White's Career Day Leads Navy to Win

Navy 41, Towson 13

Shun White had already put together an impressive performance as he sat on the field early in the fourth quarter with a cramp in his hamstring. The speedy Navy slotback had shredded Towson's defense and scored on two long touchdown runs, and his day appeared over as a team doctor massaged his leg and then helped him to the sideline.

But minutes later -- after a bit of stretching and a swig or two of Pedialyte -- White was back in the game and had the ball in hands. The senior darted right, cut back across the field and reeled off a 73-yard touchdown run to cap a record-setting performance in Navy's 41-13 victory in front of 31,613 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

White needed just 19 carries to rush for a school-record 348 yards, which obliterated the previous mark of 298 set by Eddie Meyers on 42 carries in a game against Syracuse in 1981. The yardage that White gained on his touchdown runs alone -- 193 yards -- was roughly six times as many as Towson's net rushing total (30).

"I didn't know he had that many yards," said Ken Niumatalolo, who recorded his first victory as Navy's head coach. "I was just proud of him. We gave him the challenge early on in the week, that this is what we were going to do. We're going to ride him, if they're going to take away Eric [Kettani, the fullback]. He said, 'Coach, just give me the ball.' "

Navy's offense struggled in the preseason -- the first team failed to score a single touchdown in two scrimmages -- but rolled over Towson, a Colonial Athletic Association team that was facing its first-ever division I-A opponent. Senior quarterback Jarod Bryant, who was starting in place of the injured Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada (hamstring), looked comfortable in charge of the triple option, running for one touchdown and throwing for another (a 38-yard pass to a wide-open Bobby Doyle).

Navy piled up 602 yards of total offense, including 558 on the ground -- the third-highest total in school history. Nearly all of that came from the slotbacks and quarterbacks, as the Tigers focused on stopping Kettani (33 yards on nine carries).

"I thought we did an excellent job in terms of controlling Kettani," Towson Coach Gordy Combs said. "We should have spent more time on stopping the pitch."

One of the questions facing the Midshipmen was whether or not they had a capable replacement for Reggie Campbell and Zerbin Singleton, the dynamic slotbacks who regularly turned pitches into big gains last season. White was the most logical candidate; not only is he the most experienced slotback, he's also the fastest.

That speed was evident on all three of his touchdown runs, as he blew past Towson defenders. On his very first carry, he picked up 21 yards. On his first touchdown run (33 yards), he took advantage of a block by Doyle and then outran everyone to the end zone. On his second touchdown, he was barely touched as he ran 87 yards, the fourth-longest run in school history. He was dropped for a loss only once -- and when that happened early in the third quarter, the Towson defender leapt to his feet and pumped his fist.

Niumatalolo said Navy's coaches were not surprised by White's performance; they were waiting for him to have a breakout game such as this. White, however, said that he didn't see this performance coming.

"To be honest, I really didn't," said White, who had four previous 100-yard games in his career but never had more than 10 carries in a game. "I told myself I was going to go out there and give my best for my team and my teammates, and every time I got the ball I was going to run it as hard as I could and as fast as I could."

Navy's defense settled down after a rough start. The Midshipmen forced Towson into third-and-long situations three times on its first drive, and each time quarterback Sean Schaefer converted: an 18-yard pass to Casey Cegles, a 30-yard pass to David Newsom and a 13-yard pass to Steve Holmes (Old Mill). But on first and 10 at the Navy 25, senior cornerback Rashawn King came up with an interception, diving in front of Marcus Lee to snag the ball.

Schaefer, an All-Met from Northern, completed 29 of 47 passes for 330 yards, and put together two long drives that resulted in touchdown passes of 22 and four yards in the second quarter. But the Tigers never really threatened Navy, because they never could stop White.

"I'm just glad I have him," Bryant said. "It was incredible just watching him run."

Midshipmen Note : Senior cornerback Ketric Buffin (knee), senior slotback Greg Shinego (hand) and sophomore slotback Andre Byrd (leg) were not in uniform