Published: September 06, 2008 08:00 pm      

Navarro defense steps up to beat Georgia Military

It was only fitting that safeties served as bookends of No. 6-ranked Navarro’s 25-13 win over No. 5 Georgia Military on Saturday at Tiger Stadium.

Navarro’s defense rose for the second week in a row to strike down an opponent, following eight sacks in its opener last week with nine against Georgia Military.

The defense was so dominant on Saturday that it outscored Georgia Military all by itself, returning two of its five interceptions for touchdowns and starting the game with a safety and ending it in the waning moments with another.

“Our defense was outstanding today,” said Navarro head coach Nick Bobeck. “We’ve got a bunch of guys who are really talented on that side of the ball and when they play like they did today, we’re going to win most of the time.”

Navarro is now 2-0 and will likely move up at least a notch in the upcoming JCFootball.com/NJCAA Football Poll as it enters its lone bye week of the season. Navarro returns to the field Sept. 20 against defending conference champion Kilgore at home.

That week off will allow for a little sharpening on offense. The Bulldogs had more than 200 yards at the half, but had a meager 54 yards in the final two stanzas.

“We’ve got a bunch of guys not executing on offense,” said Bobeck, who doubles as the offensive coordinator. “We were executing in the first half and then got away from doing things the way we are taught we stalled a little bit.

“This is the only time this year we will play a team with a 3-3 stack defense when guys are coming from all different angles. The rest of the time it’s four-man fronts. We’re going to learn from this game and get better from here.”

Navarro’s defense set up the Bulldogs first score when Korey Smith intercepted a pass near midfield. Quarterback Andre Bevil lifted a 33-yard pass to Robert Toney between the safeties to reach the GMC 23. Two plays later, Vetric Sam rambled in from 12 yards, lifting Navarro to a 9-0 lead in the final minute of the first period. Sam finished with 78 yards on 13 carries and fellow back Derrick Hall added 66 on nine tries.

Then it was the defense’s turn to attack the end zone. Georgia Military backup quarterback Dallas Walker attempted a middle screen under heavy pressure. He fired a bullet straight into the chest of linebacker Jonathon Thomas, who stepped into the end zone untouched, extending the lead to 16-0.

“That was all instinct,” Thomas said. “It was kind of a shock, but once I knew I had it, all I saw was end zone.”

It did not take long for the defense to be finding paydirt again. This time freshman cornerback Anthony Brown read Fiegler’s attempted sideline throw and sprinted 46 yards for a 23-0 lead.

Georgia Military (1-1) finally had a little offensive success on the ensuing series after an 80-yard kickoff return. Fiegler, who would eventually leave the game in the third period with a knee injury, scored on a 7-yard run, cutting Navarro’s lead to 23-6 with 3:17 to go in the half.

Navarro’s offense was like a sputtering engine all day, ripping off huge runs and then failing to convert third-down situations consistently. That was aptly apparent to open the third period when Sam had a 25-yard run on a drive that reached the GMC 6. But a sack on third down forced the Bulldogs to attempt a 33-yard field goal that Gabriel Elizando missed wide left.

After that series, Navarro had only one more first down, that coming on a Sam 27-yard run.

“We got a little flat on offense when we didn’t score to begin the second half,” Bobeck said. “Thank goodness the defense got after Georgia Military.”

Navarro’s defense, which held GMC to minus-25 yards on 33 carries, snuffed out potential score midway in the third period when safety Trevor Drayton intercepted a pass in the end zone.

Georgia Military did reel off an 18-play, 94-yard drive to cut the deficit to 10 three minutes deep into the fourth period. But that triggered an avalanche of eight sacks in the final minutes. Georgia Military was forced to pass and Navarro was eager for opportunity to harass Walker.

In final 10 minutes of the game, Navarro came at Walker from all sides, sacking him eight times for minus-62 yards, including one by linebacker Brandon Joiner.

Linebackers Brad Graham, Cordell Riggins and Thomas joined defensive ends Devin McDonald and Darby Jackson all had sacks in the fourth period.

“We knew (Georgia Military) would come into this game with a chip on its shoulder because we beat them (in the Pilgrim’s Pride Bowl) to end last season,” Thomas said. “But once we got that feeling going in the first half, the defense was really rolling. Once you get that feeling, you don’t want to let go.”

Georgia Military knows what it feels like, too.



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Navarro 25

Georgia Military 13



Georgia Military 0 6 0 7 — 13

Navarro 2 21 0 2 — 25



First quarter

N – Safety, fumble into end zone

Second quarter

N – Vetric Sam 12 run (Gabriel Elizando kick)

N – Jonathon Thomas 13 interception return (Elizando kick)

N – Anthony Brown 46 interception return (Elizando kick)

GMC—Joei Fiegler 6 run (pass failed)

Fourth quarter

GMC – Steven Robinson 17 pass from Dallas Walker (Michael Donavan kick)

N – Safety, Dallas Walker tackled in end zone

GMC N

First downs 17 14

Rushes-yards 33-(-25) 44-174

Passing yards 258 82

Passing 21-42-5 5-11-0

Total yards 233 256

Total punting 4-42 7-32

Penalties-yds. 6-37 7-82

Fumbles-lost 3-0 3-1



Individual

Rushing -- GMC: Joei Fiegler 4- (-21), Steven Robinson 10-21, Green Franklin 5-11, Brandon Nolley 4-29, Dallas Walker 10(-65). N: Vetric Sam 13-78, Andre Bevil 12-8, Derrick Hall 9-66, William Powell 7-9, Kevin Diles 1-13, Milton Howell 2-0.

Passing -- GMC: Joei Fiegler 14-27-3-162; Dallas Walker 7-15-2-96. N: Andre Bevil 5-11-0, 82 yards;

Receiving -- GMC: Chleb Ravenell 4-55, Brandon Nolley 3-27, Willie Gibson 1-15, Steven Robinson 3-33, Jerry Gross 6-75, Green Franklin 3-31, Brandon Carter 1-22. N: Kevin Diles 1-36, Vetric Sam 1-0, Rodney Bradley 1-12, Robert Toney 3-37.