HILLBURN, N.Y. – The Navy sprint football team (2-0) posted a 28-7 win over St. Thomas Aquinas (1-1) on Friday evening at the Torne Valley Sports Complex in Hillburn, N.Y. Despite some early offensive struggles, the Midshipmen used a solid defensive performance and relied heavily on the run game to score 28 points and secure the road victory.
 
"I'm proud of how our guys battled tonight," head coach Captain Carter Reading, USMC said after the game. "We cleaned things up in the second half, forced big turnovers, and Jake Wolinski's pick-six was the spark we needed. Our defense is proving to be dangerous, and we're finding our rhythm on offense with a strong run game."
 
The Midshipmen amassed 326 yards of total offense with 265 yards coming on the ground. Navy scored three rushing touchdowns, including two by starter Hunter Gennicks and one by Broderick Freeman. Gennicks finished with 234 total yards on 23 carries for an average of 10.2 yards per carry. Freeman followed with 31 yards on five carries (6.2 avg.). Gennicks finished with TD runs of 71 yards and 21 yards, while Freeman scored from five yards out.
 
Luke O'Connell finished the game 8-for-15 with 61 yards passing. Grant Sterchi was the top receiver finishing with a pair of receptions for 18 yards. Gennicks added a pair of catches for 15 yards, while Biamungu Nkere added a pair of grabs for 14 yards. Jake Berger had one reception for 11 yards.
 
Navy's defense held the St. Thomas Aquinas offense to just 168 yards, including 143 yards passing and 25 yards on the ground. The Midshipmen defense limited the Spartan offense to just one touchdown, while linebacker Jake Wolinski picked off two STAC passes, including returning one 30 yards to the end zone for a touchdown. Wolinski added a sack, while finishing with seven total stops. Seamas Carrasco led the way with nine tackles, including a team-high 2.5 tackles for loss. Tyler Meisenzahl finished with 1.5 TFLs and a forced fumble, with Jack Rosales recovering a fumble. Carrasco and Sean Bettwy each added a pair of pass breakups.

Jacori Sutton was a perfect 4-for-4 on extra point attempts for four points in the game.
 
In the first quarter, Navy was the first team to score as Gennicks found the end zone with a 71-yard touchdown run on the first play of the drive to put the Midshipmen in front, 7-0.
 
The Mids pushed their lead to 14-0 as Gennicks opened up the second quarter with his second touchdown run of the first half, a 21-yard sprint to the end zone. The run capped an 11-play, 84-yard drive. The Spartans answered with a touchdown drive that cut the margin in half, 14-7, capped by a 16-yard touchdown run by Trevon Washington.
 
The score remained 14-7 until the fourth quarter. The Midshipmen used an interception returned for a touchdown by Wolinski to push the advantage to 21-7. Navy increased its advantage to 28-7 thanks to a five-yard TD run by Freeman, closing out a nine-play, 64-yard drive that chewed up over six minutes off of the clock. In the final minute of the game, Wolinski picked off a second Spartan pass to seal the victory for the Mids.
 
Navy now has a bye week prior to the home opener against Mansfield 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.