Tulane stumbled out of the gate a bit Saturday in its Mardi Gras showdown with South Alabama, but proved the game — like the holiday the programs debate over — to be a marathon and not a sprint.
The Green Wave (1-1) rallied into a back-and-forth battle with the Jaguars (1-1) in which a late 14-yard strike from new starting quarterback Kadin Semonza to hometown product Destyn “Fatt” Hill (Edna Karr) secured the last laugh and 28-24 victory.
“Huge win for our players,” said Tulane coach Will Hall, who like Semonza earned his first victory in his position. “It’s been documented all offseason we’ve got a lot of returners, but not a lot of starters returning. We’ve got a lot of people that had been in this program and had worked their way into being a staple of this program. And this game tonight gave them an opportunity to make plays when we had to make plays to win the game.
“And I know it wasn’t always pretty. But, man, when we play South Alabama, it’s just become like this.”
Missed opportunities for the Green Wave early allowed South Alabama to take a 10-0 lead on a 40-yard Davis Little field goal and 16-yard touchdown run by New Orleans native P.J. Martin (De La Salle).
Tulane answered with a pair of short runs by senior running back Johnnie Daniels to take a 14-10 lead by halftime, and the teams traded scores and leads in both the third and fourth quarters.
South Alabama rolled 92 yards to open the second half with a 43-yard strike from Bishop Davenport to fellow senior Anthony Eager.
The Green Wave reclaimed the lead, 21-17, as former Terrebonne and Edna Karr standout Jaylin Lucas got loose for an 80-yard run later in the quarter.
“On that play, all I’d seen was them being slow to their gaps, so I just tempo’d and just keep riding the wave and just hit it and just stayed vertical,” said Lucas, whose 214-yard performance marked the most in Yulman Stadium history and most by any Tulane player since Tyjae Spears (Ponchatoula) on the road in 2023.
Davenport and company pieced together a methodical, nearly eight-minute march on their next possession with a 17-yard pass to senior Brendan Jenkins.
And the Jaguars forced a quick punt, ate another huge chunk of clock and dodged a bullet as fumble scooped-and-scored by Tulane defensive back Joshua Moore was reviewed and overturned as Davenport being down by contact.
“It could’ve been a turning point for us to where it might could’ve made it easier for us to win the game,” Hall said. “I think it was a turning point for us from a standpoint of if that happens, then Kadin Semonza might not get to have that moment he had, Fatt Hill might not get to have that moment he had, our defense might not get to have that moment where they get the ball back like they did. So, man, you give and you take with all those things.
“The call got reversed. It was probably the right call, to be honest with you. The kid had gone down to a slide. I’ve got so much respect for him. Credit to our players for never batting an eye — just respond, respond, respond, one play at a time.”
But the Green Wave kept rolling to force a punt and mount a seven-play, 78-yard parade to the end zone for Hill’s leaping, toe-tapping catch before falling out of bounds.
Semonza completed 14 of his 22 passes for 212 yards and the winning touchdown in his first start after debuting off the bench this past week on the road.
“It’s been a long journey for me, a long journey, a long, hard journey,” said Semonza, who transferred to the program last offseason. “I was humbled and had to learn patience all over again after having a good season at Ball State (in 2024). So to get through all that and get to where I am now, it’s nothing short of a blessing.”
Lucas exploded for 214 yards and his scoring run on 11 carries, while Daniels shouldered the short-yardage workload with six touches for 8 yards and two scores.
Hill’s four catches for 91 yards and the winning touchdown led the receiving corps with senior receiver Garrett Mmahat, the former Brother Martin quarterback, chipping in 40 yards on three receptions, and redshirt freshman Cash Semonza, Kadin’s younger brother, catching one pass for 36 yards.
Junior linebacker Dickson Agu (Dutchtown) and junior safety Kevin Adams III (Destrehan) led the defense with 14 and 10 tackles, respectively.
“Not our best defensive performance,” Agu said. “But when people go down like, (senior linebacker) Chris (Rodgers) and other guys across the board, someone has to step up, so I was able to do my one-of-11 and ended up having 14 tackles, so it felt good. But overall the win was the best.”
Junior safety Jack Tchienchou and senior linebacker Makai Williams had eight stops a piece, including two behind the line for Williams.
And redshirt freshman Reshad Sterling (Lutcher) and fifth-year Kameron Hamilton (Zachary) split a sack.
Tulane heads back on the road against another Power-Four opponent next Saturday at 11 a.m. at Kansas State (2-0) before hosting Southern Miss (1-1) on Sept. 26.
