8/16/2003 - Football
Johnson Gives Mixed Review Of Mids Scrimmage

ANNAPOLIS, Md.-Navy head football coach Paul Johnson gave his team a mixed review following Saturday mornings scrimmage at the Navy practice field. Johnson and his staff put the Mids through a brisk 90-minute scrimmage as the Mids went head-to-head for the final time before starting preparation for VMI on Monday.

"I thought neither side of the ball showed a lot of consistency," said Johnson. "The first series or two the defense did some things and then there were three or four series where the offense scored every time they had it. It was kind of a mixed bag. I think when you play yourself it's hard to tell. When one sides not scoring you're worried about them and if they are scoring every time you're worried about the other side."

Kyle Eckel led the offensive unit with 98 yards rushing on 14 carries, while backup quarterback Aaron Polanco rushed for 56 yards on 17 carries. Craig Candeto, who saw limited action in the scrimmage, rushed for 29 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries, while Marvin Dingle rushed for 48 yards on five carries. Eric Roberts rushed for 15 yards and a touchdown on two carries, while Michael Brimage rushed for 33 yards on two carries before leaving with a foot injury.

"Brimage has way better vision than Eckel," said Johnson. "Kyle's a big, strong runner, but needs to do better on where to run. You can run over some guys out here, but not against some of the teams we play. You have to have some vision to be able to play."

In the passing game, Polanco completed four of his 10 passes for 37 yards, while Lamar Owens was 2-3 for 34 yards and a touchdown. Owens' touchdown pass was a 24-yard strike to Ryan Barry. Freshman Jason Tomlinson continued to impress with two catches for 19 yards, while Lloyd Regas (23 yards) and Eric Roberts (30 yards) had two catches apiece.

Linebacker Dustin Elliott led the defense with nine tackles, while Kevin Newsome, Jason Robinson, Vaughn Kelley. Tyler Tidwell and David Mahoney had seven tackles apiece. Jason Monts recorded one sack, whil Sean McElhannon, Scott Szurovy, Steve Adair and Tidwell had a 1/2 sack each. Kelley and Szurovey had fumble recoveries. Eddie Carthan, Josh Smith, Bobby McClarin and Eli Sanders were all held out of the scrimmage.