9/21/2002 - Football
Northwestern 49, Navy 40
Links associated with this release:
0
0
0
Annapolis, MD (Sports Network) - Jason Wright rushed for 186 yards on 21
carries with three touchdowns as the Northwestern Wildcats held off the
Navy Midshipmen, 49-40, at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
Northwestern (2-2) also received a solid performance from Noah Herron who
rushed for 95 yards on 16 carries and also had three touchdowns.
Quarterback Brett Basanez was 20-of-26 and threw for 260 yards with a
touchdown for the Wildcats.
Navy's (1-2) Craig Candeto passed for 212 yards with a touchdown and an
interception. Candeto also rushed for 138 yards with three touchdowns.
The fourth quarter was a wild see-saw battle. Candeto scored on a one-yard
touchdown run to put the score at 38-35, giving the Midshipmen their first
lead since the first quarter and bringing Navy back from a 14-point deficit.
Northwestern responded with two crushing touchdown drives in the fourth
quarter to retake the lead and secure the victory. Wright scored on a three-
yard touchdown run and Herron ran up the middle on a 17-yard touchdown to
give the Wildcats a 49-38 lead with 3:26 on the clock.
The Midshipmen scored two points on a safety with less than a minute to play
to bring the score to its final of 49-40.
Navy took a 7-0 lead early on when Eric Roberts broke free on a 54-yard
touchdown run with 13:28 remaining in the first quarter.
The Wildcats answered with two touchdowns of their own. Wright ran the ball
into the end zone from seven-yards out and Basanez connected with Ronnie
Foster on a five-yard touchdown pass to give Northwestern a 14-7 lead with
four minutes left in the first quarter.
The Midshipmen knotted the score at 14-14 following a five-play, 63-yard drive
which was capped by a three-yard touchdown run by Candeto.
Northwestern drove 42 yards on six plays to go ahead 21-14 following a nine-
yard touchdown run by Herron with four minutes left in the half.
Navy struck back and tied the score at 21-21 with a three-play, 80-yard
scoring drive which culminated with a one-yard touchdown run by Candeto. The
score was set up with a 79-yard pass from J.P. Blecksmith to Roberts which
gave the Midshipmen the ball at the Wildcat one-yard line.
The shoot out continued when Northwestern's Herron ran the ball into the end
zone from one-yard out to put the Wildcats ahead 28-21 with just 35 seconds
left in the stanza.
The Wildcats kept the scoring going in the third quarter as Wright ran the
ball 18-yards for a touchdown to give Northwestern a 35-21 edge.
The determined Midshipmen came back with two scores of their own. Candeto
connected with Roberts on a 34-yard touchdown pass and Geoffrey Blumenfeld
kicked a 25-yard field goal to cut the Northwestern lead to 35-31 and set the
stage for the action packed fourth quarter.
The Midshipmen had 678 total offensive yards and Northwestern racked up 545
total yards.
Navy was plagued by five turnovers in the game, two of which the Wildcats
converted into touchdowns.
09/21 16:49:01 ET
Game Notes:
