Saturday, October 6
USAFA
1:30 PM MT
Air Force Academy
2-3
35
vs
7
Navy
2-3
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
NAVY
0
7
0
0
7
Air Force
0
14
14
7
35
Football Cruises to 35-7 Victory over Navy
10/6/2018 4:49:00 PM | Football
It was the largest margin of victory over the Midshipmen since 2002
Post Game Interviews
USAFA, Colo. – The Air Force Academy football team trailed, 7-0, early in the second quarter, but then scored 35 unanswered points on its way to a resounding 35-7 victory over the Naval Academy, Saturday afternoon, Oct. 6, at Falcon Stadium. The 28-point margin of victory is the largest for Air Force over its service academy rival since a 48-7 win in 2002.
Sophomore quarterback D.J. Hammond III made his first start in an Air Force (2-3, 0-2 MW) uniform and made the most of it, leading the offense to 399 yards of total offense. The Hampton, Ga. native totaled 142 yards passing, while adding 60 yards rushing, and accounted for four total touchdowns, one passing and three rushing.
Junior running back Joseph Saucier was the Falcons' leading rusher, totaling 62 yards on just three attempts, which included a 48-yard rushing touchdown. The leading receiver was senior Ronald Cleveland, as he made two receptions for 72 yards, which included a 61-yard TD reception.
Leading the defensive attack, which limited the Midshipmen (2-3, 1-1 AAC) to 178 yards of total offense, was senior linebacker Brody Bagnall, who had a team-best 13 tackles, including a tackle for loss. Junior defensive back Jeremy Fejedelem, had a solid overall effort, totaling nine stops, which included a sack, while sophomore defensive lineman Jordan Jackson was in the backfield all day, totaling seven stops, 3.5 of which were for a loss.
The first quarter was a field position battle, as both teams combined for just 52 total yards, trading punts back and forth. Air Force was pinned within its own five yard line twice, and the second time led to a short punt by the Falcons, setting up Navy at the AF 34 yard line near the end of the first quarter.
After gaining some solid yardage, Navy set up shop at the Air Force 11 to start the second quarter. Four plays later, on a fourth and one from the two yard line, Navy's QB scampered into the end zone for the game opening score, making it 7-0 early in the second.
On their first drive of the second half, Air Force opened the possession with its longest play of the day, a 19-yard rush. They went on to cross midfield, getting to the Navy 37, before the drive stalled, and a punt pinned the Midshipmen inside their own 15. Navy was then forced to punt deep within their own territory, but it was a good one, setting up Air Force at their own 35.
This time, the Falcons had a perfect play call, as Hammond found Cleveland for a short pass, and he had a wide open field, scooting 61 yards for the game tying score. About midway through the quarter, the game was deadlocked at 7-7 each.
Now with some momentum, Air Force stopped Navy's triple option attack on a three and out, giving AF the ball back quickly. They needed just two plays this time around to break the tie, as Saucier took a pitch on an option, and blew by the Navy defense for a 48-yard touchdown run to give Air Force its first lead of the game, 14-7.
From there, Navy had a clock melting drive that got them into field goal range, but a 57-yarder came up just short for Navy, keeping the 14-7 score as the game went to halftime.
Air Force's offense continued its momentum to begin the second half, as they rolled for a seven play, 75-yard drive to open the second stanza, capped off by a five yard rush from Hammond, to extend the Falcon lead to 21-7. The Blue and Silver defense continued to clamp down on the Navy offense, forcing two consecutive three and outs to give the ball back to Air Force with just over eight minutes to go in the third quarter.
The Falcon offense continued to click, as they embarked on another long drive after starting with the ball on their own 25. A long pass to junior wideout Geraud Sanders and a short rush quickly got Air Force to midfield. They then used the ground game to grind their way down to the Navy five, setting up first and goal. Three plays later, Hammond took it in on the ground himself for the second time, punching it in from one to extend the lead to 21, 28-7, as the game went into the fourth quarter.
Navy turned the ball over on downs at their own 41 to start the final quarter, and Air Force looked to add on to its sizeable advantage with the solid field position. They did just that, needing eight plays to go the 44 yards, as Hammond capped off the drive with his third rushing TD of the game. With just over ten minutes to go in the game, Air Force effectively put it out of reach with a 35-7 lead.
From there, both teams traded possessions, which both ended in fourth down stops, as the clock wound down on the dominating 28-point victory for the Falcons.
Air Force now hits the road again as it dips back into Mountain West play by heading west to take on San Diego State University, Friday, Oct. 12. Kickoff in California against the Aztecs is set for 7 p.m. MT.
USAFA, Colo. – The Air Force Academy football team trailed, 7-0, early in the second quarter, but then scored 35 unanswered points on its way to a resounding 35-7 victory over the Naval Academy, Saturday afternoon, Oct. 6, at Falcon Stadium. The 28-point margin of victory is the largest for Air Force over its service academy rival since a 48-7 win in 2002.
Sophomore quarterback D.J. Hammond III made his first start in an Air Force (2-3, 0-2 MW) uniform and made the most of it, leading the offense to 399 yards of total offense. The Hampton, Ga. native totaled 142 yards passing, while adding 60 yards rushing, and accounted for four total touchdowns, one passing and three rushing.
Junior running back Joseph Saucier was the Falcons' leading rusher, totaling 62 yards on just three attempts, which included a 48-yard rushing touchdown. The leading receiver was senior Ronald Cleveland, as he made two receptions for 72 yards, which included a 61-yard TD reception.
Leading the defensive attack, which limited the Midshipmen (2-3, 1-1 AAC) to 178 yards of total offense, was senior linebacker Brody Bagnall, who had a team-best 13 tackles, including a tackle for loss. Junior defensive back Jeremy Fejedelem, had a solid overall effort, totaling nine stops, which included a sack, while sophomore defensive lineman Jordan Jackson was in the backfield all day, totaling seven stops, 3.5 of which were for a loss.
The first quarter was a field position battle, as both teams combined for just 52 total yards, trading punts back and forth. Air Force was pinned within its own five yard line twice, and the second time led to a short punt by the Falcons, setting up Navy at the AF 34 yard line near the end of the first quarter.
After gaining some solid yardage, Navy set up shop at the Air Force 11 to start the second quarter. Four plays later, on a fourth and one from the two yard line, Navy's QB scampered into the end zone for the game opening score, making it 7-0 early in the second.
On their first drive of the second half, Air Force opened the possession with its longest play of the day, a 19-yard rush. They went on to cross midfield, getting to the Navy 37, before the drive stalled, and a punt pinned the Midshipmen inside their own 15. Navy was then forced to punt deep within their own territory, but it was a good one, setting up Air Force at their own 35.
This time, the Falcons had a perfect play call, as Hammond found Cleveland for a short pass, and he had a wide open field, scooting 61 yards for the game tying score. About midway through the quarter, the game was deadlocked at 7-7 each.
Now with some momentum, Air Force stopped Navy's triple option attack on a three and out, giving AF the ball back quickly. They needed just two plays this time around to break the tie, as Saucier took a pitch on an option, and blew by the Navy defense for a 48-yard touchdown run to give Air Force its first lead of the game, 14-7.
From there, Navy had a clock melting drive that got them into field goal range, but a 57-yarder came up just short for Navy, keeping the 14-7 score as the game went to halftime.
Air Force's offense continued its momentum to begin the second half, as they rolled for a seven play, 75-yard drive to open the second stanza, capped off by a five yard rush from Hammond, to extend the Falcon lead to 21-7. The Blue and Silver defense continued to clamp down on the Navy offense, forcing two consecutive three and outs to give the ball back to Air Force with just over eight minutes to go in the third quarter.
The Falcon offense continued to click, as they embarked on another long drive after starting with the ball on their own 25. A long pass to junior wideout Geraud Sanders and a short rush quickly got Air Force to midfield. They then used the ground game to grind their way down to the Navy five, setting up first and goal. Three plays later, Hammond took it in on the ground himself for the second time, punching it in from one to extend the lead to 21, 28-7, as the game went into the fourth quarter.
Navy turned the ball over on downs at their own 41 to start the final quarter, and Air Force looked to add on to its sizeable advantage with the solid field position. They did just that, needing eight plays to go the 44 yards, as Hammond capped off the drive with his third rushing TD of the game. With just over ten minutes to go in the game, Air Force effectively put it out of reach with a 35-7 lead.
From there, both teams traded possessions, which both ended in fourth down stops, as the clock wound down on the dominating 28-point victory for the Falcons.
Air Force now hits the road again as it dips back into Mountain West play by heading west to take on San Diego State University, Friday, Oct. 12. Kickoff in California against the Aztecs is set for 7 p.m. MT.
Team Stats
NAVY
AF
Total Yards
178
399
Pass Yards
49
142
Rushing Yards
129
257
Penalty Yards
40
32
1st Downs
9
17
3rd Downs
2
5
4th Downs
1
1
TOP
27:03
32:57
2nd Quarter
NAVY 7, AF 0
NAVY - LEWIS, Garret 2 yd run (MOEHRING, B kick), 9 plays, 34 yards, TOP 5:41
NAVY 7, AF 7
AF - CLEVELAND, Rona 61 yd pass from HAMMOND III, DJ (KOEHNKE, Jake kick) 3 plays, 65 yards, TOP 0:47
NAVY 7, AF 14
AF - SAUCIER, Joseph 48 yd run (KOEHNKE, Jake kick), 2 plays, 63 yards, TOP 0:22
3rd Quarter
NAVY 7, AF 21
AF - HAMMOND III, DJ 5 yd run (KOEHNKE, Jake kick), 7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:01
NAVY 7, AF 28
AF - HAMMOND III, DJ 1 yd run (KOEHNKE, Jake kick), 14 plays, 75 yards, TOP 7:13
4th Quarter
NAVY 7, AF 35
AF - HAMMOND III, DJ 2 yd run (KOEHNKE, Jake kick), 8 plays, 44 yards, TOP 4:34
Game Leaders
CMP
6
TD
1
YDS
142
INT
0
Players Mentioned
ILB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
DB
/ Football
DT
/ Football
WR
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