All Zerbin Singleton does is score touchdowns. The senior Navy slot back rushed for 101 yards and 3 touchdowns on 11 carries as Navy held off Northern Illinois, 35-24 in front of 34,517 fans on senior day Saturday at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis.
Singleton now has eight touchdowns on the year, including six in his last two games. Navy (7-4) has now won three straight and has next week off before taking on Army Dec. 1 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.
“It feels great,” Singleton said. “Whenever we win, it always feels good.”
Navy ?s much-beleaguered defense ?which allowed an average of 41.6 points per game coming into Saturday ? also came through with one of its best efforts of the year as sophomore linebacker Ross Pospisil had a career high 20 tackles, while senior Greg Thrasher had six tackles and pass break-up and an interception. Navy also forced Northern Illinois to punt four times, the most by a Midshipmen opponent this season.
“It was a hard fought game,” Navy coach Paul Johnson said, “We made some plays, but we made some mistakes. I don?t know if we were as sharp as we have been offensively. But, we still made enough plays to score 35 points and find a way to win the game. I thought we played much better defensively and when we look at the tape I don?t think we?ll find as many missed assignments as we?ve had.”
Northern Illinois (2-9) jumped out to an early 7-0 lead after Huskies quarterback Ryan Morris connected with wide receiver Matt Simon for a 46-yard touchdown reception just more than two minutes into the game. Morris completed 21-of-35 passes for 206 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
Navy the responded as it scored 21 straight points. Singleton got Navy?s offense going with touchdown runs of 1 and 26 yards in the first quarter. Slot back Shun White then extended the lead with a 15-yard touchdown run with 5:24 left in the first half.
White?s touchdown capped an 8-play, 92-yard drive, which started after Thrasher intercepted Morris.
The Midshipmen thought it came up with another key defensive play with 31 seconds left in the second quarter when it appeared they stopped Justin Anderson on fourth-and-goal at the Navy 1. However, that call was overturned after an official review, which brought Northern Illinois within 21-14. Anderson finished with140 yards rushing on 39 carries.
In the second half, Navy came out on its opening possession and extended its lead to 28-14 as backup quarterback Jarod Bryant ? who started in place of Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada ? capped a 14-play, 80-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown with 10:02 left in the third quarter. Bryant finished with 139 yards rushing on 27 carries and completed 3-of-6 passes for 60 yards.
“We got the win,” Bryant said. “It wasn?t pretty, but we went out there and got it done.”
Northern Illinois then scored 10 straight points coming off a Simon to Morris 24-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter and a 42-yard field goal by Chris Nendick, which pulled the Huskies to within 28-24 with 11:53 remaining.
Singleton came back on Navy?s next possession and gave the Midshipmen some breathing room with a 12-yard touchdown run to extend their lead to 35-24 with 7:51 remaining. Navy?s defense did the rest as Northern Illinois drove down to the Navy 25 before missing a 42yard field goal with 1:33 remaining.
“We simplified the defense a lot the last couple ofweeks,” Pospisil said. “It just came down to applying what we did in practice and not thinking to much. I thought we had our most efficient game we?ve had all year.”
