Golden Hurricane erupts for 62 points in season-opening win

TULSA — Another football season opener is in the books as the Tulsa Golden Hurricane roared past Northwestern State 62-28 in front of 16,483 fans on Aug. 29 at Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Kirk Francis earned the starting nod and did not disappoint, tossing 299 yards and four touchdowns to three receivers on 23-of-30 passing. He spread the wealth, finding 10 different receivers on the evening.

“To be a really good team, and I think we got a chance to be much better, we just got off to a pretty good start,” Tulsa coach Kevin Wilson said. “For sure, I hope those guys can see there is a lot we can clean up, and we can play so much better. To me that’s exciting and encouraging, too” Kamdyn Benjamin was the favorite target, with five receptions on seven targets for 65 yards and the season’s first touchdown midway through the first quarter. On Tulsa’s next touch of the ball, he’d give the Hurricane its first lead with an electric 66-yard touchdown return. Zion Steptoe didn’t find the end zone but pulled down five passes of his own for 88 yards in his TU debut.

Jeremiah Ballard grabbed his first TU touchdown and redshirt sophomore Connor Vaughn recorded touchdowns on consecutive drives late in the second quarter. The second of which was an athletic toe-touch while falling out of bounds in the south end zone.

Ten Tulsa rushers combined for 323 yards on the night with two surpassing 50 yards. True freshman running back Lloyd Avant led the way with 64 yards on 11 carries. Avant added a brilliant 100yard kickoff return early in the fourth quarter and finished the night with 191 yards of total offense. Redshirt junior Bill Jackson followed in rushing with 53 yards. Running back Anthony Watkins, quarterback Cardell Williams and wide receiver Braylin Presley each found the end zone on the ground.

Similar to last season’s opener, the Hurricane found itself down early, but the offense responded quickly and scored early and often. The game was tied at 14 heading into the second, but TU scored four touchdowns in the second frame to take a 41-14 lead to the lockers.

“I know the opponent we were playing is kind of starting over a little bit and coaching staff and guys have always done well, but the kids were battling hard and I would say a little bit ugly early,” Wilson said. “(We) settled in and found some runs. Kirk played pretty well. Guys caught it pretty decently. A lot of things to clean up, but a lot of good out there and it was a great first start.”

Tulsa amassed a staggering 622 yards of offense on Thursday night, picking up an average of 8.8 yards per play. The defense did its part on the other side of the ball, holding NSU to 226 yards of total offense. Heading into the fourth, the Hurricane defense had allowed just 129 yards, 55 through the air and 74 on the ground.

Local products and grad transfers Gavin Potter and Zach Marcheselli each had a strong night in their first game in Tulsa uniforms. They, along with Chris Thompson Jr., led the team with five tackles each. Justin Lohrenz had the lone sack of the evening as part of his two tackles for loss. Five different Hurricane dropped an opponent for a loss with Tulsa recording 11 for -40 yards.

The Golden Hurricane will hit the road for their next game against the Arkansas State Red Wolves at 6 p.m. this Saturday in Jonesboro, Ark. The Golden Hurricane were scheduled to meet the Red Wolves in Jonesboro in 2020, but the game was canceled due to COVID.