Mids humbled in showdown
Falcons dominate as Navy has one of its worst offensive performances
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. — Air Force and Navy engaged in a rugged defensive struggle during the first half of Saturday’s service academy showdown.
The Falcons finally got their option attack on track in the second half while the Midshipmen continued on the way to one of their worst offensive performances in recent history. Inside linebacker Grant Ross made 11 tackles to lead a suffocating defensive effort as Air Force dominated Navy, 28-14, before an announced 43,063 at Falcon Stadium. Quarterback Nate Romine completed eight of 14 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns for the Falcons, who amassed 314 of their 423 yards after halftime.
Romine threw two long passes to wide receiver Jalen Robinette, one that went for a touchdown and another that set up a score. Romine capped the lopsided game by rifling a short pass that tailback Tim McVey turned into a 62-yard touchdown by slipping a tackle.
Luke Strebel kicked two field goals for Air Force (4-0), which can reclaim the Commander-in-Chief ’s Trophy by winning Nov. 5 at Army West Point.
Navy quarterback Will Worth struggled in his service academy series debut, losing a fumble after being sacked by outside linebacker Haji Dunn and throwing an interception to safety Weston Steelhammer.
Those turnovers ended two of Navy’s four forays into Air Force territory. The Mids turned the ball over on downs in the first quarter before finally scoring their only touchdown midway through the fourth.
Fullback Shawn White took a quick pitch and ran 6 yards into the end zone with 8:33 remaining as Navy avoided being shut out for the first time since 2012. Before mounting that 75-yard touchdown drive, the Mids had managed only 143 total yards of offense.
Navy (3-1) could retain the Commanderin-Chief’s NO. 6 HOUSTON @NAVY TV: Radio: Trophy if Army defeats Air Force. If that happened and the Mids subsequently beat the Black Knights in their season-ending rivalry game, the 170pound piece of hardware would remain in Annapolis.
In a real rarity, Navy had almost as many pass attempts (30) as carries (38). The Mids abandoned the ground game early and wound up with only 57 rushing yards, their fewest against the Falcons since 1994. That was also the lowest rushing total for Navy since it was held to 35 by Connecticut in November 2002.
“They got after us today and beat us,” Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said. “You have to give Air Force all the credit. I’m not going to take anything away from them. We had a hard time moving the ball. They really shut down our running game.”
Worth completed 17 of 30 passes for 260 yards and was intercepted a second time when attempting a long throw down the sideline intended for slotback Calvin Cass Jr. He was sacked six times and wound up with minus-6 rushing yards on 17 carries.
Worth got many of his passing yards on the game’s final drive as Air Force played prevent defense. He completed several long throws as the Mids scored a second touchdown with 10 seconds left to make the score seem more respectable.
“They did a good job of stacking the line and stymieing us inside. Give them props,” Niumatalolo said. “We couldn’t take advantage of their aggressiveness.”
Navy had hoped to establish the fullback dive, but that didn’t work as Chris High and Shawn White combined for just 53 yards on 16 attempts. The Mids pitched to the slotbacks only three times the entire game.
“They were just playing really aggressive and plugging gaps. We couldn’t run the ball,” senior slotback and offensive captain Toneo Gulley said. “They just played really well on defense, brought a lot of pressure. We had to go to the pass game because they were playing really well up front.”
The first half was a defensive slugfest, with both sides unable to find any offensive rhythm. Navy was limited to 120 total yards, with almost all of that coming on its opening couple of possessions. Air Force managed only 109 total yards and squandered several opportunities in enemy territory.
Navy got little on the ground, going into halftime with just 46 rushing yards. Three pass completions by Worth accounted for most of the offense for the Mids.
Worth made a throw under pressure that dropped into the arms of slotback Dishan Romine for a 30-yard gain to the Air Force 39. However, a false-start penalty on right tackle Andrew Wood spoiled that drive.
Wide receiver Jamir Tillman turned a short pass on a crossing pattern into a 39-yard pickup into Air Force territory. That possession ended when Air Force linebacker Dunn strip-sacked Worth and recovered the fumble.
Navy’s starting field position was awful almost the entire first half. The Mids took over at their 11-, 13-, 11- and 4-yard lines on consecutive possessions.
After being forced to punt on two straight possessions to start the game, Air Force moved to the Navy 36-yard line on its third. Offensive coordinator Mike Thiessen dug into his bag of tricks, having wide receiver Tyler Williams take a pitch, then throw a pass. It didn’t work as Williams threw the ball up for grabs and it was intercepted by Navy safety Daiquan Thomasson.
Air Force broke through after backing up Navy at its 4-yard line, then forcing a three-and-out. Erik Harris was forced to punt from deep in the end zone and took too long to get the ball away. Safety Brodie Hicks blocked the punt, and the ball was recovered at the 13-yard line.
It was a golden opportunity for Air Force to score a touchdown, but Robinette hurt his team by committing a 15-yard personal foul. The Falcons settled for a 36-yard field goal by Strebel that made it 3-0 with 4:29 left in the second quarter.
Air Force made a strong statement by opening the second half with a 10-play, 78-yard drive that took almost five minutes off the clock. Romine and Robinette connected for the big play, a 41-yard completion during which the receiver got separation and the quarterback delivered a perfectly thrown pass. McVey scored from 1 yard after taking an option pitch and the Falcons increased their lead to 10-0.
“That opening drive in the second half was a killer,” Niumatalolo acknowledged. “Overall, I thought we played well on defense. They got some deep passes on us, but we played well enough [defensively] to win.” Navy Air Force SECOND QUARTER AF: FG Strebel 36, 4:29 THIRD QUARTER AF: McVey 1 run (Strebel kick), 9:57 AF: Robinette 75 pass from N.Romine (Strebel kick), 4:40 FOURTH QUARTER AF: FG Strebel 22, 11:33 NAV: Sh.White 6 run (Moehring kick), 8:33 AF: McVey 62 pass from N.Romine (R.Cleveland run), 6:23 NAV: Worth 1 run (Moehring kick), :10 TEAM STATS 0 0 0 3 0 14 NAV 14 11 — — 14 28 First downs 18 18 Rushes-yards 38-57 53-173 Passing 260 257 Comp-att-int 17-31-2 8-15-1 Return yards 21 21 Punts-avg. 4-49.25 5-45.8 Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-0 Penalties-yards 3-15 5-70 Time of poss 28:00 32:00 RUSHING: Navy, High 11-37, Sh.White 5-21, D.Romine 2-7, Gulley 2-6, (Team) 1-(minus 3), Worth 17-(minus 11). Air Force, Owens 15-63, Johnson 14-58, Davern 9-33, R.Cleveland 1-9, T.Williams 1-7, McVey 4-4, N.Romine 7-2, (Team) 2-(minus 3). PASSING: Navy, Worth 17-30-2-260, (Team) 0-1-0-0. 0-1-1-0, N.Romine 8-14-0-257. RECEIVING: Navy, Tillman 9-128, Colon 2-59, Gulley 2-11, D.Romine 1-30, T.Jackson 1-21, Carmona 1-6, Cass Jr. 1-5|Air Force, Robinette 5-163, McVey 1-62, Reffitt 1-21, Owens 1-11. Air Force, T.Williams