MANSFIELD, Pa. – The Navy sprint football team (1-0) began play in the 2024 season with a 31-26 win on the road over Mansfield (0-1) at Karl Van Norman Stadium in Mansfield, Pa. The Mids trailed 19-17 at halftime, but outscored the Mountaineers 14-7 in the second half to secure the first win of the year.
Navy finished the game with 436 yards of total offense, tallying 311 yards rushing with 125 yards through the air.
Hunter Gennicks led the Midshipmen with 224 total yards rushing and a team-high three touchdowns. Quarterback
Luke Wagner added 62 yards on the ground with a rushing TD. Wagner finished 9-for-18 passing for 125 yards and an interception. Biamunga Nkere led the team with four receptions for a team-high 46 yards, while
Jackson Suddath and
Chris Stumpf added 33 and 32 yards receiving, respectively.
Defensively, the Midshipmen had five players finish with five or more tackles.
Jake Wolinski led the team with eight stops, including 1.5 tackles for loss.
Major Kent,
David Niski, and
Tucker Opdahl added six tackles apiece, while
Jonathan Swift recorded five tackles. Opdal led the team with 2.0 tackles for loss with Niski and Swift adding a TFL apiece.
Seamas Carrasco picked off a Mansfield pass, while Niski forced a fumble.
Jacori Sutton finished the game with a 29-yard field goal and a pair of extra points.
Mansfield received the opening kickoff and proceeded to drive down the field, capping a 12-play, 65-yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown run to take a 7-0 lead. On the drive, the Mountaineers faked a punt that helped extend the drive and set up the touchdown. Navy answered in the first quarter with a touchdown of its own. Gennicks capped an eight-play drive that covered 67 total yards with a three-yard plunge into the end zone. Gennicks added a 51-yard touchdown run to close out the first quarter, putting the Midshipmen in front, 14-7.
In the second quarter, Mansfield used a 16-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Cahsid Raymond to pull to within one. The Mountaineers fumbled the extra point attempt leaving the Mids with a one-point lead. Navy pinned Mansfield deep in its own territory, but Raymond broke containment and sprinted down the field for a 99-yard touchdown run. The extra point attempt was no good, putting the home team in front, 19-14. The Mids countered with a 29-yard field goal by Sutton to trim the margin to 19-17, which would hold through halftime.
In the third quarter, Wagner gave the Mids the lead once again. The quarterback called his own number with a one-yard dive into the end zone to cap a 12-play, 79-yard drive to put the Midshipmen up 25-19.
Gennicks added some insurance in the fourth quarter. The sophomore running back scored his third rushing touchdown of the game, finding the end zone from 11 yards out. The two-point conversion was no good, leaving Navy with a 31-19 advantage. Mansfield's ensuing drive resulted in a touchdown, pulling the home team to within a touchdown, 31-26, with under two minutes to play. The Mountaineers were able to get the ball back with a minute to play, but the Midshipmen defense were able to keep Mansfield out of the end zone and preserve the victory.
Up next, 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.
