9/29/2004 - Sprint Football
Sprint Football to Face Army in Pride Bowl Sunday

Files associated with this release:
Navy-Army_Pride Bowl Game Notes

Sunday's Game
Who: Navy (1-0, 0-0 CSFL) vs. Army (2-0, 0-0 CSFL)
What: 26th annual Pride Bowl
Where: Newark, N.J., Riverfront Stadium (6,000)
When: Sunday, Oct. 3, 2 p.m.
Head Coaches: Navy - Maj. Jerome Rizzo, USMC; Army - Gene McIntryre

After a commanding 77-16 win over Princeton to open the 2004 season, the Navy sprint football team (1-0) will head to Newark, N.J., to face Army (2-0) in the 26th annual Pride Bowl, Sunday at Riverfront Stadium.

The event will mark the fourth-straight season that the Midshipmen have appeared in the event, including the last two versus the Black Knights. Navy has gone a perfect 3-0 in the game with wins over Cornell (42-10 in 2001) and Army (22-9 in 2002 and 14-0 in 2003).

The game will also be a rematch of last season's final game for both teams, as Army won the Collegiate Sprint Football League championship with a 30-25 win at West Point.

?The Pride Bowl has always been a great opportunity for us as a team,? senior team captain Charles Lewis said. ?We love to play the sport and the game gives us an opportunity to play on a great field in front of a great crowd. We also get another opportunity to play Army and those games are always tough, but fun at the same time.?

Fellow senior team captain Matt Crompton added: ?We have been working hard in the early practices this season and are excited about playing in front of everyone in Newark again this season.?

Notes

Scouting Army
Army enters Sunday's contest with a 2-0 record with wins against Marist's jayvee squad (35-13) and Cornell (24-6). This will be the first game away from West Point this season for the Black Knights. Army is led on the ground by running back Jacob Massacci, who leads the CSFL with 167 yards on 36 carries. Quarterback Braden Amigo is second in the league in rushing with 152 yards. Amigo is more of a threat on the ground, as he has completed just 2-of-13 passes for 53 yards and one interception. However, both completions have gone for touchdowns. Senior defensive caption Mike Kelvington leads the league with 21 tackles and Brandon Kennedy is Army's sack leader with two for minus-six yards.

Last Time Out Versus The Black Knights
Army won the 2003 CSFL title and ended Navy's 17-game winning streak, which spanned three seasons, with a 30-25 win at West Point. It was the Black Knights 30th league title, which is tops in CSFL history. The Midshipmen held a 16-6 halftime lead, but watched as Army fought back with 24 second-half points to pull out the win. George Feagins carried the ball 23 times for 93 yards in the win for Army.

Hailing From New Jersey
Freshman running back Richard Engel is the only Midshipman on the 2004 roster to hail from the state of New Jersey. Engel is from Medford and attended Shawnee High School. In his first game in a Navy uniform, Engel rushed for 82 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries against Princeton.

Moving Up The Charts
With the win versus Princeton, head coach Maj. Jerome Rizzo, USMC, moved into a tie for third place with Lt. Glen Nardi (1977-79) for wins with 14 in the program's history. Nardi went 14-2 in his three seasons in Annapolis. In just two-plus seasons, Rizzo has compiled a 14-1 record for a .933 winning percentage. By the end of the season, Rizzo could move into sole possession of second place on the wins list. Maj. Rick Pagel, USMC, went 18-1 from 1995-97. Jack M. Cloud sits atop the list with 81 wins. Cloud had three different stints with the program (1958-60; 63-72; 80-82).

CSFL Players of the Week
Senior defensive lineman Dane Brown and freshman kicker Joey Bullen were named the Collegiate Sprint Football League's Defensive and Special Teams Players of the Week, respectively, for week two of the season. Brown, a First-Team All-CSFL selection the past two seasons, recorded six tackles, including three behind the line of scrimmage for minus-23 yards, in Navy's season-opening 77-16 win over Princeton. Brown also blocked a punt in the contest. After winning a starting job in preseason practice, Bullen made an immediate impact by converting all 10 of his extra-point opportunities and booming five of 10 kickoffs into the end zone with two of those going for touchbacks.

League Leaders
After one week a pair of Midshipmen are among the league leaders in rushing and passing. Junior quarterback Brian Nagle is first in touchdown passes (two) and fewest interceptions thrown (zero), and second passing yards (164). Junior running back Jake Owens is fifth in the league in rushing with 96 yards, but his 24.0 average per rush far exceeds Penn's J.T. Hutchinson's 7.0 average in second place. Navy is first in the league with 559 yards of offense per game and second in allowing only 190 yards on defense.

350 & Counting
The season-opener versus Princeton marked the 350th game in Navy sprint football history. Navy has compiled a 280-61-9 record for an .813 winning percentage in its history. Including Friday night's 77 points, Navy has outscored its competition in 350 games by an all-time score of 9,223-3,335. Averaged out per game, the Midshipmen have outscored their foes by a 26.4-9.5 count.

Season-Opening Success
With the victory over the Tigers, Navy improved to 56-2-1 in 59 season openers in its history and a perfect 15-0 against Princeton in such contests.

Six In A Row Versus Princeton
The win for Navy was its sixth straight over the Tigers. The last time Navy fell to Princeton came back in the 1998 season when the Tigers handed the Mids a 21-20 loss.

Points Aplenty
In Navy's last-two wins versus Princeton, the Mids have outscored the Tigers by a combined 139-40, including last year's 62-24 win in Annapolis. On their way to 77 points Friday night, the Midshipmen scored 28 points in the first quarter -- including 21 in the first 7 1/2 minutes -- and 35 in the second quarter.

Yards Aplenty
In addition to the point total, Navy has also racked up 1,159 yards in its last-two games with Princeton. The Midshipmen totaled 559 yards of total offense in Friday night's win after posting 600 in their victory over Princeton in 2003. Navy totaled 409 yards in the first half of Friday night's game and limited Princeton to just 70, while taking a 63-3 lead into halftime.

Amir ?Trey? Shareef
Senior running back Amir Shareef's three rushing touchdowns versus Princeton equaled the number scored by last season's team leaders. In 2003, Trevor Garabedian-Prophet, Scott Lieng and Jamie Glines each scored three rushing touchdowns to lead the team.

Kevin ?Big Play? Laughary
Junior wide receiver Kevin Laughary has only caught four passes since the 2003 season. However, Laughary has totaled 166 yards for a 41.5 average and two touchdowns on those four receptions.

Perfect
Navy owns a perfect record against eight teams in its sprint football history.
The list of teams include:
* Delaware Valley (1-0)
* Frostburg State (5-0)
* Illinois (2-0)
* Johns Hopkins (2-0)
* Randolph Macon (1-0)
* Salisbury State (2-0)
* Villanova (8-0)
* Widener (2-0)

Seeing Double
Juniors Kevin and Kurt Laughary share many things. For starters, looks, as they are identical twins. Both are wide receivers and both also compete on the track & field team. Kevin finished in fifth place in the 400-meter hurdles at the 2004 Patriot League Championship, while Kurt advanced to the conference championship in the 400-meter run.

Crompton and Lewis Named Senior Team Captains
Offensive lineman Matt Crompton and linebacker Charles Lewis were voted team captains by their teammates prior to the season. Crompton, a native of Bedford, N.H., is part of an offensive line that paved the way for Navy to rush for 395 yards in its win over Princeton. Crompton earned Second-Team All-CSFL honors in 2003, as Navy totaled nearly 1,500 yards on the ground in seven games. Lewis, who hails from Blacksburg, Va., broke up four passes and made one tackle in Navy's victory over the Tigers. Lewis was named to the CSFL's first-team in 2003 after leading the Mids in tackles with 45.

2004 Theme
The theme for the 2004 season is simply stated ... ?Unfinished Business.? Navy is looking to recapture the CSFL title after letting a 16-6 halftime lead at Army slip away in the championship game last season. The slogan is displayed on the back of t-shirts and playbooks.