Navy Gets A Much Needed Win 31-29 Over Temple
The Navy football team needed to make a statement after a bad loss last week. A 17 play drive that took 9:38 did just that. The Midshipmen (2-2 overall 2-0 in the AAC) used 173 yards from the fullback duo of Nelson Smith and Jamale Carothers to beat Temple (0-1 overall, 0-1 AAC) 31-29. Smith scored two touchdowns in the game. Navy had talked during the week about getting the fullbacks going to set up the pitch game which is the key to the triple option. Quarterback Dalen Morris had a good night running the offense despite taking a bad sack on the last drive. Bijan Nichols bailed him out with a career long 50 yard field goal which proved to be the difference.
The Navy defense played well despite playing without four starters including linebacker Diego Fagot. Safety Kevin Brennan was suspended for the first half after a targeting call last week. He made seven tackles in the second half. They got a key stop before halftime on an interception by John Marshall. In the second half Temple couldn’t convert a two point conversion because their receiver stepped out of bounds before making the catch. That forced another two point try with 1:02 left in the game. Terrell Adams broke up a pass to seal the win.
Quarterback Anthony Russo was 21-30 for 206 yards with one touchdown and one key interception threw the air. He added two rushing touchdowns in the loss. The Owls outgained Navy 407-301. Re’Mahn Davis had 23carries for 97 yards and a touchdown.
On Thursday Governor Hogan announced the Brigade of Midshipmen would be allowed to attend the game. They were socially distanced around the lower sections of the stadium, Their support helped energize Navy and made it seem more normal for the players. The Mids hit the road again next Saturday. They are at East Carolina. The Pirates are five minutes away from their first AAC win at South Florida. They lead the game 41-17. Kickoff is at noon on ESPN Plus and I will be live tweeting on the Maryland Sports Blog Twitter account.
