Down against Mustangs, Midshipmen rally again
When Navy played Southern Methodist last October, the Midshipmen needed a rally from 14 points down in the second half to win. Saturday afternoon, when the Mids found themselves in the same predicament against the same team, they turned to the same script.
Showing long-awaited creativity in the red zone and getting inspired play from its defense, Navy came from 14 points down to defeat SMU, 28-21, before 33,924 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
Junior fullback Alexander Teich (21 carries, 95 yards, 2 touchdowns) and senior quarterback Ricky Dobbs (19 carries, 62 yards) propelled the offense, while senior linebackers Jerry Hauburger and Tyler Simmons were the catalysts on defense as Navy (5-2) toppled June Jones’ run-and-shoot Mustangs for the third straight year.
“I said, ‘Not again,’” said Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo of the halftime deficit. “Some of the things I said at halftime couldn’t be repeated. Coaches were a little animated.”
But Niumatalolo had no complaints with his defense in the second half. Simmons made the play of the game with 1 minute, 50 seconds left, intercepting a pass by SMU sophomore quarterback Kyle Padron, to set up the winning 4-yard touchdown run by Teich with 1:38 left.
“I’m running out of adjectives for our team,” said Niumatalolo. “These guys are amazing.”
It was a tale of two halves – SMU dominating the first and Navy the second.
“They do a great job of halftime adjustments,” said Jones. “It doesn’t just happen to us. It’s also happened to two or three other teams this year.”
The momentum shift came on the Mids’ first possession of the third quarter. After a holding penalty, Dobbs got Navy out of a deep hole with a 51-yard strike to junior slot back Aaron Santiago.
Seven plays later, on fourth-and-goal at the 3, in territory that has been particularly vexing this season for the Mids, Dobbs faked a handoff and threw to a wide open Santiago in the end zone to cut the Mustangs’ lead in half, 14-7.
Dobbs and the Mids showed faith in Santiago after he had dropped a touchdown pass in the first half.
“Of course that drop was big,” said Santiago. “Without my teammates, I would have hung my head down low. Once I got to the sidelines, everybody was like, ‘You’ll get it back. You’ll get it back.’”
The next time Navy got the ball, senior wideout Greg Jones took a pitchout on an end around, racing 33 yards and drawing a facemask penalty, which tacked on 15 more. Six plays later, on third down at the 1, Dobbs pitched just as he was rocked by a SMU defender, finding sophomore slot back Gee Gee Greene for a 1-yard touchdown carry that tied it.
After entering the game ranked No. 115 (out of 120 teams) in red-zone offense, Navy converted all four of its chances inside the SMU 20.
“We’re tyring to be more diverse,” said Dobbs. “Last year inside the 5-yard line it was always quarterback right or left. We were very efficient last year. But this year we’ve got to switch things up.
Navy’s next trip to the red zone was courtesy of the defense as Hauburger jarred the ball from Padron and Navy junior defensive end Jabaree Tuani recovered at SMU 31. The play set up a 2-yard touchdown dive by Teich that put Navy up 21-14.
It was the first career rushing touchdown for Teich, who began last year in the starting lineup, but lost his job to Vince Murray because of an injury, and never got it back until Murray (sprained knee) was hurt last week in a win at Wake Forest.
“When you get your opportunity, you have to take advantage,” said Teich. “It’s unfortunate Vince got hurt. He’s one of my best friends on the team.”
After Teich’s touchdown, SMU (4-3) retaliated, Padron (28 of 42, 254 yards, 3 touchdowns) directing a 57-yard drive, culminated by a pinpoint 10-yard touchdown pass to senior wideout Aldrick Robinson, which tied it with 5:09 left.
After SMU stopped Navy and got the ball back, Padron had a first down at his own 11-yard line with 1:55 left. But Simmons made his critical interception, the first of his career, backpedaling at the snap and reading Padron’s pass on a square-in route.
“Earlier in the game, they hit me on that same play like twice,” said Simmons. “Right before the play Coach [Steve] Johns, Coach [Buddy] Green said what formations they were in and what to expect. It made it real easy for me.”
It was a reversal from a terrible first half when Navy failed to penetrate the SMU 20, and yielded two long touchdown drives, missing tackles, and failing to generate any pass rush.
“We had no emotion,” said Niumatalolo. “I didn’t feel like we had any fight on the sideline.”
But after yielding 74 yards to sophomore back Zach Line in the first half, Navy held him to 14 yards on 7 carries in the second. They also got to Padron, taking him out of the comfortable groove he had settled into in the first half.
Hauburger (8 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 2 forced fumbles) was particularly active. The first sack of his career came late in the first half and contributed to SMU’s failure to extend its lead further after reaching the Navy 18.
“Their offensive line is good,” said Hauburger. “Coach Green had us moving around more in the second half, trying to confuse them. It seemed to work.”
