The Rice Thresher, Vol. 93, No. 10, Ed. 1 Friday, October 28, 2005 Page: 11 of 16
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THE RICE THRESHER SPORTS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28,2005
11
Rice loses to Midshipmen in battle of option offenses
Turnovers, poor defense doom Owls to Division I-leading 12th consecutive loss, dating back to October 2004
by Adam Tabakin
'IHRKSHKR STAFF
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The football team's disappointing
' season continued Saturday with a
41-9 loss to the United States Naval
Academy at Rice Stadium.
Rice (0-6, 0-3 Conference USA)
started six freshmen on offense, in-
cludingquarterback Chase Clement,
who made his first collegiate start.
The inexperience showed as the
Owls failed to reach double digits in
points for the first time since 2003,
when they lost to Navy 38-6.
'In the first half, I think
we held them great.
[But] we were just on
the field way too much
as defense.'
— Adam Herrin
Senior linebacker
"I was a little bit [nervous], but
... I've played against UCIA and
Texas and ... great competition in
Conference USA [this season], so
it was just another football game,"
Clement said.
Sophomore quarterback Joel
Armstrong injured his shoulder
Oct. 15 against Tulsa and played
only sparingly against Navy.
The Midshipmen struck first
midway through the first quarter on
a 31-yard touchdown run by fullback
Matt Hall, who had 91 yards on just 6
carries. After a Navy field goal, Rice
got on the board with 1:15 remaining
in the first half on a 53-yard field
goal when sophomore kicker Luke
Juist's first attempt of the season
hit the crossbar before bouncing
through the uprights. Juist's field
goal was the fourth-longest in Rice
history. The attempt was Juist's first
on the season.
"It was a great feeling," Juist
said. "It felt great [to get] another
opportunity and be able to pull
through and give the team some
points. You could tell by the way
the team reacted (that J it definitely
gave them a little more spirit, and
that was what we needed."
The momentum was short-lived,
however. Juist's ensuing kickoff
sailed out of bounds, giving Navy
good field position at its own 35-
yard-line and plenty of time to tack
on another field goal before the half
to make the score 13-3. The 13 first-
half points were the fewest Rice has
allowed this season.
"We came out [with] a good
game plan," senior linebacker Adam
Herrin said. "In the first half, I think
we held them great. [But] we were
just out on the field way too much
as a defense."
Navy stormed out of the half
with a 52-yard kickoff return and
found the end zone 40 seconds
into the third quarter. Armstrong
fumbled on the Owls' next drive,
and the Midshipmen scored another
touchdown with 13:17 left in the
third quarter.
'The first five minutes of the
second half usually determine the
outcome of what's happening, and
they stuck it rightdown ourthroats,"
head coach Ken Hatfield said.
The 27-3 deficit proved too much
to overcome. Rice was able to mus-
ter only one more score, a 15-yard
touchdown pass from Clement to
freshman receiver Jarrett Dillard
that completed a 13-play drive late
in the third quarter.
Junior running back Quinton
Smith turned in another stellar per-
formance, rushing for 124 yards on
19 carries to bring his season total
to a team-leading 443 yards. His 6.5
yards-per-carry average is second
in C-USA, trailing only NCAA Di-
vision-I rushing leader DeAngelo
Williams of Memphis.
7Mental mistakes] are
things a good team just
can }t do, and we 're
obviously not very good
right now — that's a
reflection of me and the
coaching.'
- Ken Hatfield
Head football coach
"[Smith] can makea lot of things
happen," Hatfield said. "He can
make a lot of extra yardage after
he's hit, and it's really good to see
him stay on the field."
The Owls' 105 penalty yards on
11 penalties were their most ever
in 12 seasons under Hatfield.
Hatfield said he bears some
responsibility for the penalties.
"[Mental mistakes] are things a
good team just can't do, and we're
obviously not very good right now
— that's a reflection of me and
the coaching," Hatfield said. "We
Do you or someone you know suffer
from depression or mood swings?
Baylor College of Medicine is studying new
treatments for Depression and Bipolar Disorder.
All visits are CONFIDENTIAL and there is
NO COST to participate.
MATT CRNKOVICH/THRESHER
Junior defensive back and return specialist Andray Downs looks for running room in the Owls 41-9 loss to Navy Saturday
at Rice Stadium. Rice will host UTEP Saturday at 5 p.m.
played hard, [but] I don't think we
played well. I think there's a big
difference [between] playing hard
and playing well."
With so many underclassmen
seeing playing time for the Owls,
Hatfield said the team's growing
pains are inevitable.
"Adam [Herrin] and [defensive
end] John Syptak are the only two
seniors playing for us now," Hatfield
said. "Everybody else is young,
everybody else is trying to learn
how to play [and] how to win, and
they're playing a lot. When a lot
of freshmen are playing for you,
you're always going to have some
problems."
Responsibility Matters-
ANHEUSER-BUSCH. INC
€Wm UxA MO
■
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Obermeyer, Amber. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 93, No. 10, Ed. 1 Friday, October 28, 2005, newspaper, October 28, 2005; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443098/m1/11/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.