9/30/2002 - Football
Navy-Air Force Notes
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Game Data
Navy will travel to Colorado Springs to take on the 25th- ranked Air Force Falcons Saturday at Falcon Stadium (52,480). Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. EST.
Navy is coming off a 43-17 Homecoming loss to Duke, while Air Force is coming off a thrilling 30-26 come-from-behind win at Utah.
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 Ron Wolf will call the action, starting at 2:30 p.m. with the Navy Pregame Show.
Pete Medhurst and Joe Miller will host the Navy Tailgate Show, starting at 1:30 p.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. 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), which was the worst two-year period 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.
Ken Hatfield, who turned the program around at Air Force before moving on to Arkansas, took over a 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 Third Straight
Duke scored 40-consecutive points over two quarters and went on to defeat Navy, 43-17, in front of a Homecoming crowd of 31,647.
Navy had jumped out to a 10-3 lead on the strength of a three-yard touchdown run by quarterback Craig Candeto (Jr./Orange City, Fla.) with 6:48 left in the first quarter and on a 28-yard field goal by Geoff Blumenfeld (So./Granite Bay, Calif.) with 13:18 left in the second quarter.
Duke, though, rallied for touchdowns on three-consecutive possessions to end the half, the backbreaker coming on a 45-yard touchdown pass from Adam Smith to Khoury Sharpe with :19 seconds left in the first half to give Duke a 22-10 halftime lead. Navy had Duke pinned back on the one-yard line, going into a stiff wind, and let the Blue Devils drive 99 yards in 1:33.
The Mids opened the second half with a beautifully-conceived onside kick, only to stand and watch the ball roll out of bounds instead of recovering it, giving the ball to Duke at the 48-yard line. Five plays later, backup quarterback Chris Dapolito hit Reggie Love in the end zone with an eight-yard touchdown pass to put the game away.
Navy turned the ball over four more times on Saturday, three on fumbles, while coming up with two turnovers on defense. The defense allowed 479 yards total offense, while the Mids were held to 349 yards.
Slot Back Eric Roberts (So./Miami, Fla.) led the Mids with 60 yards rushing on six carries, while second-string quarterback Aaron Polanco (So./Wimberley, Texas) came off the bench to rush for 55 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. Polanco completed six of his 12 passes for 54 yards, while Candeto completed just three of his 10 attempts for 55 yards. Candeto was hurt by several drops by the Navy receiving corps. Lionel Wesley (So./Duncanville, Texas) led the Mids with three catches for 39 yards.
Defensively, Eddie Carthan (Jr./Donalsonville, Ga.) led Navy with 10 tackles, including a sack and a forced fumble. Ben Mathews (Jr./Pittsburgh, Pa.) added eight tackles, while Vaughn Kelley (So./Coconut Creek, Fla.) and Lenter Thomas (Sr./Eagle Lake, Texas) added six tackles apiece.
Series History
Air Force leads the all-time series against Navy, 24-10, and the Falcons have won five straight over the Midshipmen. Last year, Air Force defeated Navy, 24-18, at FedExField in Landover, Md. Navy last defeated the Falcons in 1996, 20-17. Current Navy head coach Paul Johnson was Navy's offensive coordinator in that game. Air Force is 13-3 all-time in games played in Colorado Springs.
Commander-In-Chief's Trophy
The Commander-In-Chief's Trophy is presented annually to the winner of the football competition among the three major service academies - Army, Navy and Air Force-and is named in honor of the President of the United States.
Air Force has won the trophy 15 times, while Army has won it six times and Navy five times.
The Midshipmen were winners in 1973, 1975, 1978, 1979 and 1981. Air Force won it in 1982, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001. Army's wins came in 1972 (the initial year), 1977, 1984, 1986, 1988 and 1996.
When there is no clear-cut winner, the Trophy remains with the winner of the previous year's competition. This happened in 1974, 1976, 1980 and 1993.
The three-sided trophy stands two-and-a-half-feet tall and is engraved with the academy seals. Reproductions of the three mascots - the Army Mule, the Navy Goat and the Air Force Falcon - are ensconced on the respective sides of this bauble. The trophy is sponsored by the West Point Association of Graduates, the Naval Academy Alumni Association and the Air Force Association of Graduates.
The year in which the trophy is won is engraved on a plate gracing the respective academy's side of the Trophy.
Scouting Air Force
The Falcons are off to a 4-0 start and are ranked 25th in the country in the USA Today/Coaches Poll. Air Force has beaten Northwestern (52-3), New Mexico (38-31), California (23-21) and Utah (30-26). In the win at Utah, Air Force trailed 26-6 at the half.
Offensively, the Falcons are led by quarterback Chance Harridge, who has carried the ball 81 times for 350 yards with seven touchdowns. Harridge has completed 17 of his 40 passes for 197 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions. Harridge's favorite target is Anthony Park, who has four catches for 21 yards. Air Force is averaging 305 yards per game on the ground and 66.8 through the air
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Defensively, the Falcons are giving up just 122.5 yards per game on the ground and 179.5 yards through the air. Linebacker Anthony Schlegel leads the Falcon defense with 34 tackles, while linebacker Marchello Graddy and safety Larry Duncan have recorded 21 tackles apiece.
Candeto Fifth In The Country In Scoring
Junior quarterback Craig Candeto (Orange City, Fla.) is tied for fifth in the country in scoring, averaging 12 points per game. Candeto is second among quarterbacks and is one of only three quarterbacks in the top 50 (Josh Harris of Bowling Green is first and Chance Harridge of Air Force is 15th).
Candeto had a big day in Navy's 38-7 win over SMU, rushing for a career-high 153 yards and a career-high three touchdowns, while throwing for a then career-high 106 yards in just his third-career start.
Against N.C. State, Candeto carried the ball 17 times for 58 yards and one touchdown in Navy's 65-19 loss to the Wolfpack.
Candeto carried the ball 30 times for 138 yards and three touchdowns while throwing for a career-high 212 yards and one touchdown in Navy's 49-40 loss to Northwestern.
Candeto struggled against Northwestern, rushing for -12 yards on 12 carries, though he did score a touchdown. He also completed three of his 10 pass attempts for 55 yards.
Candeto's eight rushing touchdowns in the first-four games puts him on pace to break the NCAA record for most rushing touchdowns in a season by a quarterback, which is 20 set by Navy's Chris McCoy in 1997 and equalled by Eric Crouch of Nebraska in 2000. McCoy's 20 rushing touchdowns are also a school record for rushing touchdowns in a season by a player.
Roberts Fifth In The Country In All-Purpose Yards
Navy sophomore slot back Eric Roberts (Miami, Fla.) is 10th in the country in all-purpose yards, averaging 166.25 yards per game. Roberts has rushed for 220 yards, owns 266 yards receiving and 179 kickoff return yards. He is averaging 17.1 yards every time he touches the ball.
Long Pass Play
J.P. Blecksmith's (Sr./San Marino, Calif.) 79-yard pass completion to Eric Roberts (So./Miami, Fla.) 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 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.
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 November 13, 1999, when the Mids knocked off Tulane, 45-21. The Mids have been outscored 480-212 (average loss is 40-18) during the 12-game home losing streak.
In A Rush
Navy is third in the nation in rushing, averaging 288.5 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 enroute to a 5-7 record.
Red Zone
Navy has scored on 15 of its 19 trips inside the Red Zone (.789) and have scored touchdowns on 12 of those 19 trips (.632).
The defense has given up points in 17 of the 22 times the opposition has reached the Red Zone (.773). 16 of the 22 trips have resulted in touchdowns (.727).
