MANSFIELD, Pa. – The Navy sprint football team (8-0) completed its undefeated season with a 9-7 victory over Army (6-2) to claim the 2021 CSFL Championship on Saturday afternoon at Mansfield University's Karl Van Norman Field in Mansfield, Pa. As it did throughout the year, the Midshipmen relied on their defense, holding the Black Knights to seven points, while recording three interceptions and recovering a pair of fumbles.
"Today, was a battle,"
Major Alfonso Meidus, USMC said of his team. "Hats off to Army. They are some remarkable competitors. Bottom line, our defense put us in position to win the game. We overcame some costly penalties and were able to put one in the end zone when our backs were against the wall."
"I could not be more proud of this team. What a great way to close out the season."
The win gave Navy its 38th conference championship and 31st outright title. It was the first CSFL Championship for the Midshipmen since 2018 when Navy defeated Army, 24-10, in Hillburn, N.Y. The Mids closed out the season a perfect 8-0, including a 3-0 mark in the South Division. It is the 26th time that Navy has gone unbeaten during the season, and the first time since 2014.
The victory is the second of the season for the Midshipmen against the Black Knights, as Navy posted a 14-6 win in West Point to earn the 2021 Star in October.
Defensively, Navy held Army to 201 total yards of offense. The Black Knights registered 122 yards passing, but the Midshipmen picked off three passes, including one in the red zone. The Mids held West Point to 79 yards on the ground. The defense registered 9.0 tackles for loss with 3.0 sacks with eight pass break ups.
Individually, the Midshipmen were led by
Adam Weissenfels (Richland, Wash.). The senior defensive back picked off a pair of Black Knight passes, while adding 11 tackles and three pass break ups.
Devyn Martin (Las Vegas, Nev.) added 10 stops on the day, including 3.0 tackles for loss with 1.5 sacks.
Dante Carrasco (Germantown, Tenn.) added an interception, which he returned for 16 yards to help set up Navy's first-quarter field goal. Senior defensive captain
Mike Garnett (Dallas, Texas) finished the day with eight tackles, two fumble recoveries, a forced fumble, and a pass break up.
Offensively, the Mids finished the defensive battle with 232 total yards. The Midshipmen rushed for 188 yards with 44 yards through the air.
Senior offensive captain
Matthew McGee (Port Charlotte, Fla.) led the ground attack for the Mids, closing the game with 129 rushing yards with Navy's only touchdown. Trailing 7-3, McGee broke through the Army defense for 44 yards and the TD to give Navy the lead.
Alex Totta (Kansas City, Kan.) chipped in 44 yards on the ground on 13 attempts.
William Leong (Irvine, Calif.) finished the game 7-for-14 for 44 yards and an interception.
Jake Smith (Union, Ky.) led the team with three receptions for 31 yards, while
Marco Pezzini (Salinas, Calif.) added a pair of receptions for 13 yards.
Kicker
Mychal Golden (Jonesboro, Ark.) was true on his only field goal attempt, converting a 32-yard attempt to give Navy a 3-0 advantage early.
Navy was the first team to score. Army received the opening kickoff and on the Black Knights' opening drive, Carrasco picked off a J.C. Watson pass, returning it 16 yards to set up the Midshipmen inside the red zone. Golden put the Mids on the scoreboard with a 32-yard field goal to put the designated home team in front 3-0 early.
With the Midshipmen leading 3-0, the Black Knights put together a drive in the second quarter. Army marched down to the 20 yardline, but the drive was thwarted as Weissenfels ended the West Point threat with an interception.
The score remained 3-0 through the first three quarters. In the fourth quarter, Army took the lead with just under 10 minutes to play in the quarter. The Black Knights put together an eight-play, 59-yard drive that resulted in a touchdown rush by Mikal Willekey to take a 7-3 advantage. The drive was aided by three Navy penalties, including a roughing the kicker on a missed field goal, to extend the drive and set up the touchdown.
Navy responded two drives later. On third and eight from the 44 yardline, McGee split the defense and was able to find a seem. The senior offensive captain found his way into the end zone on the long run to put the Midshipmen back in front. The extra point was no good, leaving the score 9-7 in favor of Navy with 5:35 remaining in the game.
On the ensuing Army drive, Weissenfels intercepted his second pass of the game. The interception gave the Mids the ball near midfield. The Midshipmen were able to run down the clock a little, but had to punt the ball back to the Black Knights.
On what proved to be Army's final possession,
Jake Karczewski (Chicago, Ill.) forced a fumble that Garnett was able to recover, securing the 9-7 victory and the CSFL Championship for Navy.
