Bill's Bowl Blog

Navy loses early lead, falls to Wake Forest 29-19

By Michael Hoffman

Military Times staff writer

WASHINGTON D.C. – Having already beaten Wake Forest once this year, it looked like Navy would waltz to an easy victory over the Demon Deacons in the inaugural EagleBank Bowl on Saturday at RFK Stadium after senior cornerback Rashawn King scooped up a fumble and sprinted into the end zone putting Navy ahead by 20 in the first half.

However, the touchdown, much like Navy’s lead, only proved temporary as Wake Forest, led by a perfect performance by quarterback Riley Skinner, rallied to beat Navy 29-19 as the Midshipmen finished the season 8-5.

King’s touchdown was called back after the referees reviewed the play and ruled Wake Forest fullback Mike Renfrette’s knee hit the turf before the ball squirted loose. It would have been King’s second touchdown of the afternoon in his first game back since his father, Drexel King, died suddenly two days before the Army-Navy game.

A Demon Deacon offense that has struggled all season and looked half asleep up to that point seemed to wake up once they got a second chance. Skinner and junior running back Kevin Harris, who ran for 136 yards, led Wake Forest on a 98-yard touchdown drive right before halftime cutting Navy’s lead to 13-7.

Up to that point, Navy had dominated every facet of the game.

“We wanted to jump on them early as we did last time,” said Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo whose team led Wake Forest 17-0 at half in the two team’s first game of the season in which Navy won 24-17.

But like the first game, Wake Forest owned the second half and Skinner, who threw four interceptions in the first game, finished this afternoon without an incompletion on 11 attempts for 166 yards and a touchdown.

He torched Navy’s defense by evading the rush and giving his receivers time to sneak behind Navy’s secondary for multiple long completions.

Navy defensive coordinator Buddy Green said he thought his defense had a coverage sack on the 44-yard pass Skinner had to wide receiver Chip Brinkman that set up a touchdown pass three plays later to tight end Ben Wooster in the fourth quarter, which put Wake Forest ahead to stay, 22-19.

“He did a good job of keeping the ball alive and scrambling. We had good coverage initially and I thought we had a sack, but then [Brinkman] comes all the way across the field. I give Skinner all the credit in the world,” Green said.

Before Wooster’s touchdown, Navy had wrestled back momentum and the lead after Navy quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada ran in a touchdown from two yards out on third and goal. It was Navy’s first drive after Wake Forest had taken their first lead, 14-13, in the third quarter. The senior quarterback and three-year starter, who finished the day with 85 yards rushing, willed the Midshipmen back when he scampered 35 yards on the drive’s first play.

However, it wasn’t enough.

A fumble by Kaheaku-Enhada on fourth down with 1:51 remaining and Navy trailing by three ended the Midshipmen’s comeback effort. Two plays later, Wake Forest fullback Rich Belton put the Demon Deacons up by ten with a 35-yard touchdown run. Navy fans started heading to RFK Stadium’s exits shortly after.

“We just let it slip out of our fingers,” King said.

Despite the loss, King’s teammates and coaches said how happy they were to see King score a touchdown with his mother sitting in the stands watching.

“When he scooped up that ball and scored I had to hold back tears. If he would have gotten the second one, oh my gracious,” said Green, who holds a special bond with King and his family since he recruited and coached him.

King, who sat out the Army-Navy game to be with his family in Raleigh, N.C., said he received no pressure from coaches to play in the bowl game, but he knew he would have the strength when his mother traveled to D.C. to see her son play.

Immediately after he scored, King found his mother in the stands where they made eye contact on his way back to the sideline after scoring Navy’s first touchdown of the afternoon.

King makes up a senior class Niumatalolo described as “special” as it’s the third group of Navy seniors who have played in bowl games all four of their years at the Naval Academy.

Standing outside his team’s locker room shaking hands with his players as they walked out to the team bus, Niumatalolo reflected on those seniors and his first year as Navy’s head coach following Paul Johnson who left to coach at Georgia Tech.

“I knew If we just continued to do what we were doing we’d be okay and hopefully be successful so there could be some pride” in the football team throughout the Navy, Niumatalolo said.

Next year he said he is confident Navy’s football program will remain successful despite losing most of its offense to graduation including Kaheaku-Enhada, fullback Eric Kettani and slotback Shun White. However, backup quarterback Ricky Dobbs, who showed the potential to be Navy’s next star during games against Temple and Notre Dame, returns next year as a junior.

“We got some younger guys that can play,” Niumatalolo said. “I feel good about the guys that are coming up.”

Fighting back tears, he said this game didn’t change how he felt about those seniors and how it hurt to watch them take off their pads for the last time before pursuing careers in the Navy or Marine Corps.

“It’s pretty emotional because there is a finality to it,” he said. “Every year after a bowl game it’s pretty emotional in the locker room…We know they’ll be in harm’s way.”