Mids Take the High Way
Back-and-Forth Affair Ends With Double-Overtime Triumph: Navy 48, Pittsburgh 45

By Christian Swezey
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, October 11, 2007

PITTSBURGH, Oct. 10 -- For a second, Navy's players did not react after the fourth-down pass from Pittsburgh quarterback Pat Bostick fell incomplete in the second overtime. Yet when no penalty flags were thrown, it became apparent that Navy's 48-45 victory, which featured more than 900 yards of offense, had been clinched on a play by junior cornerback Rashawn King.

The Midshipmen (4-2) appeared in trouble after Pittsburgh (2-4) had a first and goal at the 2-yard line in the second overtime.

But the ball was still at the 2 on fourth down. The Panthers called a timeout before the crucial play. On the Navy sideline, Coach Paul Johnson told the team to expect a running play, likely to freshman LeSean McCoy (165 yards rushing, three touchdowns).

As the Panthers broke their huddle and headed to the line of scrimmage, McCoy clapped his hands eagerly in the backfield.

Yet the play was a fade pattern in the to senior tight end Darrell Strong. Strong is 6 feet 5, 265 pounds -- five inches taller and 75 pounds heavier than King.

King had the play defended well and knocked the ball away, though the pass was overthrown and very close to being out of bounds. A few of the Navy players looked to the officials to make sure a penalty had not been called. When no flag was thrown, the players began celebrating.

"They went at me earlier, and I kind of expected the fade," King said.

It was one of the few times that the offenses for either team misfired. The longest the game went without a score was a 5-minute 58-second stretch in the first quarter.

Navy's first seven possessions went as follows: Touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, missed field goal, punt, touchdown, touchdown.

Yet it was a measure of how the game was going that, to that point, the Midshipmen only led by four.

"It was a crazy game," Johnson said. "The way the game was going we had to match them score for score."

Navy did. Panthers Coach Dave Wannstedt had spent 11 years as an NFL head coach and is known largely for his defensive pedigree. His team reflected that -- the Panthers entered the night ranked No. 10 in the nation in total defense.

Yet Navy had a plan. The Midshipmen had faced the No. 10 team in the nation in total defense last year -- and that game, like Wednesday's, was on the road against a Big East opponent (Connecticut).

They opened the game with a play-action pass for a 77-yard touchdown in a 41-17 victory.

On Wednesday, they ran the same play, on the game's very first play. Junior quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada hit senior O.J. Washington for a 49-yard gain. The Midshipmen led 7-0 four plays later, following a four-yard touchdown run by senior Reggie Campbell.

But Navy had given up 138 points in its past four games, the most in a four-game span since 2002.

And the unit seemed to have no answers when Pitt eschewed downfield passes and opted for short passes by Bostick and runs by McCoy and junior fullback Conredge Collins (52 yards, one touchdown).

The Panthers tied the game at 7 on a two-yard touchdown run by Collins. Navy took a 14-7 lead; the Panthers answered. So it went.

By the end of the first half, the Midshipmen had 243 yards, had not punted and had used 19 players on defense, and the game was tied at 21.

Pittsburgh took its final lead at 38-35 on a 21-yard touchdown run by McCoy with 10:45 to play. Navy answered with an 11-play, 46-yard drive and tied the game at 38 on a 36-yard field goal by senior Joey Bullen with 4:57 left.

The Midshipmen forced a punt on a fourth and two near midfield -- the Panthers' offensive players reacted to the decision to punt by angrily swinging their helmets as they walked to the sideline.

The Midshipmen took over at the Pittsburgh 16 with 1:26 left and drove to the 32-yard line. With two seconds left, however, Bullen was four yards short on a 49-yard field goal and the game went to overtime.

Pitt scored on its opening possession of overtime -- on a one-yard run by Bostick. Navy answered one play later, on a 25-yard scoring pass from Kaheaku-Enhada to Campbell.

When Navy's second possession in overtime stalled at the 12, Johnson called on Bullen.

Bullen is known at Navy for having made two winning field goals -- against Air Force in 2005 with four-tenths of a second left and earlier this year against Duke as time expired.

And his 29-yard field goal in overtime again proved crucial. Johnson said he had not considered going for it in that situation, though he added he thought about going for a two-point conversion following Navy's first touchdown in overtime.

Kaheaku-Enhada finished with 122 yards rushing and completed 9 of 12 passes for 166 yards. Junior Eric Kettani added 72 yards rushing and freshman Wyatt Middleton had 12 tackles for the Midshipmen.

Bostick, a freshman, completed 20 of 28 passes for 191 yards and one touchdown. Navy gained 497 yards; the Panthers had 418.

"As I told the players, we had several opportunities to win the game," Wannstedt said. "We felt good about the play [in the second overtime]. We felt like we had a good matchup with Darrell Strong. It was our two-point play."

Instead, as the pass fell incomplete, Navy's players celebrated as wildly as they could given that the game had lasted nearly four hours.

Following the game, the academy superintendent and commandant visited the locker room. The commandant delivered the news that the team could sleep in until third period.

It was one of several things that went well for the Midshipmen.