ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy sprint football team (2-1) dropped a 17-3 decision at home to Army (2-0) at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on Friday night in the Star Game, which is part of the overall Army-Navy Star Series, presented by USAA. The Midshipmen were unable to sustain any momentum in the game, fumbling five times, including twice in their final three possessions.
"We made too many mistakes," head coach
Captain Carter Reading, USMC said after the game. "We are a better team than the way we played tonight, but Army is a good team. You have to bounce back from this one. Turnovers are bad. It is hard to come back when you have four turnovers."
Navy finished the game with 230 yards of offense on 144 yards rushing and 86 yards passing. Army finished with 319 total yards on 85 yards on the ground and 234 yards through the air.
The Midshipmen fumbled the ball five times in the game, losing four fumbles. The Mids did cause a pair of Black Knight turnovers, picking off a pair of passes. Navy was penalized four times for 43 yards, including one that set up Army's first score. The Black Knights were whistled for five penalties for 35 yards, including three delay of game flags.
Hunter Gennicks once again led the offensive attack for Navy. The sophomore carried the ball 16 times for a team-high 67 yards while adding a catch for an additional three yards.
Luke Wagner added 54 yards on the ground, while finishing 9-for-20 for 86 yards through the air.
Biamungu Nkere led the team with 57 yards receiving on four receptions with
Chris Stumpf adding 21 yards on two catches.
Defensively,
Jake Wolinski led the team with 12 total tackles, including six solo stops. He and
David Niski tied with a team-high 1.5 tackles for loss, while Wolinski added an interception.
Tyler Cox picked off a pass and finished with nine stops.
Major Kent and
Mick Tabor added seven tackles apiece with Kent joining
Simon Burger,
Seamas Carrasco, and
Andrew Bailey finished with TFLs.
Navy was the first team to scratch the scoreboard. The Midshipmen received the opening kickoff and drove down the field 60 yards on 11 plays, consuming 6:18 off of the clock. The drive ended with a 32-yard
Jacori Sutton field goal to put the Mids up 3-0. The 32-yard field goal tied a season-long for the rookie kicker.
Army took the lead in the second quarter on an eight-play, 59-yard drive. Following a pass interference in the end zone that gave the visitors the ball deep in the red zone, the Black Knights used a six-yard pass from Kyle West to Arthur Lavalais to take the lead, 7-3.
The Midshipmen finished the first half with two lost fumbles, but were able to keep the game close with a pair of interceptions.
In the third quarter, the Black Knights increased their lead with a five-play, 65-yard drive that ended with a 50-yard touchdown from West to Ben Deloit to extending the margin to 14-3.
Following Army's third-quarter touchdown, both teams had four possessions over the final 21-plus minutes of action. The Black Knights were able to add a 38-yard field goal by Nicholas Cueto in the fourth quarter, while the Midshipmen turned the ball over on downs twice and lost two fumbles, preventing any comeback attempt.
"You have to learn from this one," Reading added. "We have a great team with great guys and great leaders. You fall back on your principles; on our culture. That is what is going to keep us moving in the right direction."
Navy returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 12 as the Midshipmen travel to Conshohocken, Pa. for a South Division matchup against Chestnut Hill. Opening kickoff is slated for 6:00 p.m. The game will be streamed live and live stats will be available.
