For one half of its American Athletic Conference opener, the Naval Academy football team hung close enough that a bounce-back win remained possible.
The Midshipmen trailed by only six points to visiting Memphis at halftime on Sept. 10 before falling, 37-13, at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
Junior quarterback Tai Lavatai’s 1-yard rushing touchdown capped a 21-play, 74-yard drive, but an unsuccessful two-point try meant the Midshipmen still trailed, 23-13, with 12:06 left in the game.
The Tigers punched back with 14 unanswered points to firmly thwart any thoughts of a comeback. Memphis running back Brandon Thomas scored from 6 yards out to cap a 13-play, 88-yard drive that removed six minutes from the fourth quarter. Tigers running back Asa Martin added the exclamation point with a two-yard score with 3:49 left to bring the score to its 37-13 final.
Memphis immediately took a 7-0 lead a little more than two and a half minutes into the game as Memphis quarterback Seth Henigan tossed a 4-yard shovel pass to tight end Caden Prieskorn to cap a six-play, 66-yard drive. A 50-yard completion from Henigan to Eddie Lewis had brought the Tigers to the 4-yard line.
The lead swelled to 10-0 with 2:33 left in the first quarter as Memphis kicker Chris Howard drilled one from 37 yards. Navy pulled within three, 10-7, in the final minute of the opening stanza. On third down, Lavatai completed a play-action pass to fullback Anton Hall for a 62-yard catch and run to the end zone. The pass was both the first career reception for Hall and the longest completion of Lavatai’s career.
Howard added a 38-yard field goal as the first half expired to give the Tigers a 13-7 lead into the locker room.
On Memphis’ first offensive snap of the second half, Henigan went deep to Joseph Scates. The 79-yard touchdown put the Tigers ahead, 20-7, four minutes into the second half. The Midshipmen fumbled it away on the first play of the ensuing possession, setting up a 22-yard field goal for Howard — his third of the afternoon.
Here are five takeaways from the Midshipmen’s second straight loss:
1. Turnovers have become a major storyline through the season’s first two games.
A week after Navy coughed up the football three times en route to a loss to FCS program Delaware, it gave the ball away just as many times against Memphis. The Midshipmen already find themselves with a negative-5 turnover differential two games into the year.
A promising Navy drive ended unceremoniously midway through the second as a trick play backfired. Tigers safety Quindell Johnson made a phenomenal, one-handed interception in the end zone when sophomore slotback Maquel Haywood made a poor decision to pass into double coverage.
Navy trailed 10-7 at the time. Head coach Ken Niumatalolo blamed himself for the turnover.
“I take responsibility. I don’t need to put Maquel in that situation. I should’ve called a better play,” he said. “That play just changed the complexion of the game. When you’re playing a team like that, you can’t miss those opportunities.”
Hall committed the fumble one play after Henigan’s 79-yard touchdown pass to Scates. Backup quarterback Xavier Arline threw an interception to cornerback Sylvonta Olizer in the fourth quarter when the game was out of hand.
“From the first game there was nowhere to go but up. [This game was] better, but still not good enough,” Niumatalolo said.
Lavatai completed 3 of 7 passes for 99 yards and a touchdown. Haywood led the Mids with 54 yards rushing on eight attempts.
2. The Memphis wide receivers were just too fast for Navy’s defensive backs and the result was many big plays.
Beyond the completions of 79 and 50 yards, Henigan completed 24 of 34 pass attempts for 415 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Nine Tigers caught passes against Navy, including four players with at least 70 yards receiving.
Niumatalolo complimented the speed of Memphis’ playmakers and Henigan’s patience in the pocket. Senior striker John Marshall said the Midshipmen struggle with consistency on defense.
“I think it just came down to a couple of plays, ultimately, during the course of the game,” Marshall said. “I think we’re a couple plays away from being a really good defense and a couple ‘doing our jobs’ away from maybe a lot of those passes not being completed today.”
The Tigers’ 415 passing yards were the most allowed by Navy since 2018 and the fourth most during Niumatalolo’s tenure.
3. While the pass defense struggled, Navy’s run D has been excellent thus far.
The Midshipmen held Memphis to only 91 yards on the ground, and nearly half of those came on a 45-yard run by Asa Martin late in the fourth quarter. The Tigers averaged just 2.8 yards per rush.
One week earlier, Navy allowed only 13 yards rushing on 29 Delaware attempts. It also recorded 12 tackles for loss and five sacks last week.
4. John Marshall has been a bright spot and had a career day by halftime alone.
By halftime, the Highland, Md., native had a career-high 11 tackles. Marshall finished the game with a team-best 15 tackles, which were the most for a Navy player since DJ Sargenti and Cody Peterson both had 18 against San Jose State in 2015.
“I didn’t even know I had 15. I was just playing ball,” he said. “I’m a very critical guy, especially on myself. I’m already thinking of like three or four plays during the game I wish I could’ve had back. Those are going to stay with me until next week.”
Marshall had seven tackles, including two sacks, against the Blue Hens last week.
5. The reeling Mids get an early bye week and that’s definitely a good thing.
Navy has a chance to regroup from its 0-2 start before hitting the road for the first time of the season for another AAC game against East Carolina. The Midshipmen face service academy rival Air Force the following week.
“We’re always going to battle,” Niumatalolo said. “We’ve got some tough kids, some resilient people in our program. We’re not going anywhere. It’s not like we’re going to quit or put up the white flag — we’re going to go to work.”
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox