Overthrown passes, fumbles and botched pitches to the slot back made the Navy football team?s triple-option offense even more reliant on the run in Saturday?s season opener against East Carolina.
Still, the Midshipmen racked up 409 yards in total offense, including 403 on the ground, in their 28-23 win over the Pirates. While the numbers point to quarterback Brian Hampton?s 149 yards on 34 carries in his first career start as the story of game, the talk after the game was the offensive line.
Navy coach Paul Johnson said he quickly realized his passing game was not working after Hampton overthrew a pair of potential touchdown passes to wide-open receivers. Then, he had concerns about the pitch-out to the slot back after East Carolina batted it down. This led to Hampton either keeping it or handing it off to fullback Adam Ballard for most of the final 15 minutes.
“We were able to find a way to move the ball inside with the fullback and with Brian Hampton,” Johnson said. “We tried to take advantage of them with play-action, but when we threw it, it wasn?t where we could catch it. I have to give the offensive line a lot of credit. The game was played in a phone booth. We couldn?t throw.”
Hampton said much of his success on the field was directly due to the work of the offensive line.
“I have my line to thank for making me look good,” he said. “I can?t say enough about those guys. They were blocking so well.”
Leading the way for Navy?s offensive line is James Rossi. The 6-foot-1, 269-pound senior is one of Navy?s two co-captains and is considered one of the better at his position in the country. Rossi is on the watch list for the Remington Award, which is given annually to the nation?s top center. He is also one of the strongest players for the Midshipmen ? his 450-pound bench press is tops on the team.
“It?s all about being a part of the team and working together as one unit,” Rossi said during the preseason. “It?s a lot of fun being a part of this unit.”
NAVY NOTES
» Navy?s 403 rushing yards Saturday night was the 19th-best rushing game in school history.
» Brian Hampton is the 16th quarterback in Naval Academy history to rush for 100 yards in a game. It?s the most by a Midshipman quarterback since Aaron Polanco?s 179 yards on 33 carries against Rice on Oct. 23, 2004.
» Navy next plays at 1 p.m. Saturday when it hosts Division I-AA Massachusetts. The nationally ranked Minutemen won their season opener Saturday by defeating Colgate, 28-7.
