Saturday, September 14, 2019

Navy 42, East Carolina 10 - Final

Fourth Quarter

On ECU’s next drive, the Navy defense forced and recovered a fumble and the Navy offense took a knee to end the game.  Navy won their second game of the year, 42-10 over ECU.

After the Navy defense forced its first turnover of the game, the Navy offense was only able to gain 16 yards before Owen White was forced to punt for the third time in the game.  On the drive, an ECU defender was carted off the field with an apparent neck or back injury. No further details were provided.

Following the Navy fumbled punt return, ECU had little success moving the ball.  On a third down on the ECU 40, Navy’s Kevin Brennan picked off a Holton Ahler pass giving the ball back to the Mids.

Two carries for no yards and an incomplete pass force another three and out for ECU.  On their punt, the ball touched a Navy player and ECU recovered on their own 42 yard line.

The Navy offense has not been as effective since Malcolm Perry and a few other starters have left the game.  Perry Olsen carried three times on the drive for 23 yards.  Navy punted for just the second time in the game and ECU starts deep in their own territory.

ECU was able to drive down the short field and score their first TD of the game on a a 2-yard carry by Holton Ahlers.  Ahlers used his arm on the drive passing for 40 yards and also getting a pass interference call in the end zone that put the ball at the 2 yard line.  Navy now leads ECU, 42-10 with 12:30 left in the game.  East Carolina’s scoring drive was 8-50-2:46.

Third Quarter

Malcolm Perry gets the rest of the day off and Perry Olsen will take over the QB role for Navy.  Perry finished the day responsible for six touchdowns in the game.  This is the most since Keenan Reynolds was responsible for 7 in 2014.  A fleet of new players made plays on Navy’s drive.  Olson had 5 carries on the drive and completed one pass.  The Mids were unable to convert a fourth down and ECU takes over at midfield.

The Navy defense is relentless and forces another three-and-out for ECU.

Malcolm Perry connected with CJ Williams for an 80-yard touchdown pass on their first play following the ECU punt.  Navy leads ECU, 42-3 with 6:34 left in the third quarter.  The 80 yard pass was the longest for Navy since November 20, 2010 when Ricky Dobbs completed an 80 yarder to Greg Jones.  The Navy scoring drive was 1-80-0:12.

Navy’s defense forced another three-and-out with ECU.  The Pirates’ defense is going to start wearing down quickly without more sustained offensive drives for East Carolina.

Navy received the ball first to start the second half.  The drive was quintessential Navy football.  The Mids carried the ball 13 times and completed one pass.  Malcolm Perry led the way with 8 carries followed by Nelson Smith with three.  Perry also completed a pass to Keoni Makekau for 27 yards.  They also converted two fourth downs on the drive, giving them four in the game.  Perry scored the rushing touchdown from the one yard line which happened to be their second fourth down conversion of the drive.  The Mids lead ECU, 35-3 with 7:53 left in the  third quarter.  The Navy scoring drive was 14-75-7:07.  Perry now has 156 rushing yards and 4 rushing TDs in the game.

Halftime

Statistical leaders in the first half -

Navy

Rushing
Malcolm Perry 16-128 3 TDs

Passing
Malcolm Perry 3-5-41 1 TD

Receiving
CJ Williams 2-37 1 TD

Tackles
Elan Nash 5 tackles, 1 TFL

ECU

Rushing
Holton Ahlers 7-32

Passing
Holton Ahlers 7-14-93

Receiving
Tyler Snead 3-54

Tackles
Davo Robinson 7 tackles

Second Quarter

The half ended with ECU in possession of the ball on their own 29 yard line.  Navy leads this AAC matchup, 28-3.

Navy was unable to move the ball after Perry’s 14 yard carry on the first play of the drive.  Perry was sacked on the next play and Navy couldn’t get another first down.  The Mids punt the ball to eh ECU 13 yard line where the Pirates take over with 1:22 left in the half.

ECU punted for the fourth time following a three-and-out forced by the Navy defense.  Navy will take over at their own 27 with 4:05 left in the half.

It appeared that the Mids were held without points for the first time in the game.  Navy, however, had other ideas and converted a 4th-and-4 on the ECU 47 yard line.  The Mids called a time out and gave the ball to Nelson Smith who carried for 9 yards.  ECU was called for a personal foul and the penalty added 15 yards to the run to the ECU 23 yard line.  Mychal Cooper carried the ball 11 yards, Nelson Smith added 6 yards and Perry scored his third TD of the game from 6 yards out.  Navy leads ECU 28-3 with 5:25 left in the half.  Navy’s scoring drive was 8-72-3:44.  Perry has 119 yards on 13 carries in the game and 44 yards passing and one TD through the air.

ECU was finally able to put points on the board.  Bolton Ahlers point the team on his shoulders on their fourth drive.  He carried the ball twice and completed 4 passes for 63 yards to the Navy 7 yard line.  The big play was a 41 yard completion to Tyler Snead.  On what appeared to be a touchdown run by Demetrius Mauney, the Pirates were flagged with a 5-yard penalty.  They were forced to attempt a field goal.  Jake Verity connected on a 23-yarder to cut Navy’s lead to 21-3 with 9:09 left in the first half.  The East Carolina scoring drive was 11-69-4:29.

The Midshipmen started their next drive from their own 15 yard line with a pass from Perry.  The pass was just over the outstretched hands of CJ Williams.  Perry made up for the errant pass on the next play with a 14-yard run to the Navy 29.  Perry converted a 3rd-and-4 with a 6-yard carry and a little help with his teammates to move the pile forward.  A personal foul that ripped the helmet off Perry’s head moved the ball to the ECU 29.  On the next play, Perry connected with CJ Williams for a 29-yard TD pass.  Navy leads visiting ECU, 21-0 with 13:38 left in the second quarter.  Navy’s scoring drive was 10-85-5:08.  Malcolm Perry has 10 carries for 97 yards and 2 touchdowns.  He also has 2 completions for 36 yards and a TD.

First Quarter

East Carolina had much more success moving the ball on their next drive.  The Pirates started the drive on their own 11.  They moved the ball to the Navy 39 before being forced to punt the ball away for the third consecutive drive.  Ahlers started the drive with a 24-yard scramble to the 35.  A completed pass on the next play with a Navy personal foul moved the ball into Navy territory for the first time in the game.  The Pirates completed a pass to convert a fourth and 3, but their was a holding penalty called on the play forcing ECU to punt the ball back to Navy.

Navy was just as successful on their second drive as they were on their first.  Nelson Smith had the first two carries of the drive for 7 yards.  Malcolm Perry then busted a 30 yard run to the ECU 28.  Three plays later, Tazh Maloy carried for 11 yards to the Pirates 15 yard line.  Two plays later, Perry found the end zone again, this time from 11 yards to give Navy a 14-0 lead with 5:46 left in the first quarter.  Navy’s scoring drive was 8-65-3:54.

ECU was unable to sustain much of a drive on their second possession.  Bolton Ahlers completed 2 passes for 23 yards.  The drive stalled at the ECU 38 and John Young punted the ball to the Navy 35.

Navy moved quickly down the field on their opening drive.  CJ Williams carried the ball 10 yards to the ECU 28.  Malcolm Perry completed a 7 yard pass to Myles Fells to the 19 yard line.  After a 1 yard run by Nelson Wilson, Perry called his own number and scampered 18 yards for a Navy touchdown.  The Mids lead ECU 7-0 with 11:26 remaining in the first quarter.  Navy’s scoring drive was 6 plays, 38 yards, and last 2:08.

East Carolina was unable to move the ball on their first drive.  The Navy defense forced a three and out with ECU gaining -7 yards on the drive.  The punt went 22 yards and Navy starts with great field position.

Navy Hosts East Carolina in AAC Opener

Navy Hosts East Carolina in AAC Opener

Navy hosts visiting East Carolina in the American Athletic Conference opener for both teams.  Navy comes in to today’s game with a 1-0 record.  The Mids knocked off Holy Cross, 45-7 in the season opener.  Navy was led by fullback Nelson Smith who rushed for 96 yards and three touchdowns.  CJ Williams added 91 yards and a TD.  Team Captain, Malcolm Perry completed six passes for 103 yards to help balance Navy’s run-oriented offense.  The Mids had a bye week last week.

East Carolina enters the game with a 1-1 record.  The Pirates are led by first year head coach, Mike Houston.  ECU dropped their season opener with a 34-6 loss at the hands of NC State.  They rebounded last week with a 48-9 win over Gardner-Webb. The Pirates’ ground game was key to getting the win in their home opener.  Both Darius Pinnix and Demetrius Mauney gained over 100 yards on the ground with Pinnix finding the end zone two times.  ECU has also passed for over 200 yards in each of their first two games.

You can follow the game live here on Mid-Atlantic Sports.