12/31/2003 - Football
Navy Falls in First Bowl Game in Seven Years
B.J. Symons threw for 497 yards and tossed four touchdown passes to lead Texas Tech to a 38-14 win over Navy in the Houston Bowl at Reliant Stadium.
Symons, who was the game's MVP, completed 41-of-53 passes and also threw an interception for the Red Raiders (8-5), who snapped a two-game losing streak. Nehemiah Glover caught nine passes for 116 yards with a touchdown, while Wes Welker hauled in seven passes for 107 yards in the win. "I think I've got a lot of football left in me," Symons said, referring to the upcoming NFL Draft.
Craig Candeto rushed for 90 yards and two scores on 23 carries for the Midshipmen (8-5), who lost for the first time in their last three contests. Candeto completed just two passes on nine attempts and threw for 33 yards. "We should be proud of where we are right now," Candeto said. "Obviously we're disappointed with the loss and all the guys have their heads down, but when we reflect on the season we have a lot to be proud of."
Texas Tech took the opening kickoff and marched 78 yards in 17 plays, but Keith Toogood missed a 22-yard field goal. Navy then countered with a 15-play, 92-yard drive that took up over eight minutes and bridged the first and second quarters. However, on 4th-and-goal from the one-yard line, Candeto fumbled and the Red Raiders took over. After a Symons interception on Texas Tech's ensuing series, Navy then turned the ball over on downs and the Red Raiders took over at their opponents' 39- yard line. Five plays later, Symons hit Mickey Peters in the back of the end zone for a four-yard score to make it 7-0 with 10:48 left in the first half. On the drive, Symons was 3-of-3 for 49 yards.
"He's got a rocket for an arm," said Navy head coach Paul Johnson. "He's definitely a competitor and a tough kid. I don't have enough good things to say about him. He did a great job."
The Midshipmen proceeded to move down the field on their next possession, but Eric Rolfs missed a 36-yard field goal try. Texas Tech made the Midshipmen pay for the missed field goal as it marched 80 yards and Symons capped the long drive with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Glover with only four seconds left in the half. On the 10-play drive, Glover caught three passes for 49 yards, including the screen pass over the middle that he took into the end zone for a 14-0 lead.
Navy began the second half with the football and drove 78 yards before Candeto culminated the scoring march with a two-yard quarterback sneak on 4th-and- goal. The Midshipmen trailed 14-7 with 9:57 left in the third. The Red Raiders immediately countered with a scoring drive to regain their two-touchdown advantage. Taurean Henderson's four-yard touchdown scamper widened the gap to 21-7 with 5:52 left in the third quarter.
Navy was then forced to punt on its next series, which was the first punt by either team in the game, and the Red Raiders began their next drive near midfield. Texas Tech drove to the four-yard line before it settled for Toogood's 21-yard kick to increase its lead to 24-7 with 17 seconds remaining in the third period.
The Midshipmen closed within 24-14 on Candeto's one-yard score with 11:06 left in the game. The key play on the 12-play series was a 39-yard completion to Amir Jenkins on 4th-and-8 that put Navy deep in Red Raiders' territory. Symons then orchestrated a seven-play, 90-yard drive, capped by Jarrett Hicks' 13-yard touchdown reception, to make it 31-14 with 8:49 remaining in the game. Peters' four-yard touchdown catch with 3:11 left capped the scoring.
Game Notes: Peters caught eight passes for 80 yards and two scores...Navy had the only two punts in the game...Texas Tech, which has won two straight bowl games, improved to 7-19-1 all-time in bowl games...The Red Raiders improved to 1-1 in this bowl game as they lost 40-27 to East Carolina in 2000...Navy fell to 4-5-1 in its bowl history...The Midshipmen played in their first bowl game since the 1996 Aloha Bowl...These teams met for the first-time ever...The Houston Bowl, which began in 2000, was formerly known as the Galleryfurniture.com Bowl.
