Resilient Mids extend winning streak to five

This is rapidly developing into a special season for the Navy football team. The Midshipmen (6-2) have reeled of five straight wins and are on the verge of clinching a seventh straight postseason berth.

There have been a couple heart-stopping overtime victories during the current streak, one of which came over service academy rival Air Force and put Navy in the driver's seat to reclaim the coveted Commander-in-Chief's Trophy.

This past Saturday, Navy nipped one of the better teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference without its starting quarterback.

Junior Ricky Dobbs has been the focal point of the offense this season, leading the team in rushing with 579 yards and the nation in rushing touchdowns with 16. Naturally, there were concerns about how triple-option offense would operate without Dobbs, who learned last week that he has a cracked bone in his knee.

More bad news for the Navy offense came later in the week when it was learned that starting slotback Marcus Curry would also miss the game with a quadriceps injury. Curry was the second-leading rusher on the squad with 393 yards and four touchdowns.

Losing Dobbs and Curry proved no problem for the resilient Midshipmen. Sophomore Kriss Proctor made his first career start at quarterback and rushed for 89 yards and a touchdown while doing an admirable job of directing the triple-option offense.

Proctor appeared to make the right reads most of the game and wisely handed the ball off 27 times to fullback Vince Murray, who rumbled for a career-high 175 yards. Center Curtis Bass combined with guards Osei Asante and David Hong to control the line of scrimmage as the Mids repeatedly gauged the Demon Deacons inside.

Afterward, head coach Ken Niumatalolo was asked about the current five-game streak, which has featured three wins by three points or less.

"We've got some tough, tough young men. I've been here 12 years and all of the teams are close. That's the hallmark of our program," Niumatalolo said. "But this team is uniquely close. They have great love and great caring for one another. I've noticed that this year more than others."

Strong defense and solid special teams were also a key to Saturday's victory, which came amidst a driving rainstorm at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Inside linebackers Tony Haberer and Ross Pospisil led the charge with eight tackles each as Navy held Wake Forest 15 points and nearly 100 yards below its season averages.

"I think the defense has been playing good all year. That was definitely a great defensive effort against a good offensive team," Niumatalolo said.

Left end Jabaree Tuani made six tackles while linebackers Ram Vela and Tyler Simmons contributed five apiece for Navy, which limited a high-powered Wake Forest offense to 308 total yards. Defensive coordinator Buddy Green was almost speechless when asked about his unit's ability to shut down a team that scored 30 points against N.C. State and 42 versus Maryland.

"Oh my gracious, they just kept battling all game long. We came up with some huge third-down stops. That was really the key to the ballgame," Green said. "I just can't say enough about the effort of our guys. They made plays when they needed to be made."

Quarterback Riley Skinner, Wake Forest's all-time leading passer, completed just 13 of 25 passes for 173 yards. Skinner was repeatedly forced to dump the ball off underneath to check-down receivers and had trouble completing the long passes down the middle that have become his trademark.

The Demon Deacons were only 5-for-13 on third down conversions and did not have a pass or run play of longer than 27 yards.

"We got some pressure with four-man rush and that allowed us to drop seven into coverage. Our goal was to keep everything in front of us, to not give up the deep ball and make (the Demon Deacons) drive the field," Green said.

"I knew (Wake) had a dangerous team that is capable of making a big play at any time. Skinner has picked a lot of people apart. We were fortunate to be able to contain him today."

Placekicker Joe Buckley and punter Kyle Delahooke also made big contributions to the win. Buckley booted a pair of long field goals - a career-best 50-yarder and a 41-yarder. Delahooke averaged 48.5 yards on four punts - uncorking a 65-yarder and a career-long 68-yarder.

During the offseason, athletic director Chet Gladchuk brokered a deal for Navy to appear in the Texas Bowl, being held Dec. 31 at Reliant Stadium in Houston against a Big 12 opponent. The Midshipmen can punch their ticket to the postseason this Saturday by beating Temple at home.

With five regular season games and a likely bowl game remaining, the Midshipmen could potentially match the 2004 squad with 10 wins.