Saturday, September 10, 2016

Final - Navy 28, Connecticut 24


6:39 - UConn runs the ball and was stopped on the goal line.  The time expired before the Huskies could get another play run.  Navy wins 28-24 and now has 12 straight wins at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

6:36 - UConn calls a timeout with a 2nd-and-goal on the Navy 1 yard line with 0:17 left in the game.  UConn needs a TD to take the lead.

6:34 - Connecticut calls a timeout after driving to the Navy 23 yard line with the arm and legs of Bryant Shirreffs. There are 45 seconds remaining in the game.

6:26 - Will Worth officially scores from 1-yard out, his second rushing TD of the game.  Bennett Moehring's PAT is good and Navy leads UConn, 28-24 with 3:08 left in the game. Navy's scoring drive was 4 plays-17 yards-1:49.

6:24 - Will Worth appears to score from 2 yards out, but Navy had called a timeout prior to the snap.

6:18 - Navy forces Connecticut to punt from their own 9 yard line.  Navy will get the ball back with 4:57 left in the game down 3.  Calvin Cass returns the punt 26 yards to the Huskie's 17 yard line.

6:14 - Navy is forced to punt and Erik Harris's kick travels 63-yards to the UConn 5 yard line.  The pressure is now on the defense to stop Bryant Shirreffs and the Connecticut offense.  Let's see what defensive coordinator, Dale Pehrson has up his sleeve.

6:08 - Bobby Puyol kicks a 38-yard field and Connecticut leads Navy, 24-21 with 9:08 remaining in the game.  The Huskies have scored 24 unanswered points in the game.  UConn's scoring drive was 9 plays-70 yards-4:29.

6:04 - The Huskies fumble again, their 5th of the game. They have recovered three of them.  UConn has the ball 3rd-and-7 on the Navy 27 yard line.

6:00 - On Connecticut's first play following Navy's punt, Shirreffs hits Hergy Mayala with a 41-yard pass completion to midfield.  The Huskies are out of the shadow of their own goal posts.

5:57 - Navy is forced to punt and Erik Harris pins the Huskies inside their own 10 yard line.  Connecticut has the ball and 91 yards between them and a go ahead TD.

5:52 - At the end of the third quarter, Navy and Connecticut are tied, 21-21. An interesting stat was just announced.  On Navy's first two drives they had 176 yards of offense.  Since then they have 175 yards of offense.

5:40 - Chris High fumbles the ball and UConn's Jamar Summers recovers and returns the ball 86 yards for a TD.  Navy and UConn are now tied, 21-21 with 2:39 remaining in the third quarter.

5:37 - Dishan Romine gets into the mix with a 19-yard carry to the UConn 21 yard line.  The Mids are moving the ball well on the ground after struggling their last few drives.

5:35 - Toneo Gulley takes a Will Worth pitch 15 yards on the left side to the Navy 39 yard line.  Calvin Cass takes the next carry 10 yards and Navy has the ball near midfield.

5:29 - UConn's Ron Johnson carries the ball 3 yards to the end zone to cut Navy's lead to 7.  The play of the series was a 25-yard pass from Tyler Davis to Alec Bloom on a fourth down fake punt at the Navy 28. Navy still leads 21-14 with 8:07 remaining in the third quarter.

5:22 - Navy pants on their first drive of the second half, their first punt of the game.  UConn takes over on their own 40 yard line.

5:20 - Navy has the ball to start the second half, 1st-and-10 at their own 25 yard line.

5:15 - The Midshipmen are returning to the field following the half.  Some first half stats - 
UConn has four fumbles in the first half, losing two of them
Will Worth has four more passing yards than Bryant Shirreffs - 109-105
Tyra's Wooten has 8 tackles to lead the Mids
UConn had 6 drives in the 1st half - 3 ended on punts, 2 on fumbles, and a TD

4:58 - The half ends with the Midshipmen holding a 14 point lead over visiting UConn in front of an announced crowd of 31,501.

4:54 - Bryant Shirreffs completes a 34-yard TD pass to Noel Thomas and UConn is on the board. Navy still leads the Huskies 21-7 with 1:10 remaining in the half.

4:47 - Moehring's 32-yard FG attempt was blocked and Navy came away with no points following the UConn fumble on the kickoff. 

4:44 - Navy's kickoff team forced a fumble and recovered on the UConn 20 yard line.  Khaylin Williams forced the fumble and Green recovered his second loose ball on the afternoon.

4:38 - Bryant Shirreffs fumbled on UConn's 2 yard line and Alohi Gillman returned it for a Navy TD. Gillman also forced the fumble.  This was the third consecutive play in the game that has been reviewed.  Moehring's PAT was good and with 5:36 left in the half, Navy leads 21-0.

4:34 - Will Worth was stopped on a 4th and 1 from the UConn 1 yard line.  The Huskies take over first and 10 at their own 1 with 5:48 remaining in the half.  Last year, UConn was the only team to stop the Mids in the Red Zone.  The Mids were 55-58 last year in the Red Zone.  They took a knee, missed a FG and were stopped by the Huskies on their third unsuccessful Red Zone attempt.

4:24 - UConn punts on all three drives so far.  This time Craig Scott returned the punt 20 yards to the Huskie's 44 yard line.

4:19 - Navy has 185 yards of total offense so far in the game.  The surprising part is that they have 3 more yards passing than rushing, 94 yards passing and 91 yards rushing.

4:14 - Worth runs it in from one yard out.  Moehring's PAT gives Navy a 14-0 lead with 10:35 remaining in the second quarter.  Navy's scoring drive was 9 plays-80 yards-4:51.

4:11 - High gains 26 yards on the ground following a Navy chop block penalty.  Navy has a first down at the Huskie's 16 yard line.

4:09 - Worth completes another long pass, this time a 40-yarder to Calvin Cass to the UConn 34 yard line.

4:04 - At the end of the first quarter, Navy leads UConn 7-0.

4:00 - Navy is forced to punt for the second time in as many series.  Wain's punt goes into the end zone and Navy takes over on their own 20 with 0:26 remaining in the first quarter.

3:58 - Navy forced an incomplete pass on a third down, but were flagged for roughing the passer when Amos Mason hit Bryant Shirreffs late.  1-10 UConn on the Navy 46 yard line.

3:52 - Lee Greenwood's "Proud to be an American" is being played through the stadium's PA system. The brigade of Midshipmen are singing along.  Touching!

3:50 - Fullback Chris High gets Navy on the board first with a 4-yard carry.  Moehrings PAT gives the Mids a 7-0 lead with 4:52 remaining in the first quarter.  Navy's scoring drive was 10 plays-96 yards-4:57.

3:46 - On a 3rd and 5 play, Will Worth completes a 47-yard pass to Jamir Tillman to the UConn 33 yard line.

3:39 - Navy forces the Huskies to punt on their first possession.  Justin Wain pins the Mids deep in their own territory as the punt was downed at the Navy 4 yard line.

3:31 - UConn has won the toss and elected to receive.  Navy's kickoff from Bennett Moehring is taken at the UConn 1 yard line and returned to the 16.


Previewing the Navy, UConn game - 


This afternoon, UConn (1-0) will take on Navy (1-0) at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

It's a hot one here in Annapolis.  The real feel during pregame warmups is 94 degrees with 74% humidity.


Both teams come into today's game, 1-0.  UConn defeated Maine last week when kicker Bobby Puyol kicked a 37-yard field goal with 11 seconds remaining in the game giving the Huskies the 24-21 win.  Navy defeated Fordham, 52-16 in the Midshipmen's home opener.

Navy has won 11 straight home games.  The Mids last lost at home to Western Kentucky on September 27, 2014.

Will Worth will be the starting QB for Navy this week after Tago Smith tore his ACL on a run in the second quarter last week against Fordham. Sophomore Zach Abey will be his backup.

Navy's co-captains, SB Toneo Gulley and LB Daniel Gonzalez are both wearing #2 for the rest of the season in honor of injured QB Tago Smith.

UConn held Maine to 40 yards rushing on 19 carries last week.  Last week the Midshipmen had 427 yards rushing.  FB Chris High had 176 yards rushing himself.

Monday, September 05, 2016

Navy's Win Over Fordham Bittersweet

Navy faced Patriot League foe, Fordham in the season-opener for both teams in Annapolis Saturday afternoon.  The Midshipmen came away with a 52-16 blowout win over the rams in Navy's eleventh consecutive home win dating back to last season.

The Mids were led offensively by Junior fullback Chris High who gained 176 yards on just 10 carries and found the end zone twice.  Navy's daunted triple option attack opened the way for 427 yards rushing on the afternoon.

Senior signal caller, Tago Smith guided the Mids to a 21-10 lead over their FCS opponent after just one quarter of play.  Smith has been biding his time in the shadow of Keenan Reynolds who set the NCAA record for all-time touchdowns scored with 88.  Smith was injured on a 22-yard carry at the beginning of the second quarter.  MRI results on Sunday confirmed that Smith had torn his ACL in his right knee and he is scheduled for surgery this week.

Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo became choked up about Smith's injury when asked about it in the post-game press conference.

“Just a great kid.  The kind of kid who really symbolizes who we are.  He hasn’t said crap for three years. He came to work every day.  He didn't complain, didn't get bitter.  I was the guy keeping him off the field.  There were other coaches that wanted to take him for other positions and play him.   I held him back. For three years he didn't say a word, just worked his butt off.

"What he did in the first half didn’t surprise me. We knew the guy was a really good football player who was just playing behind Keenan (Reynolds).  I just feel for the kid.”



Will Worth came in to replace the injured Smith and had nine carries for 22 yards and a rushing touchdown.  He also completed all three of his passes for 78 yards, including a 57-yard TD strike to Toneo Gulley.

Freshman QB Malcolm Perry was called from the stands after marching to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium with the rest of the Brigade of Midshipmen.  He changed at halftime and made his collegiate debut at the end of the third quarter with Navy leading, 49-13.

The Mids host Connecticut (1-0) next Saturday at 3:30.