10/23/2004 - Football
Football Downs Rice 14-13 to Improve to 6-1
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Rice-Navy Box Score
Senior quarterback Aaron Polanco ran for a career high 179 yards in Navy's 14-13 win over Rice Saturday. |
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- Quarterback Aaron Polanco ran for a career-high 179 yards and Navy benefited from a missed extra point to beat Rice 14-13 on Saturday.
Rice pulled within one on an 11-yard touchdown pass from freshman Joel Armstrong to Ed Bailey with 4:41 remaining, but Brennan Landry missed the point after and Navy (6-1) held on.
The Midshipmen led 14-0 late in the third quarter before Armstrong replaced starter Greg Henderson and brought the Owls (3-4) back. Armstrong ran for 86 yards on 13 carries, and Rice finished with 223 yards on 53 carries -- well below its top-ranked average of 345.7 yards.
Polanco had a career-high 33 carries as Navy improved to 4-0 at home and bounced back from last week's loss to Notre Dame. His rushing total was the most by a Navy quarterback since 2001.
Navy took a 7-0 lead with 44 seconds left in the first half on a 1-yard run by Frank Divis. The Midshipmen made it 14-0 with 4:40 to play in the third quarter when Polanco hit Eric Roberts with a 37-yard pass over the middle. Roberts fumbled after being tackled at the 2, but teammate Corey Dryden recovered the ball in the end zone.
Armstrong entered on the next series and led the Owls on a 13-play, 80-yard drive for a score with 12:30 left. He carried the ball six times for 61 yards and scored on a 3-yard run.
On Rice's next series, Armstrong capped a 69-yard, 14-play march by hitting Bailey for a touchdown.
Navy protected the lead by converting a third-and-four at midfield with 1:05 to play.
With the win, Navy became bowl-eligible for a second straight season.
