Sports Watch
THE option - including "The Stack" - is alive and well and can still win football games. Just ask the California Golden Bears. ‘The Stack’ bailed Navy
out of a jamThey were left almost defenseless as Navy racked up an Aloha Bowl-record 646 yards in total offense to score a wild, 42-38 victory yesterday at Aloha Stadium before a turnstile crowd of 30,411 sun-baked fans.
It was a fitting Christmas Day farewell for Navy offensive coordinator Paul Johnson and a bunch of Middie seniors who played key roles in the victory, including backup quarterback, Ben Fay, and Cory Schemm.
Johnson, who installed a similar offense at the University of Hawaii before taking it to Navy two years ago, couldn't think of a better aloha present. He'll take over as Georgia Southern's head coach next fall.
Actually, Johnson was already thinking about his new job moments after Navy rallied for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to pull out the exciting victory. He hoped that a lot of people saw the wide-open game on national television. "It should help recruiting," he said.
Johnson sprung the triple-stack formation on Cal with Fay taking over at quarterback for junior Chris McCoy with 10:45 left in the game and the Bears ahead, 38-28.
Fay directed touchdown drives of 80 and 84 yards, finishing both of them off with scoring runs.
"I think coach Johnson did that on purpose. He did it for the hometown fans here in Hawaii," kidded Navy assistant Ken Niumatalolo, the former Hawaii quarterback, who'll take over as Navy's offensive coordinator next season.
"We wanted to give them a different look," Johnson said. Different for Cal maybe, but not Rainbow fans who've seen the formation work successfully.
"It helped," Johnson admitted. "Anytime you change things up, it helps."
CAL coach Steve Mariucci thought so. He credited the "goofy formation" for turning the momentum into Navy's favor. "It was a nice plan and they got a couple of scores off of it."
Until that "little wrinkle," the Bears looked as though they had the game locked up after a first-half shoot-out that saw them ahead, 35-28.
Freshman Deltha O'Neal scored on a record 100-yard kickoff return - and that was just for openers. That gave the Bears a 6-0 lead before the fans could settle in their seats for the rest of a record-breaking afternoon.
After a missed field goal, Navy scored on four of its next five possessions. Stacked on the line to stop the run option, the Bears saw McCoy complete six passes for 220 yards in the first half alone.
Navy couldn't stop California, either. In the first half anyway. But led by senior linebacker Clint Bruce, the Middies limited the Bears to only a field goal in the second half.
"The biggest thing about this team is its heart," said Bruce, who had a game-high 12 tackles. And having it come down to what he feels Navy does best - play with heart - made the comeback victory all the sweeter, according to the native Texan, who'll be back next month to play in the Hooters Hula Bowl.
WHILE Bruce still has some football left, the same can't be said for Fay and Schemm. So they were happy with the way they went out.
"I couldn't ask for a better Christmas present. It will be a game I will never forget in my life," said Fay, Navy's co-captain with Bruce.
"I don't know of a better way to go out. It was just awesome," added Schemm, who set a pass-reception record with 194 yards. Two of his five catches were for 57 and 52 yards, both setting up touchdowns, including the game-winner by Fay with 1:41 left.
"I can't say enough about this offense," said Schemm. "When you're clicking on all cylinders, it's hard to stop."