9/2/2002 - Football
A Wave Of Enthusiasm By Bob Socci
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For much of the evening, Tate Wallis had been trapped in the vice of blitzing linebackers.
And now on the final play of his first collegiate game, the SMU quarterback was last seen trying to escape yet another rushing defender.
Scrambling for the far sideline, Wallis was soon engulfed by what seemed to be a tidal wave of white and gold. Like a surfer overtaken by a Blue Crush, he disappeared in a sea of celebration - 70-plus Navy Midshipmen racing onto the field, many with their helmets raised high.
This wasn't one of those prefab deals, where no sooner than the last out is recorded or the final second ticks off the clock, somebody's passing out caps and t-shirts bearing "Wild Card Champs!"
No, this was spontaneous. It was pure. And it was beautiful.
And it was well deserved for a group that no longer has to answer questions about past futility. Or listen to the wise-cracking "update guys" punctuate a score with some exhausted line about so-and-so "sinking the Middies."
Thirty-eight unanswered points. Nearly 400 yards of offense. Five turnovers forced. The sum of which is far more meaningful than a number. What they - compiled in a 38-7 rout of the Mustangs - add up to is a feeling, a spirit that had been on hiatus.
Long before any post-game delirium, the new head coach told his team not to be surprised. After all, they were thoroughly prepared.
Following their celebration, Paul Johnson told the media that he had expected to win.
And in between, several of those who were there when Johnson - then an assistant - helped spark a mid-90s revival for the Mids, talked of a similar experience.
Both team captains from the Aloha Bowl champs of 1996 - Ben Fay and Clint Bruce - returned to Dallas, where they too experienced a similar evening opposite the Mustangs as juniors. That was in September '95, when Johnson debuted as Navy's offensive coordinator.
But these were the final hours of August 2002. New century. New players. But, for them, an old feeling.
Bruce addressed the Navy radio audience at halftime. Seven years earlier he was an unquestioned leader, the guy who once toted around a sledgehammer to be presented as a reward to the defensive teammate who delivered the hardest hit.
Recently returned from the Arabian Gulf, he likened the first 30 minutes of the Paul Johnson era to his first two quarters as the Mids' offensive coordinator.
Granted, one game does neither a season nor an era make. Especially when N.C. State, with its All-America caliber quarterback in Philip Rivers are now less than a week away.
And, no doubt, the ultra-successful head coach - his career record at 63-10 - will be even more demanding, even more exacting in the future.
That's understood. But so is the sense that suddenly surrounds the Navy program, thanks to a single performance.
Leaving Gerald J. Ford stadium on Saturday, approaching the crowd gathered around the buses that would take the Mids to the Dallas-Fort Worth airport, one came upon Academy personnel.
Among them were Navy Captains Jim Grant and Kevin Sinnett, their smiles as bright and bold as their neatly-pressed whites. And once aboard the bus, there was the chatter you only hear when riding high off a victory.
Too many times the last few years, the miles on the ground and in the air were marked by silence.
Consider, since a win over Kent in September 1999, nine straight times the Mids had boarded a plane bound for Baltimore in the wake of a loss.
Ironically, with this latest takeoff, the Mids were shown the movie "The Rookie."
It depicts the real-life odyssey of Jim Morris. Once a minor leaguer, he had returned to Texas to raise a family, teach and coach high school baseball - until agreeing to a deal with his team. Should they capture a district championship, he would attend a tryout camp and give pro ball another shot.
The kids held up their end of the bargain. And so did he.
Signed by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Morris soon made it to the majors. Just in time to pitch in his home state, opposite the Rangers at The Ballpark at Arlington.
It's a story that really is too good to be "too good to be true," a reassurance that improbable doesn't mean impossible.
Especially on fields of dreams.
About 30 miles from that very place where the middle-aged Morris emerged from anonymity, youngsters like Eric Roberts and Kyle Eckel and Josh Smith had made names for themselves as Midshipmen.
But unlike Morris, who pitched only parts of two seasons and is now retired, they were just beginning.
As Saturday gave way to Sunday, August to September, they were on their way home, having completed the first leg of a 12-game, 15-week journey through the first season of a new era.
On the ground, the Mids stepped off the plane into a driving rain. Again they boarded buses, only these were headed to Annapolis.
As they reached the edge of The Yard, it was like any other trip from the recent past - the Academy seemingly still, but for the guards at the gate.
But as they approached Bancroft Hall, there was a sight unseen and sounds unheard in quite some time.
Waiting for the team to return somewhere past five in the morning was a throng of Midshipmen.
Looking out through the water beading up on the windows, there were hundreds in their blue, gold and white jogging suits.
Breaking into chants, they were soon joined by several of the top administrators from the Academy and its Athletic Association in a chilling downpour.
Never mind getting wet.
They were only too happy to soak up the spirit of the occasion - a feeling that first came rushing off the sideline about six hours earlier.
And continued rolling toward the future.
HIGH FIVES: There were surely plenty of high fives exchanged after Saturday's season-opening win. And there were several on the field during the 38-7 rout of the Mustangs.
* After SMU took a 7-0 lead in the opening quarter, the Mids produced five unanswered touchdowns, before Eric Rolfs capped the scoring with a field goal.
* The Mustangs were guilty of five turnovers, compared to none for Navy. And the Mids nearly took full advantage of those mistakes, four of their six scoring drives began with SMU giveaways. In fact, they took a 14-7 lead after starting at the Ponies' 20- and 24-yard lines following a muffed punt and fumble on a kickoff return, respectively.
* Navy also went 5-for-5 inside the "Red Zone," scoring each time it marched inside SMU's 20-yard line.
ROLE REVERSALS: Facing a unit that opened with seven returning starters from 2001, when SMU ranked 22nd nationally in Total Defense, the Mids amassed 38 points on 399 yards of total offense.
* Meanwhile, Navy's defense recovered three fumbles, produced two interceptions and recorded two sacks. Last year in 10 games, the Mids had just eight sacks, nine interceptions and 10 fumble recoveries.
SPREAD THE WORD: The 31-point differential represented the Mids' largest margin of victory since their 39-7 rout of Army at the Meadowlands in 1997.
* In three seasons from 1996-98, Navy scored at least 30 points in 21 of 34 games and 40 or more points on 10 occasions, operating the spread option offense under Paul Johnson and Kenny Niumatalolo.
* The last three years, encompassing 33 games, the Mids reached the 30-point mark seven times. Meanwhile, they failed to score at least 20 points in 18 of those 33 contests.
