There was no trickery involved, but Navy certainly pulled some surprises yesterday in beating Rutgers in Annapolis.
The Midshipmen came out passing in the second half to close what had been an eight-point deficit and finished a 23-21 victory with an interception by their much-maligned defense.
The win gave a record announced crowd of 37,821 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium - which for a while included Naval Academy graduate and Republican presidential candidate John McCain - much to celebrate.
A 24-yard field goal by Matt Harmon with 2:09 remaining put Navy (2-2) into the lead, and an interception by linebacker Ross Pospisil with 1:34 to go helped end a two-game losing streak.
"We've been ahead in the last two games, and we haven't finished," first-year Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said, referring to double-digit losses at Ball State and Duke. "I told the guys at halftime, it's the first time we've been down [at the half this season], but we're going to finish this time."
The Midshipmen did, but Rutgers, off to an 0-3 start for the first time since 1999, certainly complied. Navy carried the momentum of a fumble recovery in the Mids' end zone by safety Emmett Merchant right before halftime into the second half, then fooled Rutgers by going to the air on its first possession.
Quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada, who returned after missing the second half of last week's loss with heat exhaustion, hit three of four passes for 77 yards on an 82-yard drive that included a 41-yard connection to wide receiver Tyree Barnes on a third-and-seven and a 22-yard touchdown pass to Barnes.
"It got them off balance," Kaheaku-Enhada said. "They didn't know what to expect."
The passing softened up the Scarlet Knights, who were then pummeled by fullback Eric Kettani. Returning after missing nearly all of last week's game with a strained hip, Kettani rushed for a career-high 133 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries.
"We know what Eric can do. He's a tough kid," Niumatalolo said of Kettani, who didn't practice in full pads the week leading up to the game. "He's going to have some nicks and bruises tonight, but he really sucked it up in the second half. We challenged him. We said we needed the Eric of old."
Kettani, last season's leading rusher, carried the Midshipmen on a 94-yard drive, the longest for a Navy team in nearly four years. Kettani ripped off a 44-yard run and then finished the drive - after a fumble by freshman fullback Alex Teich was ruled to be caused by the ground - on a 2-yard dive.
