Navy football found itself down by three possessions early on and looked lost in the first half at Temple. However, like flipping a switch, the Midshipmen looked like a different football team in the second half, but it wasn’t enough as they lost, 32-18, to the Owls on Nov. 4.
The Mids responded to a 17-0 deficit by scoring 15 consecutive points in the second half. Navy was clicking on both sides of the ball then and looked to be a nail-biter. The Owls’ offense, though, closed out the game playing like it had in the first half. Sophomore quarterback E.J. Warner was nearly perfect in the fourth quarter, throwing for two touchdowns to put the game away.
“I just didn’t think that we had the same kind of energy today, for whatever reason, that we’ve had [throughout the season],” Navy head coach Brian Newberry said after the game. “… They outcoached us and they outplayed us today. That’s the bottom line.”
“It’s on me and I’ve got do a better job and we’ve somehow got to get this thing fixed,” he added.
Here are three takeaways from the loss, which dropped Navy to 3-5 overall and 2-3 in the AAC. Next, the Mids host UAB on Nov. 11.
Temple’s offense got an early lead behind quarterback E.J. Warner.
E.J. Warner hadn’t played since Oct. 7 due to being in concussion protocol but got the start against the Mids and moved the ball in the early going. During Temple’s first offensive drive, Warner went 6-for-6 for 59 yards. Warner closed out the drive with a 22-yard touchdown to graduate tight end Jordan Smith. The drive took less than four minutes.
On their second offensive possession, the Owls drove down the field and kicked a 42-yard field goal to go ahead 10-0.
On its third offensive possession, Temple faced a third-and-3 from Navy’s 39-yard line. Warner threw deep down the field to sophomore wide receiver Zae Baines, who could not come up with it. However, a crucial pass interference call brought the Owls to the Mids’ 24-yard line. On the very next play, Warner found graduate tight end David Martin-Robinson for a 24-yard touchdown.
This was the first time this season that Temple scored on its first three possessions of a game. Warner finished the first half 19 of 22 for 191 yards and two touchdowns.
“The first half is not who we are as a defense. We didn’t play with elite … execution and that hurt us, obviously giving up 17 points there in the first half quickly,” senior linebacker Will Harbour said. “It’s not what is expected of us.”
Warner finished the game 27 of 33 for 402 yards and four touchdowns.
“Warner is a really good player,” Newberry said. “We knew we were going to have to be really good in the short, intermediate stuff in the passing game and we weren’t today. He diced us up pretty good.”
Xavier Arline got the start at quarterback for Navy, becoming the fourth different starter for the Mids this season.
With senior quarterback Tai Lavatai out with a leg injury, Navy looked to fellow senior Xavier Arline to captain the ship.
Arline had previously seen time at the quarterback position this year and the three years prior, but he is listed on the depth chart as a slotback as well. Arline stated that he moved back to the quarterback room roughly two weeks ago due to injuries. (Sophomore Blake Horvath is hurt in addition to Lavatai.)
Arline could not get the Mids’ offense rolling until the third quarter, as Navy punted on its first seven drives. The Mids’ offense gained some momentum in the second half when Navy turned two takeaways into touchdowns.
Even though it took the Mids until the third quarter to score, Arline showed some promise. He finished the game 6 of 14 for 124 yards and one touchdown. Arline also ran for 97 yards and one touchdown on 30 attempts.
“We can’t win games in this offense just playing one half of football,” Arline said. “We’re going to come back to work like we always do [and] never stop believing in the guys we have in the room.”
Navy won the turnover battle, but it wasn’t enough.
On Temple’s first offensive play in the second half, Warner passed short to graduate wide receiver Amad Anderson Jr., who broke a tackle for a 74-yard catch and run. However, Anderson fumbled on that play and Mids sophomore raider Luke Pirris recovered it, a break for Navy.
Navy’s offense could not capitalize on that turnover, leading to a quick three-and-out and another punt, Navy’s seventh of the day. However, Anderson muffed the punt, leading to a Mids recovery at Temple’s 44-yard line.
A key fourth-down conversion kept Navy’s offense on the field. Arline then found sophomore slotback Eli Heidenreich for a 24-yard touchdown, and after a successful two-point conversion, the Mids trimmed the Owls’ lead to 17-8 with less than five minutes to go in the third quarter.
The 24-yard connection to Heidenreich was Arline’s first passing touchdown of his career at Navy.
On Temple’s next offensive possession, Warner was intercepted by Navy junior cornerback Deshaun Peele in Owls territory. The Mids capitalized on the takeaway, as Arline moved the ball efficiently and eventually scored on a 2-yard run to cut Temple’s lead to 17-15.
However, Temple responded with a 12-play, 81-yard touchdown drive to make it a two-possession game. Navy fought back and drove down the field, eventually settling for a 45-yard field goal to cut the lead to six, but the Mids’ defense couldn’t muster one final stop. Warner found junior wide receiver Dante Wright for a 16-yard touchdown and a 14-point lead with less than four minutes to go in the fourth quarter.
Arline drove down the field with the help of big gains on back-to-back plays — a 22-yard completion on fourth down and a 39-yard completion — but it wasn’t meant to be as the Mids turned it over on downs at Temple’s 12-yard line.
“I thought second half, we came out and fought. We had a couple turnovers, gave us a chance … gave ourselves chances to win the game and we weren’t able to get off the field [defensively],” Newberry said.
This story was updated with quotes following its original publication.
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