ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy sprint football team (3-0) recorded a 50-7 victory over Mansfield (2-1) on Friday evening at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The Midshipmen recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff, returning it for a touchdown to set the tone early in the first home game of the season.
"It was a good game," head coach
Major Carter Reading, USMC said. "We started out strong and carried that momentum throughout the first quarter. I'm feeling great about where we are, but we still have work to do. The job is not done."
Offensively, the Mids finished tallied 392 yards of total offense on 203 rushing yards and a 189 passing yards.
Starting quarterback
Luke O'Connell finished the game 14-for-23 for 173 yards and three touchdowns, while
Rhett Sypult was 2-for-2 for 16 yards and a touchdown in relief.
Hunter Gennicks continued his stellar play to start the season, finishing the night with 123 yards on the ground on 20 carries (6.2 yards per carry).
Broderick Freeman followed with 64 yards on the ground with a touchdown, while Sypult added a rushing score.
Jake Berger finished with 128 yards receiving with a touchdown, while Gennicks,
Jon Malatesta, and
Grant Sterchi each finished with receiving TDs.
Defensively, Navy limited Mansfield to 159 total yards of offense, including 161 passing and -2 yards rushing. The Mids finished with 12 tackles for loss, five sacks, three forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries, including one returned 30 yards for a touchdown.
Jake Wolinski led the team with 10 tackles, while
Sam Stotler and
Connor Miltenberger added seven stops apiece.
Tyler Meisenzahl led the way with 1.5 sacks with
Mick Tabor and Miltenberger adding sacks and Stotler adding a combining to drop the quarterback. Stotler led the team with 3.5 tackles for loss with Meisenzahl and Tabor adding a pair of TFLs.
Tucker Opdahl,
Gabriel Arriola, and Tabor forced fumbles with Arriola and Berger recovering loose balls.
Navy started the game off quickly, setting the tone for the entire night. On the opening kickoff, Opdahl hit the Mansfield returner, jarring the ball loose. Berger picked up the fumble and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown just seven seconds into the game.
On the ensuing kickoff, kicker
Jacori Sutton onside kicked the ball, recovering the ball for the Midshipmen. Navy marched down the field 53 yards on 10 plays with Freeman capping the drive with a one-yard push into the end zone to take a 13-0 lead before Mansfield ran one offensive play.
The Mids pushed the advantage to 20-0 in the first quarter as Gennicks capped a nine-play drive that spanned 63 yards with a three-yard touchdown reception from O'Connell.
In the second quarter, Navy closed out the half with a 12-play drive that covered 61 yards in just a minute and 46 seconds as Sutton kicked a 35-yard field goal to take a 23-0 advantage into the locker room at intermission.
The third quarter saw the Midshipmen push the advantage to 30-0. Sterchi caught an eight-yard pass from O'Connell for a score to close out a five-play 54-yard drive.
In the fourth quarter, Navy extended its lead to 50-0. Berger caught a 50-yard pass from O'Connell for a touchdown, while Sypult called his own number on a one-yard run for a score. Sypult threw a TD pass to Malatesta for 14 yards to reach the 50-point mark. The Mountaineers ended the shutout with 26 ticks on the clock. The visitors used a 15-play drive to go 71 yards in just under six minutes (5:48), scoring on a one-yard rush by Weston Bellows to provide the final score of 50-7.
Up next, Navy remains at home to take on Chestnut Hill on Friday, Oct. 10 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The game will be live streamed on the Navy Athletics YouTube Channel and live stats will be available.
