Army Black Knights Beat Tulane Green Wave 20-17

Army leaned on its fullback and its quarterback's legs to grind out a 20-17 win over Tulane on Saturday.

The final score: Army Black Knights 20, Tulane Green Wave 17. Army moves to 3-2 on the season while Tulane drops to 2-3.

This one came down to who could finish drives in the fourth quarter, and Army simply had more answers down the stretch.

Box score

Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Final
Tulane Green Wave	0	3	7	7	17
Army Black Knights	7	0	0	13	20

See full player stats and game details

How it turned

Army grabbed the lead in the first quarter when Cale Hellums punched one in from a yard out with 1:42 left, making it 7-0 after one.

Tulane chipped away before the break. A 21-yard field goal from C. Helmke cut it to 7-3 at halftime, with Army still clinging to the lead.

The third quarter belonged to Tulane. Kadin Semonza scored on a 1-yard run with 3:18 to go in the period, and the Green Wave took a 10-7 lead into the fourth.

Then the fourth quarter turned into a track meet. Army's Dylan Jones hit a 31-yard field goal to tie it up. Tulane answered almost immediately, with Semonza finding Jaylin Lucas for a 39-yard touchdown to put the Green Wave back on top. Army had the last word twice: Hellums broke off a 58-yard touchdown run with 6:54 left, and Jones added a 25-yard field goal with two seconds on the clock to make it 20-17 for good.

Scoring plays

Q1 1:42 ARMY: C. Hellums run for 1 yd, for a TD (D. Jones KICK)
Q2 4:52 TULN: C. Helmke 21 yd FG GOOD
Q3 3:18 TULN: K. Semonza run for 1 yd, for a TD (C. Helmke KICK)
Q4 9:21 ARMY: D. Jones 31 yd FG GOOD
Q4 9:10 TULN: K. Semonza pass to J. Lucas for 39 yds, for a TD (C. Helmke KICK)
Q4 6:54 ARMY: C. Hellums run for 58 yds, for a TD (D. Jones KICK)
Q4 0:02 ARMY: D. Jones 25 yd FG GOOD

Top performers

This game was Cale Hellums. He carried it 38 times for 223 yards and two touchdowns, and Army barely needed to throw the ball behind that kind of workload, going just 3 of 6 for 19 yards through the air.

Kadin Semonza kept Tulane alive, going 14 of 26 for 158 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and he added a rushing score of his own. Jaylin Lucas turned two catches into 37 yards and the long touchdown grab, while Destyn Hill led the Green Wave with five catches for 54 yards.

On the ground for Tulane, Johnnie Daniels picked up 67 yards on eight carries. Defensively, Dickson Agu paced Tulane with 12 tackles, and Stephen Nnadozie led Army with eight.

Top performers

Tulane Green Wave

Kadin Semonza (QB) — 14/26, 158 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Johnnie Daniels (RB) — 8 car, 67 yds, 0 TD
DJ Dugar (RB) — 6 car, 31 yds, 0 TD
Destyn Hill (WR) — 5 rec, 54 yds, 0 TD
Jaylin Lucas (RB) — 2 rec, 37 yds, 1 TD
Dickson Agu (LB) — 12 tkl, 0 sck, 0 INT