MIDSHIPMEN NOTEBOOK
Injuries Compound Woes For a Struggling Defense
Slotback Reggie Campbell, breaking free for a gain in the season opener, provided a big block that helped result in an 80-yard TD this past Saturday.
(By Rusty Kennedy -- Associated Press)
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Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Navy's injury-depleted defense can be summed up this way: Senior captain Jeff Deliz, a safety, went to midfield for the coin toss for the first two games. After Deliz suffered a season-ending injury against Rutgers on Sept. 7, senior linebacker Irv Spencer went to midfield for the coin toss prior to a 34-31 overtime loss to Ball State last Saturday.
But Spencer left the game for good in the third quarter with an ankle injury. Meaning that when the teams met for the coin toss in overtime, Navy had its third-string defensive captain present -- senior linebacker Matt Wimsatt.
The good news for the Midshipmen (1-2) is that Spencer is expected to play against Duke (1-2) on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
Overall, however, the defense has struggled. The Midshipmen have forced six punts this season; opponents are averaging 30.1 points and five yards per carry, and have completed 66.7 percent of their passes for 742 yards.
Freshmen and sophomores have accounted for 93 of Navy's 212 tackles.
"We lost some guys. . . . and we shuffle more guys in the lineup and we reduce, reduce, reduce and try to make it as simple as we can for this group," defensive coordinator Buddy Green said. "The bottom line is this group has to go make plays and once you start making plays, you build more confidence."
Compounding those problems is that Duke has all 11 starters back on offense.
The Blue Devils ended their 22-game losing streak with a 20-14 victory over Northwestern on Saturday. It was their first victory since a 40-14 win over Virginia Military Institute on Sept. 17, 2005. It was their first win over a division I-A team since a 16-13 victory over Clemson near the end of the 2004 season.
"They're big and athletic," Navy Coach Paul Johnson said of the Blue Devils. "They play hard. It's a big challenge for us. I bet they are fighting to get on the plane [to Annapolis] after watching our last two games."
A Good Block
Navy's offensive captain is doing fine. Senior slotback Reggie Campbell was a crucial contributor on an 80-yard touchdown run by junior quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada in the second quarter against Ball State.
The play was an option to the left. Campbell was the pitch man, but Kaheaku-Enhada kept the ball. As Kaheaku-Enhada got to the Cardinals 20-yard line, however, a defender appeared ready to make the tackle -- except that Campbell had hustled downfield and blocked the player, enabling Kaheaku-Enhada to score.
As both came off the field, nearly as many players ran to congratulate Campbell as Kaheaku-Enhada.
