7/28/2004 - Sprint Football
Sprint Football to Face Challenging 2004 Schedule
Junior running back Trevor Garabedia-Prophet led the Mids with five touchdowns last season. |
Annapolis, Md. - Two showdowns with service academy-foe Army, including a match up in the Pride Bowl, highlight Navy's 2004 sprint football schedule released Tuesday by head coach Maj. Jerome Rizzo, USMC.
The Mids return eight players from the 2003 season who earned All-Collegiate Sprint Football League honors, including first-team honorees defensive lineman Dane Brown (Sr./Columbia, Md.), running back Trevor Garabedian-Prophet (Jr./Ventura, Calif.) and linebacker Charles Lewis (Sr./Blacksburg, Va.). Brown is a two-time first-team selection, while Garabedian-Prophet was the team leader with five touchdowns last season.
?The guys have been working really hard since the end of last season and are looking forward to getting the 2004 campaign underway,? Rizzo said. ?We have some tough games this season, but that's what makes it exciting.?
The Midshipmen will kick off the new campaign on the road, Sunday, Sept. 19, at Johns Hopkins at 1 p.m. The match-up marks the third-straight season that both teams will meet in the season opener, with Navy winning the previous two, including a 48-13 triumph in Annapolis in 2003.
Navy will return to Annapolis and Rip Miller Field for its home opener, Friday, Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. when the Midshipmen play host to CSFL-foe Princeton. The meeting will be the first of two this season between the teams, as the Mids will make a return trip to Princeton, N.J. on Oct. 22 (7 p.m.).
The following weekend, the Mids will battle the defending league champion Black Knights for the first of two occasions this season with a meeting in the Pride Bowl at Riverfront Stadium in Newark, N.J. It's the second-straight season both schools will square off in the event that benefits underprivileged youth in the Newark area. Navy took last season's showdown, 14-0, before a national television audience on College Sports Television.
?Army returns a lot of guys from last season's team and it will be a good test for our team,? Rizzo added. ?It's exciting to play in Newark, because the Pride Bowl benefits a good cause.?
Another highlight of the season happens on Saturday, Oct. 9, when the Midshipmen play host to Cornell at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in a 1 p.m. kickoff.
?It's always special to play at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium,? Rizzo said. ?It's a great stadium and the guys really enjoy the opportunity to play on the field.?
Navy will close out its season at home with two final games. The Midshipmen face Penn at 7 p.m. on Oct. 29, then the season will conclude on Nov. 5 with a meeting against Army in the Star Game. The two schools have combined to either win or share the league crown in 23 of the last 25 years. Army's 30 championships are the most in league history, but Navy's 22 outright titles are tops among all teams.
