East Carolina tops Tulane, 34-13, to even record

Pirates move to 4-4 overall and 3-1 in CUSA

Dominique Davis threw for 329 yards and a score while also running for two more to lead East Carolina to a 34-13 homecoming victory over Tulane on Saturday at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

The Pirates (4-4, 3-1), who have won three straight, took a 7-0 lead with just over four minutes remaining in the opening quarter on a five-yard run by Davis.

The Green Wave (2-7, 1-4) got within 7-3 via a Cairo Santos 20 yard field goal, but the East Carolina defense delivered a big goalline stand after Tulane's Trent Mackey returned Mike Price's fumble to the Pirates' five.

A couple minutes later, Tulane took the lead on a seven-yard run by Orleans Darkwa. The Green Wave got the ball at the Pirates' 47 following an 11-yard punt by Ben Ryan. Ryan Griffin immediately connected with Comardelle for 40 yards to set up Darkwa's touchdown.

East Carolina responded by going 75 yards in just six plays. A 29-yard run by Davis and a 32-yard pass from Davis to Womack had the Pirates knocking on the door. A false start penalty pushed the Pirates back to the ten, but Torrance Hunt took it to the Tulane one on the very next play before Davis hooked up with Lance Lewis for the score on third and goal.

The teams traded field goals on their next possessions and East Carolina took a 17-13 lead into the locker room.

Both teams went three and out to start the second half, but Tulane was driving on its second possession. Then, ECU sophomore safety Damon Magazu halted that drive with an interception, which he returned 22 yards to the Green Wave 48.

The Pirates proceeded to move the ball to the Tulane five, but were forced to settle for a 20-yard Michael Barbour field goal that increased their advantage to 20-13.

On its next drive, East Carolina faced getting denied paydirt again after a first and goal situation, but Davis went six yards on a quarterback draw on third down and scored in the right corner to increase the Pirates' lead to 27-13.

The Pirate offense sputtered on its first two possessions of the fourth quarter, but ECU finally put the game away when Michael Dobson scored from one-yard out with just over two minutes remaining.

Lance Lewis had a team-high six receptions, but was limited to just 39 yards. Reese Wiggins had his best game as a Pirate after finishing with five catches for 75 yards. Danny Webster and Andrew Bodenheimer also had five grabs.

The ECU running game was, once again, inconsistent. With Reggie Bullock out, Hunt rushed for 59 yards on 15 attempts and Dobson 10 times for 45 yards. Dominique Davis, who hasn't been as much of a running threat this season, was utilized more and carried the ball eight times for 43 yards.

Orleans Darkwa rushed for 89 yards on 15 carries to highlight a Tulane offense that was limited to 266 yards.

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