Y1, G5 - vs Tulane
Report by Isaac Robinson - September 24th, 2018
Swarm fall 33-16
Solid showing from Henderson as Swarm defense crumbles in second half -- Offensive line woes as Henderson sacked 5 times -- Mark Montgomery leaves in an ambulance with scary back injury
Tulane QB Joe Parham went over 1000 passing yards on the year with 246 on the day
Westlake, OH -- Westlake State are now 1-4 on the season after yet another frustrating loss, this time at the hands of Tulane.
B.J. Henderson got the start and put together a solid showing, throwing for 196 yards on 15/27 passing, and tacking on 60 rushing yards. The negatives were his 3 picks, but we'll get to those later on.
Neither team did much in the first half, as Westlake State led 7-6.
Joe Parham-led Tulane didn't threaten much, either, as their 2 red zone trips ended in a field goal and a pick.
The Green Wave opened the second half with a field goal to go up 9-7, before Henderson led a long drive that ended in a
Johnny Nash rushing score at the goal line. The Swarm went for 2 but did not get it and took a 13-9 lead. Tulane would then score 10 unanswered points, as first a facemask on the kickoff return allowed the Green Wave to start at their own 40, then a 20 yard pass to
Lorenzo Pettit followed up by a huge 22 yard run from
Matt Shelby set the Green Wave up at the goal line, where Shelby would punch it in.
Great grab here from Josh Roach to set up Nash's TD
Westlake State would turn it over, as a false start forced a 3rd and 10, and B.J. Henderson forced the ball to a well-covered
Robert Coley, and it was picked. Tulane would be held to a field goal, and it was 19-13 heading to the 4th.
Henderson faced a 3rd and 13 after a dropped deep ball and a botched screen play, but he managed to evade pressure to find Coley for a huge 24 yard conversion. The drive kept going, with the Swarm reaching the Tulane 11, but a pair of sacks would end up forcing them all the way back to the 24, and they would settle for a field goal.
Tulane rode the legs of Shelby and his backup, the speedy
Chris Duckett, to a TD that made it 26-16. The Swarm must have felt the pressure to score, because Dion Barkley dialed up a shot play. Henderson would put up a ball for a double-covered
Jon Smith, who couldn't make the play and it was picked. Tulane needed just 3 plays to score, as Duckett would get the ball on a sweep and hit the edge for a 33 yard score.
Henderson threw another pick on the very next play, but this time he hit junior
Travis Vaughn right in the hands, but the junior dropped it and it was scooped up off the turf for the INT, the final nail in the coffin. Tulane ended up missing a 50 yard field goal, and Henderson would find
Kevin Sykes for 37 on the game's penultimate play, but then he took a sack and time expired.
Terrible drop from Vaughn here
Henderson was frustrated after the game, tossing his helmet to an equipment manager and shoving off reporters who looked to talk to him as he practically sprinted to the locker room.
He then refused to speak much after the game, answering questions about both Vaughn's drop and his lackluster offensive line with this passive-aggressive comment:
Head Coach Dion Barkley was also quiet postgame:
To rub salt in the wound, junior running back
Mark Montgomery left the game strapped to a backboard after taking a hard shot to the back on a tackle. He was unable to stand back up, and he was taken to the hospital and reportedly diagnosed with broken lumbar vertebrae. This is a very serious injury that will certainly end his season, and maybe his career.
Westlake State play the second of 3 consecutive home games next week, as the Swarm host a 1-3 Cincinnati team looking for their first win in conference play.