Navy Can't Keep Up With High-Flying Wake

Wake Forest 44, Navy 24

About the only highlight for the Navy defense in a 44-24 loss to Wake Forest yesterday at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium came a few seconds before the game.

As leading tackler Matt Wimsatt and his teammates took the field, Wimsatt's older brother, Brad, flew past the stadium in a Boeing AV-8B Harrier as part of the traditional fly-over. Matt Wimsatt clapped and looked up as his brother's plane sped past.

The homecoming crowd of 36,992 joined Wimsatt in cheering; less than a minute later, however, the Demon Deacons had a 7-0 lead. Senior Kevin Marion returned the opening kickoff 80 yards to the Navy 17. On the third play from scrimmage, senior Kenny Moore caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from sophomore Riley Skinner.

Wake Forest (5-2) finished with 409 yards and punted once. Through seven games, the defense for the Midshipmen (4-3) has three sacks, has forced 14 punts and 20 players have started at least once.

"I don't know what to say" about the defensive problems, senior linebacker Irv Spencer said. "As the coaches say, the mistakes we are making are correctable."

Navy's offense kept pace for a while. The Midshipmen led 17-14 following a seven-yard touchdown run by junior Shun White early in the second quarter. The score was tied at 17 late in the first half when the first of two momentum swings went Wake Forest's way.

Junior quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada suffered an inadvertent helmet-to-helmet hit from junior linebacker Aaron Curry on an option run and left the game with a neck injury. (He is probable to play next week.) On the next play, backup Jarod Bryant was blitzed by junior Alphonso Smith and fumbled as he tried to throw a screen pass; linebacker Matt Robinson picked up the ball and went seven yards for a touchdown and a 24-17 lead.

The Demon Deacons forced a punt and took a 27-17 halftime lead after a 26-yard field goal by junior Sam Swank.

Bryant led a five-play, 80-yard drive to start the third quarter; the drive culminated in a 12-yard touchdown run by White. But Wake Forest took momentum back with a 56-yard drive and took a 34-24 lead that wasn't threatened following a two-yard touchdown run by senior Micah Andrews.

White finished with 63 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries, Spencer had 10 tackles and Wimsatt added seven for the Midshipmen. Skinner completed 22 of 28 passes for 213 yards and was not sacked; senior free safety Chip Vaughn had 16 tackles for the Demon Deacons.

"I thought when we came out to start the second half and cut it to three we'd be okay," Navy Coach Paul Johnson said. He later added: "Right now we can't make mistakes. We have no margin for error."

Navy had no answer for Moore, who entered the leading the ACC with 41 receptions. When a pass from Skinner went off Moore's hands and fell incomplete with 3 minutes 55 seconds left in the third quarter, it was the first throw to Moore that he did not catch. To that point, he had 12 receptions for 147 yards and a touchdown.