Sept. 29, 2011

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Navy will play its first of two home games this season on Friday when it welcomes Post to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 4:30 p.m.

Admission is free for all Navy sprint football games, but fans are reminded that there is a $5 charge to park at the stadium (enter through Gate 5 on Taylor Ave.).

Brendan West Podcast | Matt Williams Podcast

First-and-10
• Friday's game will be the first for the Mids at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium since it defeated Salisbury JV, 21-13, on Sept. 13, 2009.

• Friday marks the inaugural game between Navy and Post as the Eagles joined the CSFL this season.

• Through two games, Navy has out-rushed opponents by a margin of 653-35...Navy averaged 197.3 yards per game on the ground in 2010 and is averaging 326.5 so far this season.

• Sophomore running back David Williams was named CSFL Offensive Player of the Week after rushing for 219 yards on 24 carries in the win over Penn...He was the first Mid to earn the league's weekly honor since Tyler Terronez on Nov. 3 last season.

• Defensive back Brendan West earned CSFL Special Teams Player of the Week as he returned a punt 48 yards for a touchdown in last week's win... West's touchdown marked the second consecutive week the Mids scored on a punt as David Williams blocked a punt for a touchdown against Army.

• Navy is 7-of-8 in the red zone this season and has scored touchdowns on six of its trips inside the 20-yard line.

• Linebackers Will Parker and Matt Piotrowicz lead Navy in tackles as both have 12 on the season...Defensive lineman Julian Jerzerick leads Navy in tackles for loss with three (11 yards).

• In his first season as quarterback, senior Erik Erlandson is 15-of-26 (57.7%) for 184 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

• Navy posted a total of 16 rushing touchdowns last season - through just two games this season the Mids have a total of nine...David Williams and Marty Meehan lead the team in rushing touchdowns with four apiece.

• Navy has held opponents to 9-of-40 (22%) on third downs this season, while the Mids have gone 14-of-31 (45%)...In its first game of the season, Post converted on 43% of its third downs.

No Room to Run
The Navy run defense hasn't given much ground to opponents this season as it has allowed a total of just 35 yards through two games. Opponents are averaging just 0.6 yards per carry.

Through two games last season, Navy's defense had allowed just 79 rushing yards as it went on to league the league in defense, yielding an average of just 184 total yards per game.

A Force on the Ground
Through just two games sophomore David Williams has racked up a total of 361 rushing yards on 47 carries - 66 yards more than Navy's leading rusher, Jordan Foley, had in all of 2010.

Williams is averaging 7.7 yards per carry and is tied with senior Mary Meehan for the league lead in rushing touchdowns with four.

After his 219-yard and four-touchdown performance last weekend, Williams earned his first-career CSFL Offensive Player of the Week honor.

Quoting the Coach
Coach Maury's take on this week's matchup with Post...

"We're anxious to square off against Post. They run similar offensive and defensive schemes as we do and I was impressed with their persistence in their victory over Cornell last week. Having never faced them, we prepped with the limited information we have. On film they look good and have strong, athletic guys, but so do we.

"After giving up a lot of yards on week one, our defense came back with an attitude against Penn and are looking to be as stingy against the rest of the league. As with every week it's going to come down to who can execute and I'm confident that we're ready."

Listen to Coach Maury and offensive coordinator Tyler Terronez on the WNAV Navy Insider Show

STAT LEADERS
Navy (through two games)
Rushing - David Williams (47 carries, 361 yards, 7.7 avg., 4 TD)
Passing - Erik Erlandson (15 of 26, 184 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT)
Receiving - Drew Presnell (8 catches, 67 yards, 8.4 avg., 1 TD)
Tackles - Matt Piotrowicz (12 tackles, 7 solos, 5 assists)

Post (through one game)
Rushing - Rashawn Hendricks (16 carries, 56 yards, 3.5 avg.)
Passing - Erich Broadrick (14 of 24, 134 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT)
Receiving - Daniel Awwad (6 catches, 60 yards, 10.0 avg.)
Tackles - Matt Santos (7 tackles, 6 solo, 2 assists, 3.5 TFL)

Something Special
Sophomore defensive back Brendan West gave the Mids their second touchdown on a punt this season when he returned an unblocked punt 48 yards for touchdown in last Friday's win over Penn.

David Williams had Navy's first punt return for a touchdown this season when he blocked and Army punt and returned it six yards for a score. This season marks the first time since 2002 that Navy has returned two punts for touchdowns.

All-League Returners
Navy returns 13 of its 26 All-CSFL honorees from last season. Offensively, Navy brings back linemen Sean Fergerson (first team) and Matt Williams (first team), receiver Jordan Foley (second team), running backs D.J. Hooper (honorable mention) and David Williams (honorable mention) and former wide receiver - now quarterback - Erik Erlandson (honorable mention).

On the defensive side of the ball, defensive backs Zzmarr Stone (first team), Vince DeBenedetti (honorable mention) and Brendan West (honorable mention), linebacker Will Parker (honorable mention) and defensive end Julian Jerzerick (honorable mention) all return.

Kicker Adrian Montecinos (second team) and punter Mike DeLong (second team) are also back.

Last Time Out: Navy 56, Penn 0
The Midshipmen outgained the Quakers, 462-19, in total offense as they improved to 2-0 and 1-0 in CSFL play. Navy rushed for a total of 403 yards in the win, the most yards on the ground by the Mids since Oct. 16, 2009 when they put up 494 in a 42-0 win over Princeton.

David Williams paced the Navy ground game as he established a new career high with 219 yards on 24 carries.

Foley Sets Punt Return Mark
With a career total of 602 punt-return yards, senior Jordan Foley is Navy's all-time leader in the category. Last season, Foley also set the single-season mark for kick return yards with 259 and currently has a career total of 371.

Trevor Garabedian-Prophet (2002-05) holds the Navy kick-return yardage record with 657.

Up Next
The Mids will hit the road to take on Mansfield next Saturday, Oct. 8 at 1 p.m.