Killins helps UCF defeat Navy as the Knights start 6-0
AUTO RACING: Ryan Blaney, who was third in NASCAR Cup qualifying Friday at Kansas Speedway, had his qualifying time disallowed after his car failed a postqualifying inspection. He will start last in the 40-car field Sunday . ... Christopher Bell won the Xfinity Series race at Kansas. It was the first career victory in the series for Bell, who races full time in the Truck Series and will race full time in the Xfinity Series next season. Pole winner Tyler Reddick finished second and Blaney was third.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Top high school recruit Jahvon Quinerly announced Friday on Twitter that he retracted his commitment to Arizona. The move comes less than a month after Wildcats assistant coach Emanuel Richardson was among 10 people arrested in a federal probe of corruption and bribery in college basketball.
GOLF: Reigning PGA Tour Player of the Year and FedEx Cup champion Justin Thomas fired a 2-under 70 in windy conditions to share the lead with Scott Brown (71) after the third round of the CJ Cup in Jeju, South Korea. Thomas and Brown moved to 9-under 207, two strokes better than Marc Leishman (71) and Anirban Lahiri (69) . ... Eun-Hee Ji carded a 3-under 69 to open up a six-stroke lead after the third round of the Taiwan Championship in Taipei. Ji is looking for her first victory since the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open. Lydia Ko (68) and Jenny Shin (75) were tied for second . ... Tournament host Sergio Garcia shot a 3-under 68 to take a one-shot lead after the third round of the Andalucia Valderrama Masters in Sotogrande, Spain. Garcia moved to 8under 205. Daniel Brooks (64) was second and second-round leader Joost Luiten (71) was third, two shots behind Garcia . ... Bernhard Langer matched the course record with a 9-under 63 to take a three-stroke lead after the second round of the Dominion Energy Charity Classic in Richmond, Va., the first of three events in the PGA Tour Champions’ playoffs. Langer moved to 14-under 130. Vijay Singh (63) was second.
NFL: Redskins CB Josh Norman will miss his second straight game Monday night against the Eagles. Norman, who fractured a rib in a loss to the Chiefs on Oct. 2, participated in individual drills Thursday and Friday but didn’t practice Saturday . ... The Jaguars promoted WR Jaydon Mickens to the active roster and waived WR Max McCaffrey, who had only one catch in five games.
SOCCER: Sergio Aguero scored in the 30th minute to help Manchester City cruise to a 3-0 victory over visiting Burnley and remain unbeaten atop the English Premier League. Aguero’s 177th career goal for City moved him into a tie for most City goals with Eric Brook, who played for the club from 1927 to 1939 . ... Manchester United fell five points back in the EPL after suffering its first loss to Huddersfield in 65 years, a 2-1 setback in Huddersfield . ... Rhian Brewster scored a hat trick as England beat the U.S. 4-1 in the quarterfinals of the U-17 World Cup in Goa, India.
TENNIS: Julia Goerges ended six-year title drought, beating Daria Kasatkina 6-1, 6-2 to win the Kremlin Cup in Moscow.
ANNAPOLIS, Md. Adrian Killins has been called a playmaker and a game-changer during his short time at UCF. But teammate Wyatt Miller threw out the biggest compliment of them all following the Knights’ 31-21 win at Navy Saturday night: G.O.A.T.
Killins’ 79-yard touchdown run in the middle of the third quarter with the game tied 14 apiece helped spark UCF’s (6-0, 4-0 American Athletic Conference) road win over the Midshipmen and the Knights’ first 6-0 start in school history.
His teammates were quick to crown Killins the “Greatest Of All Time.”
“It was a great feeling,” said Killins, Daytona Beach Mainland High alum. “… I know once I get across the edge, I know no one’s going to catch me, so I just finished off the run.”
It was his fifth touchdown run of the season and the second one spanning at least 70 yards. Killins finished with a career-high 122 rushing yards, his second 100-yard rushing game of the season, and two touchdowns.
“That’s huge. AK’s been doing that for us for a year and a half,” Frost said. “He’s an eraser. He erased a tight game and made it a 7-point lead again.”
The moniker of G.O.A.T. took on a new meaning midway through the third quarter when Killins was pushed out of bounds on a two-yard run and slid into the Bill the Goat, the Navy mascot. Both goat and G.O.A.T. were unharmed during the play.
While Killins’ runs opened the up the game, he had help from a stout offensive line and determined defense.
Much of the focus this week was on how UCF would handle Navy’s tripleoption offense.
Early on, at least, the Knights’ athleticism and speed limited the Midshipmen (5-2, 3-2) and forced them to punt to end their first three possessions. On the fourth possession, however, Navy took to the air to shake things up a bit. Quarterback Zach Abey connected with senior receiver Tyler Carmona for a 40-yard pass that set up a 6-yard touchdown run by Abey to tie the game at 7 apiece.
Mike Hughes gave UCF a huge boost when he returned the kickoff 58 yards to the Navy 35-yard-line. Killins finished the drive with his first touchdown of the game: a 15-yarder that gave the Knights a slim 14-7 margin going into the half.
Abey responded by connecting with Malcom Perry for a 75-yard touchdown pass that knotted things up at 14 apiece.
It was Killins’ run on the first play of UCF’s next possession that cracked the game open for the Knights.
“We knew we were in for a battle and we were so impressed with them,” Frost said of facing Navy.
It was a back-and-forth, bruising contest, with Navy managing to contain UCF’s high-scoring offense.
Both starting quarterbacks were knocked out of the game, although UCF starter McKenzie Milton was able to return after sitting out one series due to apparent back and hamstring issues.
The 31 points scored were a season-low for the Knights, who entered the game as the nation’s top scoring offense (50.6 points per game).
The 10-point win was UCF’s closest margin of victory this season.
mmurschel@orlando sentinel.com