Mids open with sloppy victory

PHILADELPHIA — Navy finished off Temple’s miserable 2006 season with its usual run-heavy steamrolling.

A little more than nine months later, the Midshipmen weren’t quite as efficient but still generated the same result.

The Mids grinded their way to a 30-19 victory over the Owls last night before 30,368 at Lincoln Financial Field, earning a sometimes-ugly victory in the season opener for both teams.

Fullback Adam Ballard ran for two touchdowns, quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada added 102 yards and a touchdown and Shun White scampered for 122 yards for Navy (1-0).

But Navy also committed two turnovers and incurred an uncharacteristic 69 yards in penalties.

“At times we couldn’t get out of our own way with penalties and turning the ball over,” said Navy coach Paul Johnson, who earned his 100th career victory. “Certainly we have to clean that up if we’re going to have a successful football team.”

While the offense was occasionally sloppy, it isn’t uncommon for the Mids to take a few weeks to refine their precision in the triple option. Of greater concern was a rebuilt defense that replaced nine starters from a 9-4 team.

It isn’t easy — and probably not wise — to try to discern answers from last night. The Owls ran for 74 yards last night, which was actually an improvement over their meager 53.7 yards a game a year ago.

The Owls’ pass offense was more effective as Adam DiMichele generally dumped it off to his backs and tight ends, going 21-for-29 for 199 yards and two touchdowns.

“I think we had a real sloppy game and we could have done a lot better,” linebacker Clint Sovie said. “Some guys did great things and some guys didn’t do so well, and I’m one of those guys that didn’t do so well. Hopefully we can go into practice next week and make all the corrections.”

Chronically woeful Temple (0-1) opened its first season as a full member of the Mid-American Conference and second under coach Al Golden the same it has the last four years: with a loss. The Owls own only four victories in that span and had the offseason to ponder a 42-6 sendoff administered by the Mids last November.

“I told these guys Navy isn’t going anywhere,” Golden said then.

Unsurprisingly, Temple hasn’t caught up.

That much was certain in the first quarter as Navy constructed touchdown drives on its first two possessions. Ballard finished off a workmanlike 11-play drive with a dive from a yard out to cap a quintessential Navy series.

The Mids struck much quicker the second time as Kaheaku-Enhada dashed 44 yards with the aid of Greg Sudderth’s slick block to make it 14-0 just more than 10 minutes into the game.

The Mids, though, couldn’t pad their lead. Temple responded with a 15-play drive capped by a field goal, the benefited from the generosity that would mark the rest of Navy’s day.

The next drive, which started will all the hallmarks of a barely impeded march, was halted when Zerbin Singleton fumbled after a pitch. The Owls scored two plays later, though Navy built its lead back to 24-10 by halftime.

Ballard fumbled away another possession early in the second half, and Temple responded with a long field goal drive. The Mids’ next two possessions featured ill-timed pass interference and holding penalties, respectively, limiting the offensive output to only a field goal.

Those stumbles didn’t seem threatening, only sloppy, until DiMichele connected with tight end Matt Balasavage for a 23-yard touchdown with 4:06 left. But Mids nose guard Nate Frazier blocked the extra point, and Temple opted against trying an onside kick.

The Owls wouldn’t have a chance to tie it. White scooted 32 yards on a pitch two plays into the next drive, and Matt Harmon’s career-long 43-yard field goal wobbled through the uprights with 1:07 left to clinch a victory that could have come much easier.

“We were shaky today,” Kaheaku-Enhada said. “We didn’t come out and play the best game that we could. There’s a lot of things to fix.”

Added Johnson, whose team visits No. 16 Rutgers on Friday: “We have a lot of young guys and we played like it. I hope to see a lot of improvement from game one to game two or it will be ugly, I can assure you.”