Nov. 5, 2010
Final Stats
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Trailing 32-17, the Navy sprint football team scored twice in the final 10 minutes of the fourth quarter, but came up short as Army held on for the win, 32-30, on Friday night at Rip Miller Field. Navy ended the season 5-2 overall and 3-2 in CSFL play, while the victory gave Army a share of the CSFL title as they improved to 5-1 overall and 4-1 in the league.
"It stings that we couldn't send our seniors out with a `W,'" said Maj. Mitch Maury, USMC. "Army played a great game. But, we displayed some pretty good fight and it's really disappointing we couldn't finish the deal. You can't look back now, you just have to look forward and learn from the mistakes."
With Navy leading, 17-13, in the third quarter, Army quarterback Tim Meier capped three consecutive drives with three touchdown runs in less than five minutes to put the Black Knights ahead.
Meier gave the Black Knights the lead, 19-17, when he scored on a 12-yard run with 8:36 to play in the third quarter.
On Army's next possession, it looked like the Mids had a chance to pin the Black Knights deep in their own territory courtesy of a Michael DeLong punt that was downed at the 3-yard line. But Army used a 58-yard scoring run from Meier to cap a quick, three-play, 97-yard drive. A failed point-after attempt made the score 25-17.
Navy's third-quarter woes continued on its next possession as Marty Meehan fumbled on just the third play of the drive, giving Army the ball on its own 48-yard line.
The turnover proved costly and Army took advantage as Meier scored on a 21-yard run to complete a six-play drive. The extra point increased the Black Knights' lead to 32-17.
With 12 minutes to play in the fourth quarter, Navy began its comeback. After missing on his first two pass attempts of the drive, quarterback Tyler Terronez completed a 12-yard pass to Steve Friedrick on a third-and-10.
Terronez followed by completing his next three attempts, the crucial completion being 31-yard toss to JoJo Catrini on third down that gave Navy a first-and-goal at the Army 3-yard line.
David Williams took the ball in two plays later and Adrian Montecinos' kick pulled Navy within eight points at 32-24.
Later in the quarter, after Army took over on downs at its own 20, the Navy defense forced a three-and-out as the Mids took over at their own 37-yard line with 3:59 on the clock.
A sack forced Navy into a third-and-16 from its own 45-yard line, but Terronez kept the drive alive with a 17-yard completion to Erik Erlandson.
On the next play, Terronez came through again - connecting with Darrin McElroy for 32 yards to give Navy a first-and-goal.
Three plays later, Navy was still on the doorstep until Williams plunged into the end zone on fourth down to make the score 32-30 with 27 seconds remaining.
With Navy's comeback nearly complete, the Army defense stuffed Williams on the two-point attempt to keep the score 32-30.
Navy's onside kick was successful, but three plays later, an interception with five seconds left sealed the win for Army.
"I told the guys this week, this has been one of my best tours since I've been in the Marine Corps," said Maury. "With the effort they give, these guys motivate me every single day."
The two teams traded nearly identical 25-yard touchdown passes in the first quarter and Navy took its first lead of the day, 10-7, with a Montecinos field goal with 7:14 left in the second quarter.
With just over five minutes left in the second quarter, Army forced a fumble deep in Navy territory that ultimately led to Meier's first touchdown of the game. Three plays after the fumble, Meier took the ball in from three yards out, giving Army the lead, 13-10.
A week after setting the Navy single-game record for passing yards with 331, Terronez was again spectacular on Friday night as he threw for 325 yards. He went 27-of-54 with one touchdown on Friday and finished the season with 1,175 yards passing.
Meier finished with a game-high 144 yards rushing and was 9-of-15 for 110 yards with one interception.
As a team, the Mids racked up 437 yards of total offense, while Army produced 417.
Senior Luke Pye led Navy in tackles with 11.
