Oct. 30, 2009

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. - Navy sprint football quarterback Tyler Terronez (Jr./Mechanicsburg, Pa.) connected with wide receiver Brad Cash (Sr./Wilmington, N.C.) for a nine-yard touchdown pass with 1:51 left in the game to propel the Midshipmen to a 7-6 N-Star win at Army on Friday night at Shea Stadium.

Navy concludes the season with a perfect 7-0 record and 5-0 mark in league play for its third-straight and 34th CSFL title in program history. The win was Navy's 11th straight against Army, dating back to the 2004 season. The Midshipmen also extended their overall winning streak to a program-record 23-consecutive contests, passing the previous mark of 22 in a row from 1949-53.

Army finished the season with a 6-1 record and a 4-1 mark in CSFL play.

"I am speechless right now," stated Navy head coach Maj. Jake Jenkins, USMC, who improved his three-year career record to 20-0. "You try to treat this game like any other, but obviously it wasn't. This was the most significant game in my three years here as head coach."

Trailing 6-0 with under six minutes to play, Army was forced to punt and Tom Hayes (Sr./Ballston Lake, N.Y.) came up the middle and partially blocked the kick, resulting in the ball being downed on the Army 47. Following a sack, running back Nate Stewart (Sr./Fitzgerald, Ga.) bounced it outside to the left and gained 14 yards, during which he was grabbed by the facemask for a 15-yard penalty, putting the ball on the Army 24.

After three-straight running plays made it fourth-and-eight, Navy called a timeout before Terronez dropped back and found tight end Eric Montgomery (Sr./Willoughby, Ohio) over the middle for a 14-yard gain down to the Army eight. The Black Knights stuffed the first-down run and the Terronez's pass to Montgomery in the end zone was batted away on second down. One play later, Terronez stepped back and lofted a nine-yard pass over the reach of the defender's hands and into Cash's possession for a touchdown. Needing the extra point for the lead, David Reifenberg (Sr./Ft. Wayne, Ind.) sailed the kick through the uprights to give the guests its first lead of the game.

"The defense and special teams set us up with the blocked punt and we needed to capitalize at that juncture of the game," stated Jenkins. "I felt that we had come close on a couple of drives and we finally broke through."

The Black Knights had an opportunity to win the game, as the kickoff was returned to the Army 38. However, the Navy defense stepped up with a four-yard loss on a first-down screen play before three-straight incomplete passes ended Army's chances of a comeback.

The CSFL's top-two defenses lived up to expectations on Friday night. Navy's defense held Army to 223 yards of total offense and only nine yards through the air, while Army's defense limited the Midshipmen to a mere 86 yards of total offense.

"The defense played like warriors tonight," said Jenkins. "They were asked and completed the task of battling for an entire 60 minutes for the first time this year. They lived up to every part of our expectations."

Army jumped out to a 6-0 lead with 7:48 remaining in the opening period of play. Ricky Lentz capped the nine-play, 66-yard drive with a three-yard run up the middle on third down for a touchdown, but Samuel Herbert's extra point was blocked by K.C. Middleton (Sr./Jacksonville, Fla.).

Following a Navy punt, Army drove down to the Navy 27 before Zzmarr Stone (So./Corona, Calif.) picked off a pass and returned it to the Army 49. The Midshipmen saw their drive stall at the Army 24 and Reifenberg's 42-yard field goal came up short.

Army had opportunities to push the lead to two scores, but Navy's defense came up with stops and the hosts failed to convert on three field goal tries.

The Black Knights looked to take a two-score advantage with a 38-yard field goal by Herbert with 3:16 left in the second quarter, but defensive team captain Jarred Tate (Sr./Las Vegas, Nev.) came around the end and blocked the kick. However, Navy's first play of its ensuing possession was picked off at the Army 23. Once again, Navy's defense held and Herbert's 44-yard field goal struck the left upright and fell to the ground no good.

In the middle of the fourth quarter, Army started its drive on the Navy 48 and gained 26 yards before Herbert's third field goal try, a 40-yard attempt, sailed wide left.

Playing in his final-career game, linebacker Tyler Hawkins (Sr./Canyon Country, Calif.) led the defense with 17 tackles, pushing his season total to 75, which tied the school record held by John Woods in 1998. Hawkins completed his career with 198 tackles, the most in program history.

"As a three-year starter, Tyler has certainly carried the load on defense," stated Jenkins. "He's been a leader and has grown tremendously during the time I've coached him. He's been our team's most valuable player this year."

Linebacker Emery Persinger (Jr./Cheswick, Pa.) and lineman Tim Keriazes (Sr./Springfield, Ohio) each delivered eight tackles and two stops for a loss, while linebacker Viet Vo (Jr./Hoover, Ala.) and lineman Jeremy Harbaugh (Jr./Smithsburg, Md.) both made seven tackles.

Stewart led the Midshipmen with 66 yards on 20 carries. Terronez completed 6-of-26 passes for 38 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Montgomery, Cash and fullback Mike McLaughlin (Sr./Allison Park, Pa.) each caught two passes.

Lentz led Army with 39 carries for 121 yards with a score, while Tim Meier ran for 89 yards on 12 attempts. However, Meier completed only 4-of-12 passes for nine yards with an interception.