Oct. 14, 2016

Final Stats

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The Navy sprint football team (4-1) breezed to a 43-0 shutout of visiting Chestnut Hill (2-2) on Friday evening at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Navy scored touchdowns on its first three possessions and posted its second shutout of the season.

Navy rolled up a season-best 471 yards of total offense and senior running back Brendon Clements led the way with a season-high 149 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

Navy held Chestnut Hill to 214 total yards and just 36 yards on the ground. The Griffins made two trips to the red zone, but senior Drew Dziwulski blocked a 25-yard field goal attempt in the first quarter and the Mids forced a turnover on downs on its own 5-yard line late in the fourth quarter to preserve the shutout.

"It was a great effort by the defense," said head coach Major Jeff Polson, USMC. "I don't like to use this term, but we had a `bend but don't break' defense. We buckle down in the redzone and we don't let them get in the end zone. I am proud of the boys for that."

Clements ran the ball on five of Navy's six plays on the game's opening drive, which concluded in a one-yard Clements touchdown run in just 2:04. Junior Alex Oldham picked off Michael Marino on Chestnut Hill's first drive and a 26-yard interception return gave Navy the ball back on the visitor's 15-yard line. Navy gave the ball to Clements on three straight plays and his third carry was a 2-yard touchdown plunge.

Navy forced Chestnut Hill to go three-and-out on its next possession and the Mids again struck quickly with a 72-yard touchdown pass from senior Nick Deterding to sophomore tight end Dane Livengood. With just 7:11 elapsed in the contest, Navy was already leading 21-0.

Navy punted on its next possession, but rebounded to score on its next three possessions, starting with a 31-yard field goal by senior Jules Murphy and then a 16-yard Deterding touchdown pass to sophomore Miles Whitlow. Clements scored his third touchdown on a great scamper to the right side late in the second quarter to give Navy a 36-0 lead at the half with a multi-faceted offensive approach.

"We have a lot of weapons that the defense needs to be concerned about," said Polson. "We don't have a one-dimensional offense. I want to be able to spread the ball and get to as many weapons as possible. I think we have been able to do that and we have kept a good balance."

After Navy had pulled ahead to its comfortable 36-point halftime lead, the only scoring play in the second half was a 20-yard run by Navy's Mac Lavis early in the fourth quarter to set the final score at 43-0.

Despite the Mids being slowed by 15 penalties for 139 penalty yards, their lead was never threatened by the Griffins.

Deterding completed 12-of-16 passes for 189 yards and the two scores, while backup Jon Saadey was 8-of-12 for 67 yards. Junior wide receiver Matt Vogel caught nine passes for 96 yards.

In addition to Oldham's interception, he had three tackles for losses and five total tackles. Junior defensive lineman Bryant Schlade recorded two sacks, a forced fumble and a team-high six tackles, while sophomore defensive lineman Gavin O'Donnell had five tackles and a sack.

Marino threw for 178 yards for Chestnut Hill and completed 11 of his 34 attempts. Lew Roman caught six balls for 95 yards. Kadeem Pankey, Jonathan Baldwin and Luke Daub each recorded seven tackles for the Griffins, while Brian Layden had two sacks in the game.

In its two home games at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium this season, Navy blanked Post, 50-0, and kept a clean sheet against Chestnut Hill, 43-0. Navy has now outscored its opponents 93-0 at home in 2016.

Friday night's game was the first-ever matchup between the two schools. Chestnut Hill joined the Collegiate Sprint Football League prior to the 2015 season, but did not face Navy in its inaugural season.

Navy will next host Mansfield on Friday, October 21 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 7 pm.