ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy men's rugby team (8-0) regrouped after a frustrating start to defeat Air Force (3-3), 50-8, on Saturday at the Prusmack Rugby Center in Annapolis, Md.
 
The Falcons took an 8-3 lead in the 18th minute, but the Mids scored the final 47 points of the contest. Navy earned its sixth-consecutive win over Air Force to stay in possession of the Lt. Col. Kevin Shea Memorial Rugby Cup.
 
"Obviously we're delighted to retain the Lt. Col. Kevin Shea Trophy. It's very important every year to make sure the trophy stays in Annapolis," said director of rugby Gavin Hickie. "Tough conditions today made for a start-stop game. We tried a lot of different combinations today and some of them worked really well. I think our center partnership with Jake Cornelius and Max Smith worked great. Some other areas need more work in terms of the partnership around our set piece. That area didn't function the way we wanted to today, but we're a bit more clear on where we stand there as a result. Overall, we're happy about the win and now we're gearing up for the final three weeks of the season. It's all guns blazing now to close out our Rugby East schedule strong and try to win another conference championship."
 
The match served as the first start of the season for six Mids and the Falcons used their advantage of experience early in the contest. Navy took a 3-0 lead on a penalty kick from Kade Williams in the fourth minute, but Air Force controlled the momentum for the next 15 minutes.
 
The Mids formed a lineout at their offensive 10-meter line after earning a free kick from a penalty. A bad throw on the lineout resulted in a knock-on penalty against Navy to grant Air Force a scrum from the spot of the foul. The Mids were then issued a penalty on the scrum and the Falcons launched a free kick out of bounds between their offensive 10 and 22-meter lines. Air Force charged up the pitch and was gifted a penalty kick opportunity after Navy was flagged during a breakdown. The Falcons nailed the kick from the 22-meter line in the 10th minute to tie the match, 3-3.
 
The Mids quickly advanced near their offensive 22-meter line with a series of offloads after catching a clearing kick. A penalty against Air Force awarded Navy a scrum between its offensive 10 and 22-meter lines in the 13th minute. The Mids had an excellent push on the scrum, but were penalized to grant the Falcons a free kick. Air Force sent the ball out of bounds at midfield to form a lineout. The Falcons overthrew the ball on the throw, but the Mids were called for a knock-on penalty attempting to scoop up the loose ball. Air Force won its next scrum and opted to kick the ball down into the 22-meter zone to allow Navy to retain possession. The decision ended up favoring the Falcons, who gained possession in their offensive 22-meter zone after the Mids were charged with a forward pass. Air Force initially attacked to the right out of the scrum and then switched back to the left toward the sideline. Navy quickly shifted its defense to the sideline and forced the ball carrier out of bounds inside the five-meter line to earn a lineout. A bad pass on the throw-in attempt from the Mids landed right into the hands of a Falcon to give them possession inside their offensive five-meter line. Air Force took advantage of the short field and plunged into the try zone in the 18th minute to take an 8-3 lead.
 
The Falcons hoped to send the ball back across the midfield line after receiving the kickoff, but a Mid leaped into the air to block the kick. Navy quickly jumped on the ball to establish possession inside its offensive 22-meter zone. A pair of big gains from Ryan Luetjen and Nate Michaels advanced the Mids inside their offensive-five meter line. Navy then passed the ball wide to the right and had a three-on-one advantage. Max Smith offloaded the ball to Maximus Lear who had no defenders in front of him. However, Lear couldn't haul in the low pass and the play was deemed a knock-on to gift Air Force a scrum. The Falcons then booted a clearing kick back to the 10-meter line. Williams caught the kick and passed the ball across the pitch to Smith, who gained over 25 meters to put the Mids back into scoring position. Navy moved within a meter of the try zone and sucked Air Force's defense into the middle of the pitch. Edmund Soeder received a pass to the right of the breakdown and found a crease in the defense to dive across the try line in the 22nd minute. Williams made the ensuing conversion kick to put the Mids back in front, 10-8.
 
Navy picked up a bad lineout throw-in attempt from Air Force to gain possession in its offensive zone in the 26th minute. The Mids shifted their attack out wide to the left sideline where they held a three-on-two advantage. Navy tried to work quickly with the defense out of position, but committed a knock-on penalty to award Air Force a scrum. The Falcons won the scrum and passed the ball backward to set up a clearing kick. Air Force bobbled the ball while trying to control the pass and it was corralled by Jake Cornelius. Cornelius had three defenders in front of him, but still ran over 15 meters to score a try in the 28th minute. The made conversion kick by Williams gave the Mids a 17-8 advantage.
 
Navy continued to maintain dominance in the territory battle with its kicking game. The Falcons were forced back near their defensive 22-meter line and turned the ball over on a knock-on penalty in the 31st minute. Navy worked the ball out wide to Nick Janowsky out of the scrum and he advanced the ball inside the 22-meter zone with a 15-meter carry. The Mids lost the ball shortly due to a knock-on penalty, but quickly went back on the offensive after recovering a clearing kick at midfield. A well-timed offload by Williams allowed Lear to gain 20 meters on his carry to set up Navy inside its offensive 22-meter zone again. Cornelius then kicked a grubber to the left half of the pitch to Smith and he juked out two defenders to score a try on an 18-meter carry just before the 34th minute. Williams then nailed the conversion kick to extend the lead to 24-8.
 
Air Force had an opportunity to add points in the final minute of the first half. A high-tackle penalty against the Mids allowed the Falcons to attempt a penalty kick from a few meters behind their offensive 10-meter line. Air Force's kicker had the distance on the long attempt, but the ball went wide of the uprights to keep the score at 24-8.
 
Neither defense gave up ground through the first 10 minutes of the second half. The Falcons launched a clearing kick back to midfield following a turnover by the Mids, but were issued a penalty on a tackle. Williams was unable to send the free kick out of bounds to allow Air Force to kick the ball back into Navy's defensive zone. Michael Strehle responded with a 20-meter gain on a kick return, but the Mids lost possession on their next pass. The Falcons put the pressure on right away and charged near their 22-meter line by attacking down the left sideline. Michael Kalalau made a great defensive play for Navy by stealing the ball during a breakdown to spoil Air Force's scoring chance.
 
The Falcons recovered a clearing kick inside their defensive 22-meter zone and sent a kick right back to the Mids. However, the strong wind forced the ball backward and out of bounds to grant Navy a lineout between its offensive 10 and 22-meter lines. Smith caught a pass out of the maul attack and spun around a tackle to charge into the 22-meter zone. Lear then received an offload from Strehle and he shoved the defender off of him to score a try in the 54th minute to give Navy a 21-point cushion.
 
Air Force was gifted a scrum near its defensive 10-meter line in the 57th minute from a knock-on penalty. The Mids overpowered the Falcons on the scrum and the ref called a penalty on Air Force. Navy was gifted a free kick from the penalty and Williams booted the ball out of bounds inside the offensive 22-meter zone. The Mids caught the Falcons off guard with a short throw on the lineout to Soeder, who plunged down to the five-meter line. Rob Booth then got behind Ian Bullock and pushed him into the try zone from short range to score a try in the 60th minute. The ensuing conversion kick from Williams increased Navy's lead to 36-8.
 
The Falcons continued to try and attack out wide, but the Mids once again tackled the ball carrier out of bounds. The play earned Navy a lineout near its offensive 22-meter line in the 63rd minute. The Mids opted to not form a maul after controlling the lineout and instead passed the ball to the other side of the pitch. Avion Ganse caught an offload near the left sideline and he carried the ball nearly 40 meters before touching it down between the goalposts for a try in the 64th minute. Williams added another two points with his fifth conversion kick to give the Mids a 43-8 advantage.
 
Navy charged back into its offensive 22-meter zone in the 76th minute. An Air Force defender used a great effort during the breakdown to steal the ball away. The Falcons hoped to kick the ball out of their defensive zone, but the wind continued to impact their kicking game. Air Force only kicked the ball to its defensive 10-meter line and Ganse advanced the ball back into the 22-meter zone with another explosive carry. The Mids were then granted a lineout at the five-meter line after the referee charged the Falcons with a high-tackle penalty. Ryan Raimondi took the ball out of the maul and easily walked into the try zone for a score in the 77th minute. Cornelius was forced to attempt the conversion kick from the left sideline and behind the 22-meter line. The freshman still snuck the ball over the crossbar for a successful attempt to put Navy ahead, 50-8.
 
The Falcons made one last push for a late score in extended time, but the Mids stripped the ball away during a breakdown. Ganse received the next pass and he kicked the ball out of bounds to conclude the match.
 
Williams finished as Navy's leading scorer thanks to an impressive day kicking the ball. He made five of his six conversion kicks and nailed a penalty kick to finish with 13 points.
 
Cornelius totaled seven points on a try and a made conversion kick. He is now tied with Andrew Baublitz for third on the team in scoring this season with 30 points.
 
Bullock, Ganse, Lear, Raimondi, Smith and Soeder all scored a try to score five-points each. Ganse scored the fifth try of his freshman campaign. Smith found the try zone for the third time this fall. Bullock and Soeder both added their second tries, while Lear and Raimondi scored their first tries of the season.
 
Navy returns to its conference schedule to play host to Notre Dame College next Saturday. The contest will be the final home game of the fall season. Kickoff is scheduled for noon at the Prusmack Rugby Center in Annapolis, Md.
 
Box Score
First Half
4:05 - Penalty Kick - Navy - Kade Williams (3-0)
 
10:42 - Penalty Kick - Air Force (3-3)
 
18:12 - Try - Air Force (3-8)
 
22:47 - Try - Navy - Edmund Soeder (8-8)
Conversion Kick - Kade Williams (10-8)
 
28:02 - Try - Navy - Jake Cornelius (15-8)
Conversion Kick - Kade Williams (17-8)
 
33:56 - Try - Navy - Max Smith (22-8)
Conversion Kick - Kade Williams (24-8)
 
Second Half
54:40 - Try - Navy - Maximus Lear (29-8)
 
60:43 - Try - Navy - Ian Bullock (34-8)
Conversion Kick - Kade Williams (36-8)
 
64:10 - Try - Navy - Avion Ganse (41-8)
Conversion Kick - Kade Williams (43-8)
 
77:50 - Try - Navy - Ryan Raimondi (48-8)
Conversion Kick - Jake Cornelius (50-8)