10/7/2002 - Football
Navy-Rice Game Notes
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Navy will take on the Rice Owls Saturday at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (30,000). Kickoff is set for 12 noon.
Navy is coming off a 48-7 loss at Air Force, while the Owls are coming off a 37-20 win over Louisiana Tech.
Saturday's fly-by will be two F/A-18D Hornets out of MCAS Beaufort, S.C. The Marines are the first in the world with the multi-missioned two-seat F/A-18D Night Attack Hornet.
The Naval Academy will also honor this year's Distinguished Graduates during a pregame ceremony. This year's group includes Vice Adm. Charles Minter, USN ('37), former Superintendent and Commandant of Midshipmen at the Naval Academy; Adm. Carlisle Trost, USN ('53), former Chief of Naval Operations; Col. John Ripley, USMC ('62), a three-time winner of the Purple Heart Award; and former President of the United States James Carter ('47).
The Naval Academy Drum and Bugle Corps and Silent Drill team will perform at halftime.
Saturday's game will be televised live by HDNet TV. Pete Medhurst will call the play-by-play, while former Navy fullback Omar Nelson ('97) will handle the color commentary. HDNet television is available on DirecTV on Channel 199, but you must have a high definition television to view that channel. HDNet programming is also available at participating restaurants and bars and other public viewing locations throughout the United States. For locations showing HDTV go to: http://www.hd.net/sportsbars.html(.)
Saturday's game will also be shown on a taped delay basis on Comcast Channel 8 in Anne Arundel County Sunday at 12 noon. You do not need a high definition television to watch the taped-delayed broadcast.
Saturday's game will be broadcast live on the 10-station Navy Radio Network (locally, the game can be heard on 1430 WNAV in Annapolis, 980 WTEM in Washington, D.C. and 1300 WJFK in Baltimore) and worldwide on the internet at www.navysports.com(.) Bob Socci and John Feinstein will call the action, starting at 11:30 a.m. with the Navy Pregame Show.
Pete Medhurst and Joe Miller will host the Navy Tailgate Show, starting at 10:30 a.m., on 1430 WNAV (www.wnav.com).
Injuries
Safeties Paul Clarkson (Jr./Oconomowoc, Wis.) and Scooter Ross (So./Neptune Beach, Fla.) are out for the year with knee injuries.
Team captain and slot back Donnie Fricks (Sr./Houston, Texas) is out with a fractured left clavicle. Team captain and defensive tackle Josh Brindel (Sr./Ward, S.C.) is out with a neck injury. Sophomore linebacker Reggie Sealey (Upper Marlboro, Md.) is out with an injured left shoulder. Junior defensive tackle Kevin Schwind (Fairfax, Va.) is out with an injured left leg.
Patience Is A Virtue
Navy head coach Paul Johnson took over a program that had won just one game in the last two years (1-20)-the worst two-year record in the 122-year history of Navy football. Nobody said the program would turn around overnight.
For instance, Navy's all-time winningest coach, George Welsh, who was 55-46-1 from 1973-81 at Navy, took over a program that had won seven games the previous two seasons and didn't have a winning season until his third year (7-4 in 1975) and only had one winning season in his first five years (24-31 in his first five years). It wasn't until year six that Welsh got the program turned around and the Mids posted a 31-15-1 record over his final four years in Annapolis and played in three bowl games, including a win over BYU in the Holiday Bowl, over those final four years.
Current Rice coach Ken Hatfield, who turned the program around at Air Force before moving on to Arkansas, took over an Air Force program that had won five games over the previous two seasons, including a 3-8 mark by Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells, and won just eight games over his first three seasons before posting an 8-5 mark, including a win over Notre Dame and a victory in the Hall of Fame Bowl, in year four. In year five, Hatfield went 10-2, defeated Notre Dame again, won the Independence Bowl and then turned the program over to Fisher DeBerry who has been the head coach at Air Force ever since.
Mids Drop Fourth Straight
A week after giving up 40-consecutive points to Duke, Navy gave up 48-consecutive points to Air Force in falling to the Falcons for the sixth-straight time, 48-7, in front of 48,550 at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs.
Navy jumped out to a 7-0 lead on a five-yard touchdown run by Kyle Eckel (So./Haverford, Pa) and was driving to go up 14-0 on its next possession when Tony Lane (Jr./Wrens, Ga.) fumbled after catching a pass from quarterback Craig Candeto (Jr./Orange City, Fla.). Air Force recovered the fumble and moved down to the Navy 17-yard line where it settled for a 34-yard field goal by Joey Ashcroft.
The Mids were on the move again on their next possession, but on a first-and-10 play from the Air Force 46, sophomore slot back Eric Roberts (Miami, Fla.) fumbled the pitch and Air Force's Wes Crawley picked it up and ran 52 yards for a touchdown to put the Falcons up 10-7.
Navy moved down the field once more on its next possession and, on fourth-and-two from the Air Force eight-yard line, it attempted a fake field goal which was thwarted by the Air Force defense. The Navy defense was not up to the challenge as the Falcons promptly marched 92 yards in nine plays with the drive capped off by a Chance Harridge seven-yard touchdown run to make it 17-7.
The Falcons scored again right before the half when Harridge scored his second touchdown of the day on a one-yard run with 20 seconds left in the half to put Air Force up 24-7.
Harridge scored twice more in the second half on touchdown runs of eight and three yards, while Matt Ward scored on an 18-yard run and Ashcroft tacked on a 27-yard field goal.
Candeto rushed for 99 yards on 17 carries and completed five of his 12 passes for 87 yards.
Defensively, the Mids were led by Lenter Thomas (Sr./Eagle Lake, Texas) with 12 tackles, while Ben Mathews (Jr./Pittsburgh, Pa.) added 11 and Josh Smith (So./Attica, Ind.) chipped in with 10.
Series History
Rice leads the all-time series, 5-2, including a 21-13 victory last year in Annapolis. Navy's last win over the Owls came in 1994 when the Mids upset Rice, 29-17, knocking them out of a potential bowl bid.
Navy-Rice
1951 Rice 14-21 Houston, Texas
1958 Navy 20-7 Dallas, Texas
1967 Rice 7-21 Houston, Texas
1992 Rice 22-27 Houston, Texas
1994 Navy 29-17 Annapolis, Md.
1999 Rice 17-20 Houston, Texas
2001 Rice 13-21 Annapolis, Md.
Scouting Rice
The Owls are much better than their 1-4 record would indicate with their only "bad" loss coming against crosstown rival Houston, 24-10. Rice has also lost on the road to Michigan State (27-10) and an underrated Nevada squad (31-21) and at home to the always talented Fresno State Bulldogs (31-28). Last week, the Owls knocked off defending WAC Champion Louisiana Tech, 37-20.
Quarterback Kyle Herm leads the Rice offense with 300 yards rushing and one touchdown, while fullback Vincent Hawkins has rushed for 277 yards and two touchdowns on just 34 carries (8.1 yards per carry).
Rice does not throw the ball much, but when it does, it usually make it hurt as Herm has completed 24-48 passes for 325 yards and two touchdowns with just one interception. Herm's favorite targets are Marcus Battle, who has caught 10 passes for 139 yards, and Jeremy Hurd, who has six catches for 132 yards and two touchdowns.
The Rice defense, which is allowing just 137.2 yards per game on the ground, is led by Jeff Vanover with 43 tackles, including six tackles for a loss and three sacks.
Turnover Troubles
Since opening the season with no turnovers in a 38-7 win at SMU, Navy has committed 15 turnovers, 12 of them fumbles, in the last four games. Navy's 12 lost fumbles are the third most in the country. Only Arkansas State (13) and Purdue (13) have lost more.
Since forcing five turnovers in the season opener, Navy has forced just two turnovers in the last-four games.
Not So Sweet Home
Navy has lost 12 straight and 17 of the last 18 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The Mids last won a game at Navy-Marine Corps on Nov. 13, 1999, when the Mids knocked off Tulane, 45-21. The Mids have been outscored, 480-212 (average loss 40-18) during the 12-game home losing streak.
In A Rush
Navy is third in the nation in rushing, averaging 282.8 yards per game. Last year, the Mids averaged a paltry 181.8 yards per game. Navy has led the nation in rushing just once in school history, that coming in 1999 when the Mids averaged 292.2 yards per game en route to a 5-7 record.
NCAA Leaders In Rushing Offense
1. Air Force 329.80
2. West Virginia 313.60
3. Navy 282.80
4. Kent State 264.17
5. Bowling Green 261.25
6. Nebraska 257.83
7. Kansas State 247.20
8. Wake Forest 246.67
9. Rice 246.00
10. Iowa 242.17
Red Zone
Navy has scored on 16 of its 21 trips inside the Red Zone (.762) and has scored touchdowns on 13 of those 21 trips (.619).
The defense has given up points in 24 of the 29 times the opposition has reached the Red Zone (.828). Twenty one of the 29 trips have resulted in touchdowns (.724).
Navy In The 2002 National Rankings
{117 Teams in Division IA}
Rushing Offense 3rd (282.8)
Passing Offense 109th (127.0)
Total Offense 40th (409.8)
Scoring Offense 78th (24.2)
Rushing Defense 114th (271.0)
Pass Defense 52nd (206.0)
Pass Efficiency Defense 115th (169.7)
Total Defense 111th (477.0)
Scoring Defense 113th (42.4)
Net Punting 104th (30.5)
Punt Return 115th (4.3)
Kickoff Return 64th (20.3)
Turnover Margin 109th (-1.60)
Rushing Craig Candeto (48th, 87.2)
Total Offense Craig Candeto (76th, 185.8)
Receiving Yards Per Game Eric Roberts (72nd, 63.6)
Punting John Skaggs (40th, 41.22)
Kickoff Returns Tony Lane (31st, 24.6)
Eric Roberts (84th, 19.9)
Scoring Craig Candeto (20th, 9.6)
All-Purpose Runners Eric Roberts (21st, 147.4)
Long Pass Play
J.P. Blecksmith's (Sr./San Marino, Calif.) 79-yard pass completion to Eric Roberts (So./Miami, Fla.) against Northwestern was the fourth-longest pass play in school history and the longest pass play in school history that did not result in a score.
The longest pass play in school history came in 1995 when Chris McCoy hit Matt Scornavacchi with an 87-yard touchdown pass in Navy's 35-7 victory over Tulane.
Three of the five-longest pass plays in school history have come when Navy was running the current spread offense. The fifth- longest pass play in school history came in 1998 when Brian Broadwater threw a 78-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Read in Navy's 32-31 upset win at Boston College.
Piling Up The Yards
Navy piled up 678 yards of total offense against Northwestern, the third most in school history. The school record for total offense is 724 yards, which ironically enough also came in a loss, was when the Mids lost to Tulane, 50-38, in 2000. The second-biggest output was 680 yards against Colgate in 1998. Four of the six-best total offensive days in school history have come when either Paul Johnson or Ken Niumatalolo have called the plays.
Throwing The Ball
Craig Candeto's (Jr./Orange City, Fla.) 212 yards passing against Northwestern were the most by a Navy quarterback since Nov. 11, 2000, when Brian Broadwater threw for 302 yards and two touchdowns in Navy's 50-38 loss to Tulane.
Scoring Outburst
Navy's 40 points against Northwestern were the most points scored by a Navy team since Nov. 20, 1999, when the Mids scored 41 in a 48-41 loss to Hawai'i.
100 Yards Receiving
Eric Roberts' (So./Miami, Fla.) 136 yards receiving against Northwestern marked the first 100-yard receiving day by a Navy player since Nov. 11, 2000, when Dominic Bailey (Sr./Houston, Texas) had three catches for 119 yards and Josh Bock had nine catches for 119 yards and one touchdown in Navy's 50-38 loss at Tulane.
Smart Up Front
Senior left offensive tackle Derek Jaskowiak (Chesterfield, Mo.) sports a 3.74 GPA in systems engineering, while senior left offensive guard Grant Moody (Eureka, Kan.) carries a 3.91 GPA in quantitative economics. Both are Academic All-America candidates.
Brotherly Love
The Mids have a remarkable four sets of brothers on the team. Junior linebacker Ben and freshman slot back Sam Mathews (Pittsburgh, Pa.), junior guard Nate and freshman linebacker Jeremy Chase (Norfolk, Va.), senior guard Grant and freshman guard Evan Moody (Eureka, Kan.) and sophomore quarterback Aaron and freshman wide receiver James Polanco (Wimberley, Texas). Aaron and James, who transferred to Navy from Texas Tech, are identical twins.
