4/10/2004 - Football
Polanco Leads The Way In Football Scrimmage

ANNAPOLIS, Md.- Junior Aaron Polanco is leaving no doubt that he is more than ready to be Navy's starting quarterback next fall. Polanco led the first team offense to three touchdowns in the four possessions he played in Navy's scrimmage Saturday morning at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Polanco ran for two touchdowns and completed five of his seven passes for 78 yards.

"There was some good and bad today," said Navy head coach Paul Johnson. "I thought the first team offense moved the ball pretty easily, probably too easily, and the second and third team were just the opposite. It was a mixed bag. The ball was on the ground too much and there were too many big plays."

The offense also got touchdowns from junior fullback Michael Brimage (eight carries, 27 yards), freshman slot back Trey Hines (six carries, 54 yards) and freshman quarterback Brian Hampton (13 carries, 38 yards). Hines' touchdown was the most impressive as he flashed his speed on a 33-yard gallop off a pitch. Freshman fullback Matt Hall showed that he was capable of pushing some of the veteran fullbacks as he rushed for 71 yards on four carries.

"I thought Matt Hall played real well today," said Johnson. "I thought Hall and Brian Hampton did some good things. Brian still makes poor decisions, but he has some ability."

Hampton, who has moved past Eddie Martin on the depth chart, completed six of his 10 pass attempts for 45 yards to go along with his 38 yards rushing. Hampton did throw two interceptions, both of which were returned for touchdowns. Freshman linebacker Tye Adams picked off Hampton's first errant throw and returned it 48 yards for a score, while junior Lord Cole returned his pick 40 yards for a touchdown.

Freshmen linebackers David Mahoney and Tyler Tidwell led the defense with 10 tackles and a fumble recovery apiece, while Tidwell also recorded 1 1/2 sacks. Vaughn Kelley broke up two passes, including one in the end zone, while Josh Smith had seven tackles and a pass deflection.

In spite of a couple of individual performances, Navy defensive coordinator Buddy Green was not happy with the play of his defense.

"We were awful, just awful," said Green. "We tackled poorly, we didn't play well up front, we didn't play well in the secondary, we missed too many tackles, we were awful. Awful. One positive was the way Lord Cole played. He picked off one pass and took it back for a touchdown and made a few other plays and there were probably a few other guys that individually made some good plays, but for the day I thought we were awful."