PROVO, Utah – The second-ranked Navy men's rugby team (8-1) produced eight tries, including a hat trick from Jack Skidmore, to defeat ninth-ranked BYU (8-3), 54-28, on Friday evening at South Field in Provo, Utah. The Midshipmen built a 26-7 halftime advantage and maintained control down the stretch to secure the road victory.
 
"Scoring 54 points on the road against a good team like BYU after a six-day turnaround is a satisfying result," director of rugby Gavin Hickie said. "The team has been outstanding over the past 10 days. We faced a couple of challenges and had to pick ourselves up after last week's loss, but this group responded incredibly well. I'm very proud of this team."
 
Skidmore recorded three tries to lead Navy's attack, while Jake Cornelius added two scores. Max Smith, Trevor Gayron and Kade Williams each crossed the try line once. Roanin Krieger converted six kicks, while Michael Strehle added one conversion. For BYU, James Tenney registered three tries, while Zack Worthington added another. Samuel Belnap converted three kicks and Victor Mataele added one.
 
Navy opened the scoring in the 10th minute when Jack Skidmore finished a passing sequence deep in BYU territory for the first try of his career. Roanin Krieger added the conversion to give the Midshipmen a 7-0 lead.
 
"It was great to see Jack [Skidmore], who was a student at BYU for a semester, score a hat trick today," said Hickie.
 
The advantage grew in the 21st minute after Andrew Baublitz sprinted down the sideline and delivered an offload to Max Smith, who slipped through two defenders for a try to push the margin to 12-0.
 
BYU responded at the 25:45 mark as James Tenney capped a sustained drive near the goal line with a try. Samuel Belnap converted the kick to cut the deficit to 12-7.
 
Navy answered with two late first-half scores from Jake Cornelius. The first came in the 34th minute when Cornelius took a pass from Michael Strehle off a scrum to extend the lead to 19-7 following Krieger's conversion. Moments before halftime, Cornelius crossed the line again from another scrum near the five-meter line, with Krieger's kick giving Navy a 26-7 advantage at the break.
 
The Midshipmen added to their lead early in the second half when Skidmore broke down the sideline and reached the try line at 42:35. Krieger converted the kick to stretch the margin to 33-7.
 
The Cougars answered in the 49th minute as Tenney scored his second try of the night and Belnap's conversion trimmed the score to 33-14.
 
Skidmore completed his hat trick at 53:15, finishing another Navy push inside the 22-meter zone. Strehle converted the kick to extend the lead to 40-14.
 
Trevor Gayron added Navy's seventh try in the 63rd minute, finishing a pass from Grant Goddard. Krieger's conversion pushed the score to 47-14.
 
BYU quickly countered when Zack Worthington crossed the try line at 64:50, and Belnap's conversion brought the Cougars within 47-21.
 
Navy added its final score in the 77th minute when Kade Williams raced in after an offload from Strehle and advanced the lead to 54-21.
 
BYU closed the scoring in the final minute as Tenney recorded his third try of the match. Victor Mataele added the conversion.
 
The Mids will return to the pitch next Saturday when they play host the Potamac Exiles Rugby Club at the Prusmack Rugby Center at 11 a.m. The exhibition game will not have live video.
 
Box Score
9:45 – Try – Navy – Jack Skidmore (5-0)
Conversion kick – Roanin Krieger (7-0)
 
21:00 – Try – Navy – Max Smith (12-0)
 
25:45 – Try – BYU – James Tenney (12-5)
Conversion kick – Samuel Belnap (12-7)
 
33:18 – Try – Navy – Jake Cornelius (17-7)
Conversion kick – Roanin Krieger (19-7)
 
40:00 – Try – Navy – Jake Cornelius (24-7)
Conversion kick – Roanin Krieger (26-7)
 
42:35 – Try – Navy – Jack Skidmore (31-7)
Conversion kick – Roanin Krieger (33-7)
 
49:05 – Try – BYU – James Tenney (33-12)
Conversion kick – Samuel Belnap (33-14)
 
53:15 – Try – Navy – Jack Skidmore (38-14)
Conversion kick – Michael Strehle (40-14)
 
62:10 – Try – Navy – Trevor Gayron (45-14)
Conversion kick – Roanin Krieger (47-14)
 
64:50 – Try – BYU – Zack Worthington (47-19)
Conversion kick – Samuel Belnap (47-21)         
 
76:05 – Try – Navy – Kade Williams (52-21)
Conversion kick – Roanin Krieger (54-21)
 
80:00 – Try – BYU – James Tenney (54-26)
Conversion kick – Victor Mataele (54-28)