ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy sprint football team (5-1, 4-0 CSFL-South) closes out the regular season with a road game against Post (1-5, 0-3 CSFL-North) at LaMoy Field in Waterbury, Conn. On Saturday, Nov. 3 at noon.
 
The Series
Navy holds a 7-0 advantage over Post in the all-time series, including a 3-0 mark in Waterbury, Conn. The Midshipmen have posted shutouts in four of the seven games, including blanking the Eagles in the past three meetings. The Mids have not allowed Post to score since the first 16 seconds of the 2014 game – 239 minutes and 44 seconds of action, spanning nearly 16 quarters. Navy has outscored Post, 267-47.
 
CSFL Championship
The CSLF announced that the league title game will be played at St. Thomas Aquinas this year. This marks the first time since the inception of the two division format and league title game that the championship will be decided on a predetermined field. The winners of each division, which will be decided by each school's record against divisional opponents, will meet one week after the conclusion of the regular season in an official CSFL Championship game. The title game will be played on Saturday, Nov. 10 at 6:00 p.m. Admission for the game will be $10. Navy will compete against the North Division champion (winner of Cornell at Army West Point) in the CSFL Championship game.
 
Chmiel Named CSFL Offensive Player of the Week
Quarterback Braydan Chmiel (Warrenton, Mo.) was named the Collegiate Sprint Football League (CSFL) Offensive Player of the Week as announced by the conference office on Tuesday afternoon. Chmiel directed the offense for Navy against Penn, picking up a 20-9 victory on the road to claim the CSFL-South Division title. The sophomore finished the game 9-for-14 for 130 yards in the air with a touchdown, while also rushing for 136 yards on 16 carries with a score. He notched a 63-yard TD run on the opening drive of the game to put the Midshipmen in front 7-0 – a lead they would not relinquish. Up 13-9 in the fourth quarter, Chmiel found Jared Wiltshire (Elizabethton, Tenn.) in the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown pass to put the game out of reach.
 
Last Time Out – vs. Penn (W, 20-9)
Navy posted a 20-9 victory over Penn at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. With the win, the Midshipmen claim the Collegiate Sprint Football League South Division title with a perfect 4-0 record in the division. Navy will compete against the North Division champion in the CSFL Championship game on Saturday, Nov. 10, in Hillburn, N.Y., hosted by St. Thomas Aquinas.
 
The two teams played nearly even with Penn holding a slight five-yard advantage in total offense (295-290). Navy did most of its damage on the ground, amassing 160 rushing yards, while passing for 130. The Quakers finished with 220 passing yards and 75 on the ground. The Mids defense forced three turnovers, blocked an extra point, and notched a defensive score to help set the tone.
 
Defensively, the Midshipmen held the Quakers to 295 total yards. The Mids recorded 61 tackles, including 10 tackles for loss and four sacks. As a team, Navy finished the game with three interceptions, four pass breakups, and blocked an extra point. Gavin O'Donnell (Greenfield Township, Pa.) led the way with 11 total tackles, including a team-high 5.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 of Navy's four sacks. Nick Scalise (Fayetteville, Ark.) joined O'Donnell with double-digit stops, finishing with 10 tackles, including three tackles for loss. Miles Whitlow (Madison, Ala.), Lukas Kaiser (New Albany, Ind.), and Dean Rye (Fairfax, Va.) each recorded interceptions in the game with Whitlow returning his INT 41 yards into the end zone.
 
Quarterback Braydan Chmiel (Warrenton, Mo.) finished the game 9-for-14 with 130 yards passing and a touchdown, while also tallying 136 rushing yards to lead the team, including a 63-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Eric Spicer (St. Marys, Ohio) and J.T. Thompson (Stratham, N.H.) pulled down three receptions apiece for 55 and 41 yards, respectively. Jared Wiltshire (Elizabethton, Tenn.) made his one reception count, hauling in a 16-yard TD catch.
 
Navy took the lead in the first quarter. On the third play of the opening drive, Chmiel scampered for 63 yards for a touchdown to put the Midshipmen on the scoreboard. Penn mounted a drive and were marching down the field until Whitlow picked off a Quaker pass and returned it 41 yards for the touchdown. Jared Swenson (Seymour, Wis.) added the extra point to give Navy a 13-0 lead with 2:52 remaining in the first quarter.
 
In the second quarter, Penn used a 16-play drive to cover 70 yards, eating up 9:26 off the clock. The Quakers capped the drive with an 18-yard field goal by Theo Papazekos to end the shutout.
 
The score remained 13-3 until the 7:43 mark of the fourth quarter. Penn's Eddie Jenkins finished an 11-play drive that covered 83 yards and 5:43 with a four-yard rush into the end zone. Navy kept the score at 13-9 as the Midshipmen blocked the extra-point attempt.
 
Penn attempted an on-side kick and was able to recover the ball. The defense held forcing a turnover on downs. On the ensuing Navy drive, the Midshipmen marched down the field 77 yards for the insurance touchdown. Chmiel found Wiltshire for 16 yards and the score. Swenson's extra point was true, extending the advantage to 11 with 89 seconds on the clock.
 
The defense shined on the final drive of the game to preserve the victory. O'Donnell and Shawn Kluchinsky (Abingdon, Md.) combined for a five-yard sack on the first play of the drive. Navy forced three incomplete passes to take over on downs with 40 seconds on the clock. Navy took a knee to secure the victory.
 
Last Time vs. Post (W, 39-0 – Oct. 14, 2017)
The Navy sprint football team posted a 39-0 victory over Post University on the road at LaMoy Field in Waterbury, Conn. The Mids shutout the Eagles for the third consecutive game in the series and have not allowed Post to score since the first 16 seconds of the 2014 game – 239 minutes and 44 seconds of action, spanning nearly 16 quarters.
 
Defensively, the Midshipmen kept the Eagles off of the scoreboard. In addition, the Mids held the Eagles to 54 yards of total offense, including 90 yards passing and -36 yards on the ground. Navy tallied 8.0 tackles for loss, including 6.0 sacks. The defense forced three fumbles, while recovering a pair of loose balls.
 
Sheppard Wilson (Charlotte, N.C.), Nick Haslam (Roanoke, Texas), and Dean Rye (Fairfax, Va.) paced the defense with six tackles apiece. Luke Coughlin (Islip, N.Y.) and Caiden Groff (Bennington, Neb.) each recorded a team high 2.0 tackles for loss, while each adding a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. Wilson also added a forced fumble, while Rye was credited with a pass breakup.
 
Offensively, the Mids registered 384 yards of total offense. The passing game accounted for 301 yards, while the team rushed for 83 yards on the ground. Braydan Chmiel (Warrenton, Mo.) eared his first start of the season and finished the game 21-for-37 for 301 yards and two touchdowns. In addition, the plebe rushed for 40 yards on 13 carries with a TD.
 
Austin Rogers (Cottonwood, Ariz.) and J.T. Thompson (Stratham, N.H.) paced the receivers. Rogers finished with a team-high 93 yards receiving, while Thompson was second with 88. Dane Livengood (Treynor, Iowa) and Sam Shaunak (Collierville, Tenn.) each caught touchdown passes on the day. Livengood added a TD rush in the game as well.
 
Brennen Means (Highland, Calif.) led the team with 52 rushing yards on eight carries, while adding a touchdown. Brian McLaughlin (Melrose, Mass.) chipped in 20 yards on the ground.
 
After being held scoreless in the first quarter, Navy scored 19 in the second quarter to break the game open. The Mids began the scoring with a touchdown from Chmiel to Shaunak. The 24-yard strike capped a two-play drive to start the second quarter and put the Midshipmen in front 7-0 with 13:15 to play in the half.
 
Navy added to its advantage with a 25-yard field goal by Jared Swenson (Seymour, Wis.) with 4:40 to play in the second quarter. The Mids burned 4:11 off the clock on an 11-play drive covering 33 yards to set up the field goal.
 
On the following Post possession, the Mids defense caused an Eagles fumble in the end zone. The home team was able to fall on the ball, resulting in a safety.
 
Up 12-0 in the second quarter, Chmiel finished off a nine-play 43-yard drive with a three-yard pass to Livengood with 17 ticks on the clock to extend the advantage to 19-0 just before halftime.
 
In the third quarter, Livengood found the end zone for a second time, rushing for a nine-yard score. The TD run ended a nine-play, 64-yard drive to put the Midshipmen ahead 25-0.
 
Chmiel crossed the plane of the goal line with a 14-yard rush with 14:05 remaining in the fourth quarter. The quarterback called his own number and scampered in for his second rushing touchdown of the season. The TD run capped an eight-play 79-yard drive, extending the Navy advantage to 32-0.
 
Following a Post fumble, Navy pieced together a 10-play drive that chewed up 4:11 off the clock. The drive covered 64 yards and saw Means tote the ball six times, including a 24-yard carry to move the Mids into Eagles territory. Means capped off the drive with an eight-yard jaunt into the end zone to push the Navy lead to 39-0 with 4:09 to play.