was ahead just 3-0 when Navy totally took over the contest.
Cornerback Michael McMorris made eight tackles to spearhead a Midshipmen defense that limited the home team to 323 total yards. Tulsa (2-4, 0-2) hurt itself by committing nine penalties, six of which were false starts.
Perry added a 3-yard touchdown trot early in the fourth quarter to put the game away. Slotback CJ Williams and fullback Nelson Smith both scored on 6-yard runs for Navy, which has won four straight on Skelly Field.
It was the fourth 200-yard rushing effort of Perry’s prolific career. The Tennessee native moved past legendary tailback Eddie Meyers (1978-1981) into fourth place on Navy’s all-time rushing list with 2,946 yards.
Navy could not have gotten off to a worse start as Chance Warren fumbled at his own 18-yard line on the opening kickoff. However, the Golden Hurricane could not pick up a first down and settled for a 30-yard field-goal attempt, which kicker Jacob Rainey banged off the left upright.
Navy went nowhere on its first possession and Tulsa took over at its own 40-yard line. The home team marched into enemy territory before three straight incompletions stalled the drive. This time, Rainey was true on a 41-yard field goal attempt, giving the Golden Hurricane a 3-0 lead with 7:29 to go in the first quarter.