Mids overcome Minutemen

ANNAPOLIS — Losing to a Division I-AA opponent would not have been a first in the Paul Johnson era at Navy. The Midshipmen, who lost to Delaware in 2003, yesterday avoided another such defeat with a 21-20 victory against Massachusetts at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium.

A quarterback controversy, however, is uncharted territory.

Starter Brian Hampton again had troubles through the air and with the option pitch. Backup Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada moved the offense but also had fumble issues. By the time the Mids (2-0) grabbed their first lead late in the third quarter, this contest had become an act of musical chairs at quarterback, and ultimately survival.

“It’s pretty frustrating. We’re about as bad offensively as any team I’ve ever coached,” Johnson said. “I’m concerned about the lack of quarterback play, which encompasses all of it [both passing and running]. We’ve got some real soul searching to do.

As for who might be under center next week at Stanford, that remains to be determined.

“It may be one of the guys who didn’t even play,” Johnson said. “We may take a guy off the JV team. I don’t know. He couldn’t do any worse.”

The Mids fumbled seven times in the game and lost three. Normally sure-handed wideout Jason Tomlinson dropped a catchable pass and muffed a punt. The backup kicker, Matt Harmon, missed a 27-yard field goal with 34 seconds to play to leave the Minutemen with one final fleeting hope.

Hampton missed on all three of his passing attempts and finished with 38 yards on 15 carries. Twice his option pitches were batted down, and while the Mids recovered both, the huge losses effectively ended the drives. He also threw an interception in the first half and fumbled in the fourth quarter. Both turnovers led to UMass scores.

Kaheaku-Enhada did complete a pass of 21 yards to Jason Tomlinson, but missed on three others — two were deflected at the line of scrimmage — and was a part of three fumbles, two of which the Mids managed to recover. He finished with 41 yards on 12 carries.

“I should definitely get an F after that performance,” Kaheaku-Enhada said. “Everything starts with the quarterback and you need to go in there and get the offense going. I don’t think I did nearly as well as I need to do.”

Massachusetts took a 17-14 lead in the third quarter on a 37-yard field goal, but Navy slotback Reggie Campbell returned the ensuing kick 73 yards. After a pair of runs by fullback Adam Ballard, Kaheaku-Enhada kept the ball himself and slithered through the middle of the Minutemen defense for his first career touchdown, an 18-yard run that put the Mids ahead 21-17.

UMass drove into Navy territory early in the fourth quarter, but safety DuJuan Price intercepted a halfback pass from Justin Montgomery at the 3-yard line. Hampton fumbled on the ensuing possession to set up another UMass field goal to cut the lead to one.

The Mids are normally experts at running out the clock with the lead in the waning stages of the fourth quarter, but UMass had two more chances. Linebacker Rob Caldwell forced a fumble that Tyler Tidwell recovered on one drive. After the missed field goal, the Mids forced four consecutive incomplete passes to erase any doubt.

“I think it is good for our team’s confidence and our defense’s confidence to know that when the game is on the line we do have the capability to stop the opposing offense,” Tidwell said. “With our offense, we haven’t had to do that a whole lot.”

Hampton led the offense to a touchdown on the Mids’ first possession, but his passing struggles continued. He was sacked on his first attempt, missed badly on a short dump pass and then had his second official attempt intercepted.

His third passing attempt was a catchable slant pass, but it still was not well thrown. The offense went three drives without a first down and Johnson had seen enough. Hampton eschewed a pass attempt while rolling out and scrambled but fell well short of a first down on the final play before being benched.

Kaheaku-Enhada led the Mids on a scoring drive in his first possession. Fullback Matt Hall made several nifty moves en route to a 53-yard touchdown scamper, the longest of his career.

On Kaheaku-Enhada’s next drive he completed Navy’s first pass of the day — a 21-yarder to Tomlinson and moved the team into scoring position. But Hall fumbled at the UMass 22, and the score remained knotted 14-14 at the half.

“We’re glad we are 2-0, but we still have a long, long ways to go on both sides of the ball,” Tidwell said.

Notes — Starting kicker Joey Bullen missed the game with a strained groin. Both starting safeties, Price and Ketric Buffin left the game with leg injuries. Buffin returned when Price was hurt on the interception. Clay Carter replaced Buffin but was burned on the Minutemen’s second touchdown, a 37-yard pass. Freshman Jeromy Miles replaced Carter and played the rest of the game. … Navy’s 289 yards of total offense was the lowest output for the Mids since gaining 260 against Notre Dame on Oct. 16, 2004.