With a freshman quarterback making his first career start and down two possessions, Navy football looked to senior quarterback Tai Lavatai to begin the fourth quarter against Air Force on Oct. 21.
Lavatai, who was considered day-to-day with a rib injury heading into the game, was called on to provide an offensive spark late, but the Mids ultimately lost, 17-6, to the Falcons. Navy fell to 3-4 overall, while Air Force improved to 7-0.
Nothing came easy for Navy’s offense during freshman quarterback Braxton Woodson’s first career start. The Mids mustered 1 total yard in the first quarter, a sign of things to come for the remainder of the game.
“We knew that [Air Force was] going to be physical. We had to come out and out-physical them, but that just didn’t go in our favor,” Woodson said. “We’ve got a lot of things to work on and clean up.”
Here are three takeaways from the Navy Air Force game.
Braxton Woodson struggled in his first career start.
Navy head coach Brian Newberry said after the game that Woodson saw a lot of practice time with the Mids’ first-team offense after Lavatai suffered a rib injury during Navy’s 14-0 win at Charlotte on Oct. 14.
“[Lavatai’s injury] seemed to be pretty good during the week — just didn’t know how that was going to turn out for him, so obviously we invested a significant amount of time in Braxton with the first group,” Newberry said.
Under Woodson, Navy’s offense stalled time and time again as all nine offensive drives he commanded led to punts. Air Force’s defense did not allow a first down until Navy’s fourth offensive drive, when sophomore fullback Alex Tecza rushed to the left for an 8-yard gain, which was the longest offensive play by the Mids in the first half.
Woodson finished the first half with eight carries for minus-7 yards rushing and only 6 yards on four passing attempts. He finished the game completing two of six passes for 6 yards and had minus-14 yards on the ground on 14 carries.
“The decision to get Tai in the game was based on flow of the game, just needed a change and try to find a spark and some momentum,” Newberry said.
Lavatai found more success moving the ball in the fourth quarter, but he threw two interceptions. The second one was returned for a touchdown by senior inside linebacker Alec Mock for a 17-0 Air Force lead late in regulation.
The Mids finally got on the board in their final offensive possession, with Lavatai finding sophomore slotback Eli Heidenreich for a 10-yard touchdown pass. Lavatai finished the game completing 13 of 23 passes for 96 passing yards along with 8 rushing yards on three carries.
This was a defensive battle through and through.
There is a silver lining for Navy. The Mids’ defense stood tall, as the unit held the top rushing offense in the country to just 137 rushing yards on 48 attempts.
Navy also created a big turnover. On Air Force’s third offensive drive, the Falcons turned to junior running back Aiden Calvert to run the rock. On his first carry of the game, Calvert bounced to the outside for a 22-yard gain, but Mids junior free safety Rayuan Lane III forced the ball out of Calvert’s hands. Junior cornerback Dashaun Peele recovered the fumble. The Mids’ offense could not capitalize on the turnover, though.
On Air Force’s next drive after the fumble, however, senior quarterback Zac Larrier connected with senior wide receiver Dane Kinamon for a 94-yard touchdown, the longest passing play in Air Force history.
“We’ve got to coach it better and got to put ourselves in a better situation right there,” Newberry said of that play.
The upcoming bye week is much needed for Navy.
Newberry said the bye week will help a Navy team that is “banged up,” especially on the offensive side of the football.
Against Air Force, a few of Navy’s offensive linemen left with injuries but came back in later to finish out the game. One that stood out was junior offensive tackle Connor McMahon, who rolled his ankle twice against the Falcons, according to Newberry. McMahon finished the game but was seen limping on the sideline.
“He’s a tough dude,” Newberry said on McMahon. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate Connor McMahon for toughing it out the last two weeks.
Newberry also acknowledged that Navy’s offense “ran out of tackles” and that senior offensive tackle Sam Glover dislocated his shoulder during the game but went back in to play.
“Still got a lot left to play for,” Newberry said. “How we respond after this bye week is going to tell you everything you need to know about our football team and who we are.”
Other notes:
- This was the first battle of 2023 for the annual Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy. Air Force can win it for a second straight year by beating Army on Nov. 4. If the Black Knights defeat the Falcons, the trophy winner will still be undecided and come down to whether Army can defeat Navy on Dec. 9.
- Sophomore quarterback Blake Horvath is still out due to a thumb injury. Horvath suffered the injury in the 27-24 win against North Texas on Oct. 7.
- There were 38,803 fans at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on Oct. 21, a new record. This stadium opened in 1959.
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox