Sept. 23, 2011
Final Stats
PHILADELPHIA - The Navy sprint football team put up a dominating performance on Friday as it defeated Penn, 56-0, on a rainy night at Franklin Field in Philadelphia, Pa. The Midshipmen outgained the Quakers, 448-5, as they improved to 2-0 on the season and 1-0 in the Collegiate Sprint Football League.
Navy rushed for a total of 389 yards in the win, the most yards on the ground by the Mids since Oct. 16, 2009 when they put up 494 in a 42-0 win over Princeton.
Sophomore David Williams paced the Navy ground game as he established a new career high with 222 yards on 24 carries.
"Our staff deserves a lot of credit for their detailed preparation," said head coach Maj. Mitch Maury, USMC. "We had a solid game plan and executed on both sides of the ball."
Williams helped Navy get off to a quick start as he rushed for touchdowns on the Mids' first two possessions.
A blocked punt gave the Mids a short field on their first possession as it took just five plays for Williams to find pay dirt.
"Similar to last week, once again a large special teams play resulted in an early momentum shift in our favor," said Maury.
The Mids also blocked a punt early in the first quarter in their win over Army last weekend.
On Navy's next drive, Williams broke loose for a 35-yard touchdown run to help the Mids take a 14-0 lead with just over five minutes to play in the first quarter.
The Navy defense, which never let the Quakers' offense establish any momentum, set up the Mids' third touchdown of the half late in the second quarter. Stephen Meidus picked off Todd Busler's pass at the Penn 30-yard line and six plays later Marty Meehan scored on a three-yard run as Navy took a 21-0 lead into the half.
Much like the first half, it didn't take Navy long to find the end zone. After receiving the second half kickoff, it took just four plays for Williams to score his third touchdown of the game - a 43-yard scamper less than two minutes into the half.
Navy's unrelenting offense kept the pressure on as less than three minutes later, Williams scored his fourth touchdown of day on a 23-yard run to help increase the lead to 35-0.
Denzel Reina added one more touchdown before the quarter expired as he scored on 4-yard run with just over a minute to play.
While the Navy offense operated most of the night with little opposition, the Mids' defense was equally as impressive. The Mids surrendered just two first downs to Penn (1-1, 0-1) and after forcing the Quakers to punt late in the fourth quarter, Brendan West returned the kick 48 yards for a touchdown as Navy increased its lead to 49-0.
Meehan capped the scoring for Navy as he got his second touchdown of the game, and fourth of the season, with a 43-yard run with 2:59 to play in the game.
Meehan finished the game with five carries for 64 yards.
Erik Erlandson started under center for Navy and went 3-for-5 before freshman Lewis Correale took over and completed 5-of-11 pass attempts for 40 yards.
The Navy defense recorded a total of 10 tackles for loss on Friday and the Quakers' -5 yards of total offense was the fewest by a Navy opponent since Mansfield had just 1 yard on Oct. 15 last season. Linebacker Matt Piotrowicz led the Mids in tackles with five.
"This team is starting to click and it's exciting to witness," said Maury. "I'm happy with our start, but we still have a lot of work to get to where we want to be."
Navy will play its first of two home games this season next Friday when it hosts Post at 4:30 p.m. at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
