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Navy rolls over Franklin Pierce

RINDGE – Senior running back Brendon Clements rushed for 139 yards and three scores, and freshman quarterback Jon Saadey threw for 186 yards and three more touchdowns on Saturday afternoon, as Navy picked apart the Franklin Pierce University sprint football team at Sodexo Field, 54-13.

Junior quarterback Jose Melo threw for 174 yards and two touchdowns, but also threw three interceptions, in defeat for the Ravens in the Collegiate Sprint Football League contest.

Franklin Pierce fell to 1-1. Navy improved to 2-0.

After Navy went three-and-out on the game’s initial possession. On a fourth-and-seven play, Melo aired the ball out on the left side, and freshman wideout Alex Revere hauled in a 26-yard touchdown catch to open the scoring.

Navy scored the next 35 points, building to a 35-7 lead early in the second half. Two of the Midshipmen touchdown plays went for more than 20 yards during the 35-0 run. Navy tied the game at 7-7 after a 29-yard touchdown rush by Clements got the Midshipmen on the board. Later, facing third-and-11 from his own 48, Saadey hit freshman wide receiver JT Thompson, a Stratham resident, over the top of the secondary for a 52-yard score to balloon the lead to 21-7.

Franklin Pierce cut into the lead with another fourth-down score late in the third quarter. Melo hit Revere again, this time deep down the right side on fourth-and-18 for a 42-yard touchdown strike. Freshman kicker Max Ayotte (Milford) pulled the point-after to the left, leaving the score at 35-13.

It looked like the Ravens might be able to shift the trend of the game, as senior defensive lineman Jacques Elias (Amherst) fell on a fumbled snap at the Navy 34, two plays into the ensuing Navy drive. However, five plays later, on fourth-and-7 from the Navy 24, Melo was picked off on a throw over the middle. Navy senior defensive back Kendall Mackey found a seam on the return and took the ball all the way back the other way for a 92-yard interception return for a touchdown, which made it 41-13. The PAT was blocked.

Later, another interception returned for a touchdown, this one for 37 yards by sophomore linebacker Sheppard Wilson, provided the final score.

Zech led the Ravens on the ground, with just 38 yards on 13 carries (2.9 yards per carry). Freshman running back Ahzir Turner added 27 yards on six carries (4.5 yards per carry). Revere finished as the team’s leading receiver with five catches for 121 yards and two scores. Melo finished his day 10-for-31 for 174 yards, with two touchdowns and three interceptions.

Clements led the way for the Navy ground attack, piling up 139 yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries (6.3 yards per carry). Saadey — who took over for injured senior Nick Deterding after the first series — went 11-for-17 through the air for 186 yards, with three touchdowns and one interception, and also added 61 rushing yards on 14 carries (4.4 yards per carry). Three different Midshipmen caught touchdown passes, led by Thompson, who hauled in four receptions for 69 yards.

Defensively, senior defensive back Brandon Knight led the Ravens with 11 tackles (seven solo), and broke up a pass along the way. Junior defensive lineman Demitri Moreno added nine tackles (three solo), including half a sack. For Navy, Wilson led the way with nine tackles (seven solo), and added the 37-yard interception return for touchdown.

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