Navy Midshipmen

Trevor Replogle

Mid-Atlantic Sports

Navy quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada ran for 101 yards and a pair of scores, leading the Midshipmen to a 31-20 victory over the Air Force Falcons in the first game of the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy competition from Annapolis.

Kaheaku-Enhada also threw for 79 yards on 4-of-7 pass attempts for Navy (3-2).  Zerbin Singleton added 65 yards and a score on seven carries, while Reggie Campbell finished with 41 yards and a touchdown on five carries.  The win was Navy’s 10th straight game against a Service Academy.

Shaun Carney completed 18-of-23 pass attempts for 237 yards for Air Force (3-2), and he also rushed for 29 yards and two touchdowns on six carries. His main target through the air was Chad Hall, who pulled down eight balls for 108 yards.

A Ryan Harrison 28-yard field goal late in the first quarter pushed Air Force ahead after one period of play.

Navy got on the board early in the second quarter, as Campbell scampered 37 yards for a score.

Less than three minutes later, Air Force responded with a Hall 16-yard touchdown run.

Navy regained the lead, 14-10, just under four minutes later, as Singleton scored on a 12-yard run.

Air Force scored first after the break, when Harrison made good on a 21-yard field goal attempt.

Joey Bullen hit a 29-yard field goal midway through the third quarter to give Navy a 17-13 lead.

With less than two minutes to play in the third quarter, Air Force regained the lead courtesy of a Hall five-yard touchdown run.

Navy, however, took over in the fourth quarter and won the game thanks to a pair of touchdown runs by Kaheaku-Enhada. He first scored on a two-yard run less than two minutes into the final period, before breaking loose for a 78-yard run midway through the frame.

"Air Force messed up with their defense on the play," Kaheaku-Enhada said. "They had been playing really disciplined all game, but on that play I just came through and it was wide open."

The Mids' defense stepped up the rest of the away and they held on for the 31-20 victory.

Air Force out-gained Navy by nearly 100 yards, but converted on just 4-of-7 red-zone chances and that was difference.

The Commander-in-Chief's Trophy, which is presented annually to the winner of the football competition between the three major service academies, has been won by the Mids each of the past four seasons.