PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The Navy sprint football team (6-1, 3-0) notched a 33-7 on Friday evening at Penn (2-4, 1-2) to win the Collegiate Sprint Football League South Division. With the win, the Midshipmen will play in the CSFL Championship Game against Army next Sunday, Nov. 12 at 1:00 p.m. in West Point, N.Y.
"We are happy to get out of here with a win," head coach
Major Alfonso Meidus, USMC said after the game. "Penn had a great defensive game plan, so hats off to their effort tonight. We are just excited to have the opportunity to get our men on the field for one final game this season."
Navy finished the game with 378 total yards of offense, finishing with 239 yards through the air and 139 yards on the ground. The Midshipmen tallied four offensive scores, while notching a defensive touchdown. The Mids defense held the Quakers to 150 yards with 76 yards rushing and 74 yards passing.
Quarterback
Brandon Atwood ended the game 17-for-28 with three touchdowns and an interception. He completed a team-high five passes to
Andrew Margiotta and
Kai Sasaki with the duo finishing with 89 and 63 yards, respectively. Margiotta caught a touchdown pass, while Sasaki added two receiving TDs.
Tyler Massena led the rushing attack for the Midshipmen tallying 66 yards on 13 carries. Atwood added 52 yards on the ground with a touchdown to his final stat sheet.
Defensively, the Midshipmen were balanced 22 players combining for 55 stops.
Jack Costigan led the charge with eight tackles, while
Jake Wolinski finished with seven stops. Wolinski forced a fumble that was recovered by
David Niski, who returned it 38 yards for a touchdown. Costigan added a fumble recovery on the night, while Niski was credited with the Mids' lone sack.
The game was scoreless through one quarter, but the Midshipmen were the first team to scratch the scoreboard. Atwood called his own number on a one-yard rush into the end zone, capping an 11-play, 73-yard drive to put Navy in front 7-0. On the ensuing kickoff, the Mids recovered an onside kick. On the first play, Atwood hit Margiotta for 42 yards to move Navy into the red zone. The next play, Atwood found Margiotta for an 11-yard touchdown. The PAT was unsuccessful, leaving the game with the Mids in front, 13-0, a lead they would take into halftime.
In the third quarter, Wolinski forced a fumble, that was recovered by Niski, who picked up the loose ball and returned it 38 yards into the end zone for the touchdown. Navy's two-point conversion attempt was no good, leaving the game 19-0. The Midshipmen added to their lead later in the quarter as Atwood found Sasaki for an 11-yard touchdown reception. The PAT was true putting the Mids in front 26-0.
Atwood found Sasaki on a 10-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter to push the lead to 33-0. The TD capped an 11-play, 61-yard drive that consumed nearly six minutes of clock. Penn ended the shutout with an eight-yard touchdown pass from Ty Scherer to Kyle Zeitlian with 84 ticks remaining on the clock. The Quakers attempted an onside kick, but it was recovered by
Trent Parker to seal the victory.
Navy will take on Army in the CSFL Championship on Sunday, Nov. 12, at 1:00 p.m. in West Point, N.Y. The game will be livestreamed on Army's YouTube channel Knight Vision and live stats will be available.
