Nov. 4, 2014 ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Collegiate Sprint Football League has selected the Navy duo of quarterback Joe Hampton (Sr., Charleston, S.C.) and defensive end Chris Mershon (Sr., Lee's Summit, Mo.) as its offensive and defensive players of the week in Tuesday's final weekly awards announcement.
Hampton led Navy to a spirited 27-7 victory over Army for the Star and 2014 CSFL Championship on Friday night. The co-captain highlighted Navy's offensive effort with a career-high four touchdown passes and 193 yards through the air. His touchdown passes accounted for all of the Mids' scores. The Star and CSFL Championship were the first for Navy since 2011.
Mershon was an important factor in Navy's dominant defensive performance against the Black Knights. He recorded eight tackles, two sacks and forced one fumble versus Army. His forced fumble occurred in the red zone as the Black Knights were threatening to score midway through the first quarter. With two sacks on Friday, Mershon broke the single-season mark at Navy for most sacks with 10. He also increased his program-record with 29 over his four-year career.
Hampton and Mershon led units that combined to outgain Army by over 171 yards, 388 to 217.
This is the first CSFL weekly honor in Hampton's career, while Mershon is a now a three-time recipient of such an award.
As a program, Navy finished its undefeated 7-0 campaign with six combined weekly honors from the CSFL. In addition to Hampton and Mershon's awards, RB Eric Wellmon was recognized twice on Sept. 30 and Oct. 28 following his performances against Mansfield and Franklin Pierce, respectively. DB Brady Flies (Sr., Seattle, Wash.) and SB Corey Garcia (Jr., San Diego, Calif.) round out Navy's award winners as Flies was selected at the league's defensive player of the week on Oct. 7 after the Mids' win over Penn and Garcia on Oct. 21 in recognition of his career-day against Cornell.
Friday's game marked the conclusion of the Mids' season that saw the team finish atop the CSFL standings with a perfect 7-0 mark. The league's most dominant team, Navy outscored its opponents by 24 points a game and out-rushed them by over 217 yards a contest.