Abey runs Midshipmen to fourth win with three touchdowns

TULSA, OKLA. — Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo says often that his team cannot beat itself. Niumatalolo was beating that drum again last week when speaking to the media after practice.

“Our games are always close. I wish we could beat people like Alabama does, but we’re the Naval Academy. We have to find a way to make sure we win games and don’t lose them,” Niumatalolo said. “That’s why I’m such a stickler on ball security, penalties, missed assignments. We want to make teams to have to beat us.”

Navy did a good job of trying to beat itself during the first half of Saturday’s game here at H.A. Chapman Stadium. The Midshipmen derailed their first four drives with every miscue imaginable – penalties, turnovers and special teams mistakes.

However, Navy overcame a disastrous start to dominate the final three quarters, overcome a two-touchdown deficit and pull away to an easy victory. TV: Radio:

Quarterback Zach Abey (Archbishop Spalding) rushed for 185 yards and three touchdowns to lead Navy in a 31-21 rout of Tulsa on an unseasonable hot Saturday in northeast Oklahoma. Slotback Malcolm Perry ran for 104 yards and a score for the Midshipmen, who scored 31 straight points to take control.

Abey also completed 3 of 4 passes for 90 yards for Navy, which improved to 4-0 overall and 3-0 in the American Athletic Conference. Fullback Chris High contributed 89 rushing yards for the Mids, who dominated possession by holding the ball for almost 40 of 60 minutes.

Navy amassed 511 total yards and 421 rushing yards.

“It’s a great win, especially considering the start. We couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start,” Niumatalolo said afterward. “I’m just proud of our guys because it started off ugly and things looked bleak for us, but our kids are resilient and just continued to battle. So I’m really proud of the way our guys fought.”