ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tulane's Mewelde Moore was brought down by Hawaii's Kelvin Millhouse yesterday.
They have a word for it down in the Big Easy: "Lagniappe." It's Creole, meaning a little something extra and more than expected. Green Wave played
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» Last game biggest for CorreaBy Cindy Luis
cluis@starbulletin.comIt's what Tulane had last night in crashing Hawaii's Christmas football party at Aloha Stadium. Only the Green Wave had a lot more -- in the multi-dimensional Mewelde Moore -- in doing the unexpected.
Moore had 196 all-purpose yards, including 116 rushing, as Tulane scored 26 consecutive points en route to upsetting Hawaii 36-28 in the inaugural Hawaii Bowl.
"I was expecting a game like this," said Moore, a junior who already owns eight school records. "We knew it was going to be a tough game to play. We had to be on top of our game and go beyond the call of duty if we were going to be able to play with Hawaii."Moore was called upon 30 times on the ground and six in the air.
"He's just a great, solid player," Hawaii coach June Jones said of Moore. "And they were a solid defensive team. We gave ourselves a chance to win but ... "
But Tulane's game plan proved to be better, giving the Green Wave their second eight-win season since 1980. They did it with a pressing defense that turned in a season-high eight sacks; a varied passing attack in which J.P. Losman found three receivers each for 40-plus yards, and an aggressive style from the opening kickoff.
"We opened the game with an onside kick because I wanted to show our players and staff that we're the home team and we're going to be the aggressor," said Tulane coach Chris Scelfo, who is 2-0 in bowl games with the Green Wave. "We didn't get any points out of it, but I think it sent a message to our team."
Just as his team did, Moore didn't show much in the first half, with only 22 rushing yards on 12 carries. The junior running more than matched that on his team's first possession of the second half, with runs of 2 and 29 yards.
Although the Green Wave didn't score -- field-goal kicker Seth Marler was blocked for the second time in the game -- Tulane turned the tide 71 seconds later. The Green Wave's Lynaris Elpheage fielded a low and short punt by Mat McBriar and returned it 60 yards for a touchdown to pull Tulane within 14-12.
It was Elpheage's fourth touchdown of the season, the first via a punt return. He finished with 143 yards on punt returns, setting a school record for a bowl game, as Tulane improved its bowl record to 4-6.
Elpheage's 56-yard punt return also set up Tulane's go-ahead touchdown on the next possession with quarterback Losman scoring from a yard out. Ahead 18-14, the Green Wave did what it has done well all season: capitalize on turnovers.
Coming in as the national leader in turnovers gained (40), Terrence Tarver added another, recovering Shawn Withy-Allen's fumble on the 40. It took Moore two touches to find the end zone, with runs of 15 and 25 yards, to put the Green Wave up 26-14.
"No. 26 (Moore) was a good runner and we knew coming into the game he was going to be our main problem," said Hawaii senior defensive lineman La'anui Correa. "He kept his legs going and he was hard to take down."
One of the busiest players in a Tulane uniform was Marler, last season's Lou Groza Award winner as the national's top place-kicker. The senior opened the game with an onside kick, which he recovered. He accounted for all of the Green Wave's first-half scoring with two field goals in the second quarter and nearly had to try his arm at quarterback on a fake field-goal attempt with 1:22 left before halftime. The play was blown dead by a delay-of-game penalty called on Tulane.
Marler's field-goal attempt was blocked on the Green Wave's first possession of the second half. It was just the third time that the all-time leading scorer in Tulane and Conference USA history had been blocked in 31 attempts this season.
He was blocked once more, but his punt with 1:55 left in the game pinned Hawaii back on its own 1. Four plays later, Warrior quarterback Withy-Allen was sacked in the end zone, giving Tulane some breathing room with the final two points.
"During the course of the game, there are four or five plays that make a difference, and we were able to make some of them," said Scelfo. "The big punt return by Elpheage, the safety that gave us another score. Hawaii made big plays, but we just made a couple more than they did.
"I really believe until we got that safety we were not in full control of the game. To win on the road at this place is a tremendous accomplishment."
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