Third Quarter Troubles Doom Sprint Football in 23-9 Loss at Navy
Ravens defense limits Navy to 4-of-14 on third down
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Connor Rogowsky logged seven tackles in a solid effort by the Ravens' defense in the season opener. |
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (September 13, 2013) – Navy scored 16 unanswered points in the third quarter Friday night, turning a close game into a 23-9 victory over the Franklin Pierce University sprint football team at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md.
The game marked the season opener for both teams, as the Midshipmen improved to 1-0, while the Ravens dipped to 0-1.
A young Ravens squad hung tough with the more experienced Mids during the first half, and trailed just 7-3 heading into the locker room, but Navy was too quick coming out of the gates in the second half, forcing Franklin Pierce into a pair of interceptions and another series of three downs and out.
The defensive momentum carried over to the offensive side for Navy, as the Mids scored a pair of touchdowns and tacked on a field goal in a little more than five minutes midway through the stanza to open up a comfortable 23-3 advantage. The 16 points were possible with Navy’s average field position beginning at the Franklin Pierce 39-yard line during the entire quarter.
The first score came at 8:43 of the third as William Hampton connected with Tracy Daniels on a 16-yard scoring strike, followed by an Adrian Montecinos’ 32-yard field goal. Hampton tossed another touchdown pass with 3:36 remaining in the quarter, this time a six-yard dump off to Temple Sloan.
Franklin Pierce tried to inch its way back into the contest, and did punch one in with 11:43 remaining in the fourth quarter as sophomore running back D.J. MacDonald (Mattapoisett, Mass.) hauled in a 21-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Ryan O’Kelly (West Warwick. R.I.).
The touchdown was a positive end for the Ravens’ offense, which struggled throughout the night against a solid Navy defense.
Franklin Pierce had 14 first downs to Navy’s 12, and a 13-minute time of possession advantage, but the Ravens could only muster 118 yards of total offense, while turning the ball over five times.
Despite the quick barrage of points during the third quarter, Franklin Pierce’s defense turned in a strong performance, forcing a pair of turnovers and limiting Navy to just a 4-of-14 clip on third downs (0-for-4 on fourth downs).
Sophomore linebacker James Willette (Hoosick Falls, N.Y.), the team’s leading tackler from a season ago, picked up where he left off by logging a game-high 14 tackles (8 solo), including 3.0 for loss (minus-10 yards). Junior Derek Reddy (Natick, Mass.) and freshman Jhamel Cohen (Brooklyn, N.Y.) each intercepted a Navy pass, as it was Reddy’s fourth career interception in as many collegiate games.
Daniels hauled in a 69-yard scoring strike from Hampton with a little more than three minutes gone by in the second quarter to make it 7-0 Navy.
Franklin Pierce, though, held steady the rest of the half led by the defense. The offense came through with an impressive 13-play drive midway through the first quarter, which was capped when sophomore Tyler Holdsworth (New Bedford, Mass.) drilled a 38-yard field goal – the first successful attempt in the program’s young history.
MacDonald rushed for 50 yards for Franklin Pierce, while Eric Wellmon paced Navy’s ground attack with 98 yards.
MacDonald ended with 90 all-purpose yards, including 40 through the air on five receptions. Daniels snagged four passes for 98 yards for the Mids.
Franklin Pierce returns to action next Saturday when the Ravens travel to Saratoga Springs, N.Y. for the 2013 Allegiance Bowl versus Cornell. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
For more information on Franklin Pierce sprint football, please visit the team’s page at http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu(.) To follow the program even further, please visit Franklin Pierce Athletics on YouTube (www.youtube.com/FranklinPierceSports), Twitter (www.twitter.com/FPUathletics) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce sprint football apparel can do so on the athletic department’s online store at athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store(.)