RebelAzn
Nov 4th, 2007, 12:21 PM
http://www.pressboxonline.com/upload/1.28_navy_4.jpg
The kid has been huge for Navy all year. He made play after play to put Navy in a position to win the game. His TD throws in the end was huge as well as his running play. Navy also had a Chinese American named Johnny Chan starting as a DE last year. One of my brothers is also a product of the academy system and was a wrestler for the academy.
http://msn.foxsports.com/cfb/story/7404384
Instant Analysis: Navy-Notre Dame
Matthew Zemek
CollegeFootballNews.com, Updated 14 hours ago
After 44 years, it was worth it for Navy to wait out a third overtime and a late pass interference call against Notre Dame. It took forever for the Midshipmen to finally take out the Fighting Irish in what was a memorable affair in South Bend.
If ever a football game seemed to last for an eternity, it was this mind-blowing battle. Forty-four years seemed like a blink of an eye compared to this ridiculous roller-coaster ride, in which fourth down was a reliable proposition for offenses and the overtime pressure was suffocating.
When one team gained leverage, the balance of power shifted surprisingly and abruptly to the other. It was the kind of game Navy couldn't afford to lose. Had Paul Johnson's bunch not beaten one of the worst Notre Dame teams of all time, the Irish would have taken their 43-game win streak — the longest single-series binge in NCAA history — and potentially doubled it.
So how did Navy finally do what hadn't been done since the John F. Kennedy administration and the days of Roger Staubach? Very simply, the money players for the Midshipmen answered the call. QB Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada and all-purpose back Reggie Campbell wouldn't accept another defeat.
Kaheaku-Enhada came up golden on the kinds of plays that separate winners from losers: two-point conversions. Had Navy's signal caller not converted a two-point try in the fourth quarter, a missed PAT would have dealt the Midshipmen a devastating defeat. As it turned out, his gritty run to the goal line ensured that Notre Dame's late touchdown (which came after a third-and-27 and a fourth-and-13) only tied the contest.
In the third overtime, Kaheaku-Enhada once again came up golden on a mandated two-point try. Forced to go for two, Navy put up a "crazy eight" when the poised quarterback stood strong in the pocket to deliver a strike to Campbell. One play earlier, it was Campbell who caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from his teammate to give Navy the lead.
In a normal football game, six points is cause for celebration, but in the wacky world of an extended college football overtime, eight points is a near necessity. Kaheaku-Enhada, the steady quarterback, and Campbell, the reliable receiver, combined to give Navy the points they needed to finally end the 43-game streak.
But before the Midshipmen could fully and finally celebrate, they needed to make sure the Irish didn't respond with eight points in the "bottom half" of the third overtime. After Notre Dame scored a touchdown on fourth-and-one in the third overtime, the Irish got a second chance on their two-point try due to a pass interference call that evoked memories of the 2003 Fiesta Bowl between Ohio State and Miami. A late (but correct) flag was thrown after a number of Navy players stormed the field in exultation.
After the shouting subsided, the Irish got the ball at the one-and-a-half yard line with one more chance to extend the wait. It was a handoff, and Notre Dame's Travis Thomas tried to turn the corner on the right side of the line, but a Navy defense that wobbled and wavered in so many important situations finally made a game-sealing stop. With no flag on the field, the 44-year wait was over, and a burden floated away from a jubilant service academy football team.
Paul Johnson has coached Navy to a number of bowl games and bowl victories — and cleaned up against Army. That said, the Midshipmen's decorated coach earned the kind of win that will be remembered in the history books far longer than anything else he's done at Navy to date. With one win against Notre Dame, Johnson gained a special place in the history of Annapolis football.
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If they say that beating Army is the only thing that matters at Navy, the need to beat the Fighting Irish became priority 1-A in 2007. Now that the deed has been done, the worldwide Navy fan base — from Roger the Dodger to noble sailors in distant ports — will never again have to hear about 1963. Erasing 44 years of agony rates as the kind of accomplishment that makes any season a success.
Navy might not achieve anything else on the gridiron in 2007, but it won't matter. A group of Annapolis football players just produced the kind of moment they'll pass on to their grandchildren long after they hang up their pads.
The kid has been huge for Navy all year. He made play after play to put Navy in a position to win the game. His TD throws in the end was huge as well as his running play. Navy also had a Chinese American named Johnny Chan starting as a DE last year. One of my brothers is also a product of the academy system and was a wrestler for the academy.
http://msn.foxsports.com/cfb/story/7404384
Instant Analysis: Navy-Notre Dame
Matthew Zemek
CollegeFootballNews.com, Updated 14 hours ago
After 44 years, it was worth it for Navy to wait out a third overtime and a late pass interference call against Notre Dame. It took forever for the Midshipmen to finally take out the Fighting Irish in what was a memorable affair in South Bend.
If ever a football game seemed to last for an eternity, it was this mind-blowing battle. Forty-four years seemed like a blink of an eye compared to this ridiculous roller-coaster ride, in which fourth down was a reliable proposition for offenses and the overtime pressure was suffocating.
When one team gained leverage, the balance of power shifted surprisingly and abruptly to the other. It was the kind of game Navy couldn't afford to lose. Had Paul Johnson's bunch not beaten one of the worst Notre Dame teams of all time, the Irish would have taken their 43-game win streak — the longest single-series binge in NCAA history — and potentially doubled it.
So how did Navy finally do what hadn't been done since the John F. Kennedy administration and the days of Roger Staubach? Very simply, the money players for the Midshipmen answered the call. QB Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada and all-purpose back Reggie Campbell wouldn't accept another defeat.
Kaheaku-Enhada came up golden on the kinds of plays that separate winners from losers: two-point conversions. Had Navy's signal caller not converted a two-point try in the fourth quarter, a missed PAT would have dealt the Midshipmen a devastating defeat. As it turned out, his gritty run to the goal line ensured that Notre Dame's late touchdown (which came after a third-and-27 and a fourth-and-13) only tied the contest.
In the third overtime, Kaheaku-Enhada once again came up golden on a mandated two-point try. Forced to go for two, Navy put up a "crazy eight" when the poised quarterback stood strong in the pocket to deliver a strike to Campbell. One play earlier, it was Campbell who caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from his teammate to give Navy the lead.
In a normal football game, six points is cause for celebration, but in the wacky world of an extended college football overtime, eight points is a near necessity. Kaheaku-Enhada, the steady quarterback, and Campbell, the reliable receiver, combined to give Navy the points they needed to finally end the 43-game streak.
But before the Midshipmen could fully and finally celebrate, they needed to make sure the Irish didn't respond with eight points in the "bottom half" of the third overtime. After Notre Dame scored a touchdown on fourth-and-one in the third overtime, the Irish got a second chance on their two-point try due to a pass interference call that evoked memories of the 2003 Fiesta Bowl between Ohio State and Miami. A late (but correct) flag was thrown after a number of Navy players stormed the field in exultation.
After the shouting subsided, the Irish got the ball at the one-and-a-half yard line with one more chance to extend the wait. It was a handoff, and Notre Dame's Travis Thomas tried to turn the corner on the right side of the line, but a Navy defense that wobbled and wavered in so many important situations finally made a game-sealing stop. With no flag on the field, the 44-year wait was over, and a burden floated away from a jubilant service academy football team.
Paul Johnson has coached Navy to a number of bowl games and bowl victories — and cleaned up against Army. That said, the Midshipmen's decorated coach earned the kind of win that will be remembered in the history books far longer than anything else he's done at Navy to date. With one win against Notre Dame, Johnson gained a special place in the history of Annapolis football.
advertisement
STORY TOOLS:
send
blog
RSS LIKE THIS STORY?
If they say that beating Army is the only thing that matters at Navy, the need to beat the Fighting Irish became priority 1-A in 2007. Now that the deed has been done, the worldwide Navy fan base — from Roger the Dodger to noble sailors in distant ports — will never again have to hear about 1963. Erasing 44 years of agony rates as the kind of accomplishment that makes any season a success.
Navy might not achieve anything else on the gridiron in 2007, but it won't matter. A group of Annapolis football players just produced the kind of moment they'll pass on to their grandchildren long after they hang up their pads.