Navy Wins Fifth Straight vs. Air Force
Navy 31, Air Force 20
Navy's Reggie Campbell runs from Air Force's Aaron Kirchoff in the second quarter on Saturday.
(Steve Ruark - AP Photo)
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Sunday, September 30, 2007
Prior to yesterday, a fullback had led Navy in rushing in each of its previous four games against Air Force -- all victories. So it was natural that, on a second and eight from its 22-yard line early in the fourth quarter, Navy ran an option play to the left and the Falcons converged on junior fullback Eric Kettani.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]But Kettani didn't have the ball; junior quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada did. Kaheaku-Enhada went 78 yards for a touchdown to clinch a 31-20 victory before a record crowd of 37,615 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
The Midshipmen (3-2) defeated Air Force (3-2) for the fifth straight year. The 31 points marked the most Navy has scored in the series since a 37-8 victory in 1978.
For the most part, the Falcons stopped Navy's fullbacks; Kettani and Adam Ballard combined for 96 yards on 28 carries. But Kaheaku-Enhada finished with 101 yards rushing and two touchdowns, and senior slotback Reggie Campbell added a 37-yard touchdown run.
"In our offense, you never know who is going to get the ball," Kaheaku-Enhada said. "That's the triple option."
His long run was the play of the game. Navy led 24-20 when it took over at the 20-yard line with 10 minutes to play. On first down, Kettani was given the ball on an option and gained two yards.
On second down, Air Force's interior linemen went to tackle Kettani, as did junior outside linebacker Hunter Altman. When Kaheaku-Enhada turned upfield, he realized there was one defender for two offensive players -- himself and Campbell.
"Air Force messed up with their defense on the play," he said. "They had been playing really disciplined all game, but on that play I just came through and it was wide open."
Said Navy Coach Paul Johnson, "Once he went through [the line], he was going to be hard to catch."
The Falcons finished with more first downs, passing yards and total yards but were left to rue several errors. They took their last lead at 20-17 following a five-yard touchdown run by senior Chad Hall with 1 minute 56 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Midshipmen answered with a two-yard touchdown run by Kaheaku-Enhada early in the fourth to take a 24-20 lead. Their scoring drive was kept alive by a two-yard run by Kettani on a fourth and one from the Air Force 11.
Air Force reached the Navy 18 on its next possession, but the drive ended with a punt. The Falcons were undone by three penalties -- a personal foul, a false start and a holding call.
