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Deacs can't stop Navy
Midshipmen beat WFU without a pass
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Published: October 25, 2009
ANNAPOLIS, Md.
Stumbling Wake Forest played through a hard rain to an even harder loss in yesterday's 13-10 setback to Navy at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
Fullback Vince Murray barreled for 175 yards on 27 carries and quarterback Kriss Proctor contributed 89 yards on 23 rushes as the Midshipmen (6-2) never trailed .
Proctor, filling in for injured starter Ricky Dobbs, didn't throw a pass, and didn't have to, for Navy to beat Wake Forest for the second time in three games during the past 12 months.
"We did have a few pass plays called," Proctor said. "I couldn't get a grip on the ball, so I just ran it."
Making the defeat all the more frustrating for the Deacons was their inability to ride the record-setting right arm of quarterback Riley Skinner to yet another comeback victory. They set the stage in the fourth quarter by driving 76 yards on nine plays to slice the lead to 13-10, then regained possession at their 20 with 3:56 remaining.
"It looked like a pretty good Skinner setup," Coach Jim Grobe said.
Instead the drive died in the downpour, dooming the Deacons to their second straight loss, which left them 4-4 with games against Miami, Georgia Tech, Florida State and Duke remaining. A first-down pass slipped through the hands of Marshall Williams, right tackle Jeff Griffin was called for holding on second down, and Skinner failed to connect on successive passes to Jordan Williams and Cameron Ford.
Grobe opted to punt on fourth-and-20 from the Wake Forest 24 with 2:46 remaining, and Navy capitalized on an off-sides penalty against defensive tackle John Russell to salt away the game on Murray's 46-yard run to the Deacons' 6.
"I jumped, but I didn't touch anybody," Russell said. "I was trying to tell the ref I was a good four or five inches from touching anybody. I think they were arguing between them. I think a few of them said they didn't see contact. But the call stood and it was just a bonehead play on my part and we've just got to get better."
For Skinner, the problem with the storybook finish is that not all books have happy endings. He completed 13 of 25 passes for 173 yards and Josh Adams carried 18 times for 89 yards, but the Deacons couldn't overcome their seven penalties for 57 yards.
Wake Forest was whistled for three holding penalties, all in the second half.
"It's a position we've been in a lot," Skinner said. "We had enough time, plenty of time. Unfortunately, we shouldn't have been in that spot in the first place. We can't wait all these games to come back in the last two or three minutes because it makes it tough. You get one penalty, one dropped pass, they're just magnified.
"Unfortunately, we got ourselves in a bind with the first-and -20, and they were able to change their coverage and play guys so far back you couldn't get behind them. And we just didn't make enough plays throughout the whole game to put us in position to win."
The teams traded field goals in the first 20 minutes, when Joe Buckley kicked a 50-yarder for a 3-0 Navy lead and Jimmy Newsome answered with a 40-yarder. The Deacons had to settle for their field goal after two straight dives by fullback Mike Rinfrette failed to gain the two yards needed for a first down.
Buckley's 41-yard field goal with 7½ minutes left in the second quarter put the Midshipmen ahead for good at 6-3.
Navy dominated the third quarter, driving 73 yards to score on Proctor's 40-yard run and then consuming 5½ minutes on a 65-yard drive that ended when Proctor fumbled at the Wake Forest 2. Linebacker Matt Woodlief knocked the ball loose, and Dominique Midgett recovered.
The Deacons gave themselves a chance by driving 76 yards on nine plays to pull to 13-10 with 7:41 to play. Skinner threw six passes, completing four for 53 yards -- including a 15-yard strike to Devon Brown in the right corner of the end zone.
But as good as Skinner has been in his 46 college games, he's not perfect. On a rainy fall day at Navy, he pretty much needed to be for the Deacons to avoid another loss to the Midshipmen.
"It's tough to take losing to this team two years in a row," Skinner said. "We've got to put it behind us, though, as fast as we can and get over it and come out Monday and get ready for Miami."
dcollins@wsjournal.com
727-7323
Wake Forest 0 3 0 7 -- 10
Navy 3 3 7 0 -- 13
First Quarter
Navy--FG Buckley 50, 2:52.
Second Quarter
Wake Forest--FG Newman 40, 13:45.
Navy--FG Buckley 41, 7:26.
Third Quarter
Navy--Proctor 40 run (Buckley kick), 11:23.
Fourth Quarter
Wake Forest--Brown 15 pass from Skinner (Newman kick), 7:41.
A--31,907.
TEAM STATISTICS
WFU Navy
First downs 18 16
Rushes-yards 35-135 64-338
Passing 173 0
Comp-Att-Int 13-25-0 0-0-0
Return Yards 13 13
Punts-Avg. 6-33.8 4-48.5
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 1-1
Penalties-Yards 7-57 4-39
Time of Possession 25:59 34:01
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Wake Forest, Adams 18-89, Pendergrass 5-27, Skinner 8-17, Rinfrette 3-2, Ma.Williams 1-0. Navy, Murray 27-175, Proctor 23-89, Teich 2-35, Greene 4-20, Doyle 3-12, Finnerty 1-9, Byrd 1-2, Team 3-(minus 4).
PASSING--Wake Forest, Skinner 13-25-0-173. Navy.
RECEIVING--Wake Forest, Brown 3-47, Ford 2-29, Ma.Williams 2-29, J.Williams 2-23, Adams 2-17, Bohanon 1-19, Pendergrass 1-9. Navy.
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