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Yale Outgains Navy, but Still Comes Up Short 27-14
NEW HAVEN, CT - Yale (0-1) showed promise this afternoon at home to open the 2007 season as they outgained Navy 341-212, but the Bulldogs still came up short on the scoreboard against the favored Midshipmen 27-14.
Navy led 24-3 at one point in the third quarter, but the Bulldogs cut the lead to 24-6 entering the fourth quarter and a late touchdown in the final quarter cut the Navy lead to 24-14 after a successful two-point conversion. However, Navy recovered the ensuing onside kick within field goal range. The Midshipmen went three-and-out, but were able to add on a field goal to extend their lead to 27-14. Yale drove the field over the game's final minute, but were unable to make it into the end zone and Navy escaped with a 13-point victory.
Yale rushed for 128 yards, which is a far cry from their struggles last season, when the Bulldogs rushed for just seven yards per game, on average, over the course of the year. Sophomore quarterback Nate Ellerbee was also not sacked once in his 44 dropbacks as the offensive line showed immense improvement in both pass and run blocking over their efforts last season.
Yale also used backup quarterback Michael Miller's speed on a few gadget plays throughout the game, and the true freshman impressed by running the the ball for 59 yards on only six attempts. Thomas Moore, Yale's starting running back, ran the football for 61 yards on 17 attempts. Moore was also the team's leading receiver with 10 catches for 90 yards.
Quarterback Nate Ellerbee also played well in his first career start for Yale. The redshirt sophomore threw for 213 yards and a touchdown, though he did throw a costly interception in the first quarter that set up Navy’s first touchdown.
Turnovers were costly for Yale today. As already mentioned, Ellerbee's interception directly led to a touchdown for Navy. Additionally, backup running back Marque Kearney fumbled the football on a screen pass, leading to a Navy field goal in the third quarter.
Though Navy didn't move the ball a lot, with just 212 yards of total offense, eight first downs, and only 106 yards on the ground, they also didn't commit any turnovers and made the best of some good field position throughout the game. They also scored on some big plays, including a 59-yard touchdown in the third quarter. Senior first-year starting quarterback John Fountain passed for 106 yards and two touchdowns. Brad McPherson was the team's leading rusher with 59 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.
"We definitely have some positive things to take away from this game," explained Yale head coach Lee Williamson. "I liked what we did on offense, especially in the fourth quarter, though I'd of course like to see have seen some of that earlier in the game. Our guys on the offensive line played so much better than last year. I also was impressed with our strong rush defense, though we gave up too many big plays in the passing game. That could be a problem against teams that will throw the football on us more."
Next. Yale will hit the road next Saturday to take on the Kentucky Wildcats out of the SEC.
Navy 27, Yale 14
Navy - 07 / 07 / 10 / 03
Yale - 00 / 03 / 03 / 08
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter:
(1:25) Navy: 2 yard run by McPherson (7-0 Navy)
2nd Quarter:
(2:43) Navy: 29 yard pass from Fountain to Anderson (14-0 Navy)
(0:00) Yale: 24 yard field goal by Burrell (14-3 Navy)
3rd Quarter:
(6:10) Navy: 59 yard pass from Fountain to Miller (21-3 Navy)
(4:55) Navy: 22 yard field goal by Anderson (24-3 Navy)
(2:29) Yale: 43 yard field goal by Burrell (24-6 Navy)
4th Quarter:
(1:22) Yale: 13 yard pass from Ellerbee to Kearney (2-Pt) (24-14 Navy)
(1:06) Navy: 46 yard field goal by Anderson (27-14 Navy)
Team Statistics (Navy / Yale)
First Downs: 8 / 22
Total Offense: 212 / 341
Rushes-Yards: 28-106 / 29-128
Comp-Att-TD: 4-9-2 / 25-44-1
Passing Yards: 106 / 213
Sacked: 0 / 0
Turnovers: 0 / 2
Total Yards: 276 / 477
Penalties-Yards: 2-15 / 2-14
T.O.P.: 10:15 / 17:45
Individual Statistics
Navy Midshipmen
J. Fountain: 4/9, 106 Yds, 2 TD
B. McPherson: 13 Car, 59 Yds, TD
B. Martin: 5 Car, 34 Yds
A. Miller: 1 Rec, 59 Yds, TD
D. Anderson: 1 Rec, 29 Yds, TD
A. Stanford: 9 Tkl, TFL, Int, 2 FF, FR
B. Rust: 8 Tkl
B. Smith: 7 Tkl, FF
D. Payne: 6 Tkl, 3 TFL
J. Thomas: 5 Tkl, 2 TFL
B. Anderson: 2/2 FG, Long 46, 3/3 PAT
C. Porter: 4 Punts, 174 Yds, 43.5 Avg, 2 Inside 20
Yale Bulldogs
N. Ellerbee: 25/44, 213 Yds, TD, Int, 1 Car, 6 Yds
M. Miller: 0/0, 0 Yds, 6 Car, 59 Yds
T. Moore: 17 Car, 61 Yds, 10 Rec, 90 Yds
M. Kearney: 4 Car, -2 Yds, 7 Rec, 43 Yds, Rec TD
T. Brewer: 4 Rec, 55 Yds
K. Hawthorne: 5 Tkl, 3 TFL
K. Robinson: 5 Tkl
R. Carty: 4 Tkl, 3 TFL
C. Roberts: 3 Tkl
J. Ruud: 3 Tkl
J. Burrell: 2/2 FG, Long 43, 0/0 PAT, 2 Punts, 71 Yds, 35.5 Avg, 1 Inside 20
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12-04-2020, 07:10 AM
