ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Saturday afternoon the football team proved it's no longer a joke--at least not to Navy.
In the second and third quarters the Blue Devils (2-3) put 40 straight points on the embarrassed Midshipmen (1-3) in front of a homecoming crowd of 31,647 in Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium en route to a 43-17 victory.
On the first play of the second quarter Navy, holding a 7-3 lead, ran the ball to Duke's 6 yard line. Next, Eric Roberts tried to get around the outside on an option right. Defensive end Micah Harris broke into the backfield, however, and stopped Roberts for a four-yard setback. On the following play, Ryan Fowler stepped into a gap and downed quarterback Craig Candeto for a loss on a draw play. Navy was forced to kick a field goal.
"From that point on, it wasn't very pretty," said Navy head coach Paul Johnson.
But beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and to Duke fans, the following drive certainly looked pretty.
In 12 plays, the Blue Devils marched 80 yards, with a number of big runs from Alex Wade and a culminating third-and-long touchdown pass from the no-longer-invisible hand of Adam Smith , who completed 11-of-17 passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns, to tight end Calen Powell in the back of the endzone.
After the defense, which had adjusted to and become comfortable with Navy's triple option attack by the second quarter, held Navy, the offense began from its own 19. Two Wade rushes later, Senterrio Landrum came in motion from the slot and took the handoff from Smith, as he and other slot receivers have done numerous times��with mixed results throughout Franks' tenure at Duke��and faked even more frequently.
This time, the Navy defense was fooled by Wade diving into the gap, and when Khary Sharpe delivered a key block to seal in the corner, Landrum was sprung for a 69-yard touchdown.
"There is not a perfect defense and there's not a perfect offensive play," Duke head coach Carl Franks said. "You've just got to try to have the right play on when they're playing a certain defense, and we just happened to have it on."
After bobbling the ensuing kickoff, Roberts was stripped by Duke's Anthony Roberts and Duke seemed poised for yet another touchdown. On the Blue Devil's first play from scrimmage, however, Eddie Carthan came unblocked from the strong side and sacked Smith, jarring the ball loose in the process. Navy recovered and then drove to midfield, where Duke applied the brakes. John Skaggs bounced the ball out of bounds on Duke's one-yard line with a perfect punt.
Duke took over with 1:52 remaining in the half. After two unsuccessful runs--and two Navy timeout--Duke faced third-and-nine from its own two-yard line with 1:34 remaining. Navy could smell the chance for the punt block, or at least a field goal resulting from good field position. But instead, Smith found Landrum, who got out of bounds at the 13. Two Wade runs and passes to Landrum and Powell brought Duke to the Navy 45, where the Blue Devils called a timeout with :26 remaining.
On the next play, Smith dropped back and hung a long pass out. Sharpe, running a post pattern, burst past the double coverage and caught the ball in stride at the five, before running in for the touchdown.
"Pretty much a back breaker, I would say," Johnson said. "Instead of having a chance to go up 17-15 or be down 15-13, it's 22-10."
Navy attempted a surprise onside kick to open the second half, but the ball bounced harmlessly out of bounds after the Midshipmen overran it. Quarterback Chris Dapolito, who started the second half for the Blue Devils, scrambled for 29 yards and then lofted a pass into the corner of the endzone, where Reggie Love outleaped a Navy defender to put Duke up 29-10.
As the crowd thinned, the "Go Navy" painted on the seatbacks in the upper-deck became increasingly visible, yet the Midshipmen continued to struggle.
Navy's next possession ended when Alex Green hit Kyle Eckel just as he caught a pitch from Candeto. Eckel fumbled and Orrin Thompson recovered for Duke on the Navy 23. Five plays later, Wade stomped seven yards up the middle for his first touchdown of the season. After another Navy fumble, Wade, who registered his fourth 100-yard rushing performance of the season with 124 yards on 21 carries, plunged across the goaline for his second touchdown.
Navy would answer with a touchdown drive orchestrated by backup quarterback Aaron Polanco, but the Blue Devils had already cemented the victory.
Duke gained 479 net yards while holding Navy to 349 and just 208 in the game's latter three quarters.
Navy opened the scoring with a Candeto three-yard keeper on the option and the Blue Devils responded with a 50-yard field goal by Brent Garber.
"It's testament to their character for them to be able to come back and put so many points on the board after being down," Franks said.
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