Navy Routs Fordham, loses Smith to injury.
Annapolis, Maryland
Story By Deborah Leung
Photo’s By Benjamin Rogers, Jr
Navy pulled a quarterback out of the stands on Saturday, finding an unlikely replacement for injured starter Tago Smith in a victory over Fordham in the season opener.
Freshman Malcolm Perry was told to suit up and take over after Smith was lost to a knee injury early in the second quarter. Perry, who started the junior varsity game on Friday, put together a 90-yard-drive in the fourth quarter that led to a 23-yard field goal.
The Midshipmen were playing their first game without record-setting quarterback Keenan Reynolds, who rushed for 88 touchdowns as a four-year starter. After serving for three years as Reynolds’ backup, Smith ran Navy’s triple-option offense flawlessly until he was injured on a 22-yard run with 14:17 left in the half.
In just over one quarter of work, Smith rushed for 97 yards on 10 carries with a pair of TDs. Senior Will Worth entered and was also effective, scoring on a 7-yard run that gave the Midshipmen a 28-10 lead. He also threw a 57-yard touchdown pass to Toneo Gulley.
Junior fullback Chris High had 176 yards on 10 carries with two touchdowns, including a 70-yard scamper, in his first career start for Navy. It was the most rushing yards by a Navy fullback since 2010.
