Perry carries Mids to come-from-behind win
Navy’s offense was pretty much the Malcolm Perry show throughout Saturday’s home opener against Memphis. For most of the game, that performance played to poor reviews as the junior quarterback oversaw an offense that struggled mightily.
Perry pulled it together and directed two touchdown drives in the fourth quarter as Navy pulled out an improbable 22-21 victory over Memphis before an announced crowd of 31,762 in a steady downpour on Saturday at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
“What a game! I’m getting too old for this kind of stuff. These games are not good on the heart,” Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said. “I’m really proud of our players – just their resolve and their grit and how resilient they are.
“A lot of times during that game today things looked really bleak for us. To beat a really good team like Memphis that is going to win a lot of games, we feel very fortunate,” Niumatalolo added.
Perry rushed for 166 yards and two touchdowns on a career-high 36 carries to lead the offense, which sputtered for the better part of three quarters. Owen White punted the ball six times while a lost fumble by backup quarterback Garret Lewis ended another possession as the Mids managed just nine points through through three periods.
“We didn’t play great offensively, but we played well enough to win because the defense gave us a chance,” Niumatalolo said. “We did just enough on offense at the end to get the W. We had one more point than them and that’s all that matters.”
Navy’s defense did a tremendous job of holding the fort, forcing four turnovers (three fumbles and an interception) to keep the home team in striking distance. It was the third Memphis fumble, caused by safety Juan Hailey, which sparked the late rally.
Wide receiver-quarterback Zach Abey was outstanding in his unique specialty role for the second straight game to start the season. The Archbishop Spalding product replaced Perry at quarterback in shortyardage and goal-line situations and executed each time.
Abey scored the game-winning touchdown on a 3-yard run and set up Navy’s TV: Radio: initial touchdown by completing a 17-yard pass off a double reverse.
“Zach was absolutely phenomenal. It’s amazing to me this guy can go play wideout then come in there (at quarterback) in crunch situations and produce,” Niumatalolo said. “Everybody knows what’s going to happen. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what we’re going to do. He just finds a way to get first downs and touchdowns.”
Fullback Anthony Gargiulo was the only other ball-carrier to make much of an impact, rushing 11 times for 30 yards. The Midshipmen (1-1) wound up with only 316 total yards for the game.
“Overall, I’m not happy with the way I executed. I am happy with how the team played overall,” said Perry, who completed 2 of 3 passes for 22 yards. “I thought we never gave up. Whatever the situation, we kept lining up and executing the next play.”
Truth be told, it was the defense that led Navy to a huge early-season victory in the American Athletic Conference. Safety Sean Williams recorded a team-high nine tackles and forced two fumbles as the Mids contained a high-powered attack that had amassed 66 points and 722 yards in the season opener.
“We’re very proud of what we did in this game. It kind of showed what our character is,” Williams said. “The guys came out today and really showed a lot of emotion and passion. We played Navy football today and every time we do that we come out with the win.”
Fixing the defense was the focus of the coaching staff last week after Navy was torched to the tune of 59 points and 522 total yards in a season-opening loss at Hawaii.
“I thought our defense played unbelievable today. That is such a potent offense,” Niumatalolo said. “To play as well as we did on defense … I’m just really proud of Coach Pehrson and the whole defensive staff as well as the players for coming back after what happened in Hawaii. I was really proud of the way the defense responded.”
Quarterback Brady White was basically held in check as he completed 15 of 25 passes for 145 yards for Memphis, the preseason pick to repeat as West Division champions in the American.bwagner@capgaznews.com