HILLBURN, N.Y. – The Navy sprint football team (1-0) posted a 55-7 victory over St. Thomas Aquinas (0-1) on Saturday afternoon at the Torne Valley Sports Complex in Hillburn, N.Y. The Midshipmen scored early and often, while using solid defense to come away with the dominating road win.
 
"This was a complete team win today," head coach Major Alfonso Meidus, USMC stated after the game. "The defense held St. Thomas Aquinas to seven points; the offense consistently found ways to put points on the board; and our staff was synchronized. We will take a look at the tape and make corrections next week, but as a whole, I am proud of how the team played today."
 
Offensively, the Midshipmen tallied 549 total yards of offense, including 221 rushing yards and 328 yards through the air.
 
Brandon Atwood (Gentry, Ark.) earned the start at quarterback, finishing the game 19-for-27 for 313 yards with four touchdowns and an interception. Atwood gave way to William Leong (Irvine, Calif.), who went 2-for-2 for 15 yards and a score.
 
Andrew Margiotta (Vienna, Va.) led the receiving corps with five receptions for 164 yards and a pair of scores. Jake Smith (Union, Ky.) also finished with five receptions for 92 total yards and a TD. Connor Majarucon (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Marco Pezzini (Salinas, Calif.) each added touchdown receptions on the afternoon.
 
On the ground, team captain Matthew McGee (Port Charlotte, Fla.) led the way with 97 yards on 16 carries with a touchdown. Stephen Copeland (Ava, Mo.) made the most of his two carries, finishing with 46 yards and a touchdown.
 
Defensively, Navy held the STAC offensive attack to 133 total yards, including just 22 rushing yards. The defense picked off a pair of passes and recovered a fumble.
 
Kicker Mychal Golden (Jonesboro, Ark.) converted two field goals, while also chipping in seven PATs for 13 points on the day.
 
The Midshipmen were the first team to scratch the scoreboard, taking the lead with a 36-yard field goal by Golden in the first quarter. Later in the period, Navy added a touchdown as Atwood found Majarucon to push the advantage to 10-0.
 
The Mids opened up the second quarter with an eight-yard touchdown rush by McGee. St. Thomas Aquinas cut into the Navy lead with a 16-yard rush for a score to make it 17-7. Navy extended the advantage back to 17 points as Smith hauled in a pass from Atwood for the TD. The Midshipmen went into halftime with a 24-7 advantage.
 
Navy received the ball in the second half. On the opening drive, Atwood found Margiotta for the first of two TDs on the day to extend the lead to 31-7. The defense held on the ensuing STAC drive forcing a punt. The Midshipmen wasted no time finding the end zone as Atwood and Margiotta once again connected for a scoring strike, this time for 56 yards. The Mids continued the scoring as Leong found Pezzini in the front of the end zone for the touchdown.
 
In the fourth quarter, Copeland used a 47-yard TD rush to push the advantage to 52-7 and Golden converted a field goal attempt to provide the final margin to 55-7.
 
Navy returns to action on Friday, Sept. 24 as the Midshipmen welcome Chestnut Hill to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium for a CSFL South Division match up. Kickoff is slated for 7:00 p.m. and live stats will be available throughout the game.