ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy sprint football team opens the 2024 season on the road as the Midshipmen travel to Karl Van Norman Field in Mansfield, Pa. to take on Mansfield. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 21.
Live video and
live statistics will be available.
New Sprint Football Head Coach
Naval Academy Director of Athletics Chet Gladchuk announced that
Captain Carter Reading, USMC was appointed head coach of the Navy sprint football program. Reading becomes the 33rd head coach in the program's history and takes over for Major Alfonso Meidus, USMC, who put together a 23-1 (.958) record over his three years as head coach.
A 2016 graduate of the Naval Academy, Reading was a member of the Navy sprint football team from 2012 to 2015 and served as a coaching TAD (Temporary Assignment Duty) for the 2016 season. During his tenure, he helped lead the Midshipmen to a 30-5 overall record, including a 24-4 mark as a student-athlete, including winning the Collegiate Sprint Football League (CSFL) Championship in 2014. Reading and Navy earned a pair of Star victories, once as a player and another as a coach.
In 2016, Reading graduated from the Naval Academy and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps.
The first-year head coach previewed the Midshipmen's 2024 season on the Navy Sports Magazine.
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Team Captains
Navy sprint football coach
Captain Carter Reading, USMC announced that seniors
Andrew Bailey (Annapolis, Md.) and
Luke Wagner (Edmond, Okla.) will be team captains for the 2024 campaign. Bailey will serve as the defensive captain, while Wagner will captain the offense.
Entering his final season, Bailey has played in 15 games, recording 30 total tackles, including 13 solo stops, while notching 5.0 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks. Despite missing some time with an injury as a junior, Bailey finished with a career-high 16 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss, and 2.0 sacks in 2023.
Wagner has seen time at quarterback and running back in his three seasons with the Midshipmen. He has completed 26-of-47 passes for 268 yards with three touchdowns, while rushing for 273 yards on 43 attempts with a pair of TDs on the ground.
All-Time Series
Navy leads the all-time series between the two teams, 13-0. The Midshipmen are 7-0 against the Mountaineers at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Last season, Navy posted a 45-0 victory over Mansfield in Annapolis. The last time the two teams met in Mansfield, Pa., the Mids bested the Mountaineers, 43-14, in the regular season finale of the 2022 season.
Season in Review
The Navy sprint football team avenged its only loss of the 2023 season with a 28-23 victory against Army to win the Collegiate Sprint Football League (CSFL) Championship at Shea Stadium in West Point, N.Y. The win was the third consecutive title for the Midshipmen.
Navy had 14 different players earn All-CSFL accolades with
Brandon Atwood ('24) being named the CSFL Offensive Player of the Year. Additionally, Atwood was the 2023 Most Valuable Player, making him the ninth Midshipmen to be named MVP since 2004 and the third consecutive – defensive back Adam Weissenfels ('22) earned the award in 2021 and running back Alex Totta ('23) claimed the honor in 2022. It was the first time Navy recorded back-to-back-to-back MVPs in program history.
As a team, Navy scored 277 points (34.6 pts per game), while holding opponents to 86 (10.8) with a shutout. The Mids amassed 1,791 yards rushing with 1,252 passing yards for 3,043 yards of total offense. Navy scored 38 total touchdowns with five field goals, while limiting opponents to 16 total scores (10 TD, 6 FG). The Mids' defense picked off 10 passes, recovered five fumbles, while registering 48 tackles for loss with 25 sacks and adding 23 pass breakups.
Up Next
Following the game at Mansfield, Navy will host its home opener against Cornell on Friday, Sept. 27 at 1:00 p.m. The game will be live streamed on YouTube.com and live stats will be available.
