ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy sprint football team (1-0) opened up the 2019 season with a 42-17 victory over St. Thomas Aquinas (0-1) on Friday night at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The Midshipmen recovered a Spartan fumble on the first play from scrimmage and returned it 14 yards for a touchdown and never looked back cruising to the 25-point win.
 
"Coming out with a win the first game of the season, I am glad we got the victory," Major Jason Dewald, USMC said after the game. "We saw some improvements from some of our younger players who were filling in the gaps that we had from some of the guys who graduated. All in all, not the game we wanted to play, but it is still a W in the books. Now, we have to learn, grow, and get ready for week two. We are going deep into enemy territory so we have to be prepared and tighten up a few things on our side."
 
Offensively, the Mids were able to tally 370 total yards, while holding the Spartans to 144 yards. Navy rushed for 257 yards, while holding STAC to -17 yards on the ground. St. Thomas Aquinas held a slight 161-113 advantage in passing yards.
 
Sophomore Matthew McGee (Port Charlotte, Fla.) led the ground attack for the Midshipmen. The sophomore rushed for 96 yards on 16 carries and his first collegiate touchdown. McGee averaged six yards per touch and broke a career-long 25-yard run. He was joined by Jacob Hudson (Wilmington, Del.) who finished with 70 yards rushing, while quarterbacks Jake Foss (Merced, Calif.) and Braydan Chmiel (Warrenton, Mo.) each scored TDs on the ground.
 
Chmiel earned the start at quarterback for the Midshipmen. The junior finished 6-for-18 for 69 yards with a touchdown and a pair of interceptions in just over a half of play. Foss entered the game in the second half, finishing 7-for-10 for 44 yards with a touchdown and an INT.
 
Jay Cooke (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) led the team with four receptions while J.T. Thompson (Stratham, N.H.) and Eric Spicer (St. Mary's, Ohio) paced the team with 37 and 35 yards receiving, respectively. Spicer and Thompson each came down with touchdown receptions in the game.
 
Defensively, Navy was led by Luke Kustra (Vienna, Va.) and Luis Castillo (Mason, Texas) who finished with nine tackles apiece. Kustra paced the team with 4.0 tackles for loss, including a team-high 1.5 sacks. David Postma (Bellevue, Wash.) returned a fumble 14 yards for a touchdown, while Troy Monroe (Columbus, Ga.) and Adam Weissenfels (Richland, Wash.) each recorded interceptions.
 
Navy jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter. On the first play from scrimmage, Postma picked up a STAC fumble and returned it 14 yards for a touchdown to give the Midshipmen an early lead. Chmiel capped a five-play, 35-yard drive with a 14-yard jaunt into the end zone to put Navy up 14. Thompson caught his first TD pass of the season with just over 45 seconds remaining in the quarter to put the home team in front 21-0.
 
St. Thomas Aquinas batted back in the second quarter. McGee punched in his first touchdown of his career from five yards out to extend the lead to 28-0. The Spartans kept the Midshipmen out of the end zone the remainder of the first half. St. Thomas Aquinas capitalized off of a Navy turnover to convert a 26-yard field goal to get on the scoreboard. On the next drive, STAC's Malyk Michel picked off a Navy pass and returned it 43 yards to the checkerboard end zone to pull the visitors closer, 28-10.
 
Neither team was able to score in the third quarter, leaving the score 28-14. The Midshipmen wasted little time scoring in the fourth quarter, capping a 50-yard drive with a Spicer TD catch from Foss – his first as a member of the sprint football team. St. Thomas Aquinas responded with a 69-yard touchdown pass from Kiel McKenzie to Ernest Stallworth, but Navy would provide the final margin as Foss rushed for 43 yards and the score to make the score 42-17.
 
Navy returns to action on Friday, Sept. 20, as the Midshipmen travel to West Point, N.Y. for the annual Star Series game against Army, which is part of the overall Army-Navy Star Series presented by USAA. Kickoff is slated for 7:00 p.m.