8/17/2002 - Football
Navy Football Practice Report Day 11, Practice 18

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Scrimmage Report

Navy head football coach Paul Johnson saw progress on both sides of the ball Saturday morning in Navy?s final scrimmage of the fall. The Mids will begin preparing for its opener against SMU (Aug. 31 in Dallas Texas) on Monday.

"I think we got better today," said Johnson. "We made plays on both sides of the ball. We still have a ways to go, but we are making progress."

Sophomore fullback Kyle Eckel continued to be the most impressive player in fall camp, rumbling for 134 yards and one touchdown on 13 carries. The touchdown came on a 62-yard run in which Eckel ran through and around the Navy defense.

"Eckel has a lot of ability, he?s hard to tackle," said Johnson. "Once he gets better vision when running inside, and that will come with experience, he?s going to be a bear. The fullback is a big part of our offense; it always has been and always will be. He could get 20-25 carries per game."

Junior quarterback Craig Candeto solidified his position at starting quarterback, completing four of his five passes for 37 yards and carrying the ball 12 times for 20 yards.

"I thought Craig did OK today," said Johnson. "He fumbled the ball on the first series, and that was disappointing, but overall I thought he played better."

The offense ran 98 plays and gained 399 yards (4.1 yards per play) in the 90-minute scrimmage, with 78 of those plays and 330 of the yards coming on the ground (4.2 yards per carry).

The defense recorded five sacks on the day with sophomore linebacker Dustin Elliott coming up with two. Senior linebacker Brian Stann, senior tackle Josh Brindel and junior end Ralph Henry recorded one sack apiece. Sophomore linebacker Adam Horne, senior defensive end Dan Person and freshman linebacker Jacob Biles recovered fumbles, while freshman defensive back Adam Holmes picked off a pass. Elliott and junior corner Sina Ekundayo broke up one pass apiece.

"We are making progress," said Johnson. "I don?t know if we will win a game or not, but I do know we are getting better."

Rushing: Eric Roberts, 4-21; Tony Lane, 3-18, 2 TD?s; Kyle Eckel, 13-134, 1 TD; Lamar Owens, 7-(-10); Craig Candeto, 12-20; Brad Tepper, 4-12; Ryan Barry, 4-39; Ryan Moody, 9-10; Sam Mathews, 2-8; Evan Beard, 7-34; Andy Michalowicz, 1-2; Bronston Carroll, 2-9; Marvin Dingle, 6-16; Luke Penrose, 1-14; Jason Monts, 2-4, James Olsen, 1-(-1)

Passing: Craig Candeto, 4-5, 37 yards; James Olsen, 0-1; Lamar Owens, 1-2, -1 yards; Jason Monts, 0-2, 1 INT; Ryan Moody, 2-7, 15 yards; Andy Michalowicz, 2-3, 18 yards

Receiving: Mike McIlravy, 1-7; Brandon Rampani, 2-18; Chandler Sims, 3-30, Dominic Bailey, 1-7; Ryan Barry, 1(-1); Aaron Weedo, 1-8