Keenan Reynolds ties record with 77th rushing touchdown as Navy wins
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Version 0 of 1. Navy football Coach Ken Niumatalolo has trusted quarterback Keenan Reynolds to direct the triple-option offense for most of four years. In Saturday afternoon’s 29-17 win against South Florida, Reynolds assumed offensive coordinator duties as well, at least for one critical play. The result yielded another milestone in his record-setting career. Facing fourth and goal from the 1-yard line with the Midshipmen clinging to a five-point lead in the closing minutes, Reynolds convinced Niumatalolo to go for it. By lunging into the end zone moments later, Reynolds moved into a tie for most career rushing touchdowns in major college football history. The senior co-captain also ensured Navy would be bowl eligible for the 12th time in 13 years. “I’ll just tell you, the kid is smarter than I am,” Niumatalolo, the winningest coach in Navy history, said of Reynolds. “I mean, I was going to kick the field goal. Just everything in my coaching mind [was to] go up eight. Everything pointed toward that. Make them score a touchdown. Make them make a two-point play. They only can tie it. They can’t beat you. “He just said, ‘Coach, we can get this.’ I just trusted the kid.” [All the scores, stats and news from college football Saturday] In front of an announced crowd of 26,766 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Reynolds finished with 117 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries to keep the Midshipmen (6-1, 4-0) unbeaten in the American Athletic Conference West Division, setting up a showdown next week at 18th-ranked Memphis (7-0, 3-0) Despite leaving briefly in the fourth quarter to undergo concussion protocol, Reynolds was one of three Navy players to rush for 100 yards in the game, a first in program history. Fullback Chris Swain had 131 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries, and slot back Dishan Romine added a career-high 115 on six rushes. The Midshipmen amassed 428 rushing yards one week after Tulane limited them to 133. Reynolds had put the Midshipmen ahead to stay on another one-yard run with 6 minutes 58 seconds left. The touchdown produced a 22-17 advantage after Reynolds’s two-point conversion pass attempt intended for wide receiver Jamir Tillman got tipped and fell incomplete. Reynolds carried seven times for 56 yards on the 10-play, 80-yard drive. Navy got the ball at that stage thanks to Myer Krah stripping the ball from kick returner Rodney Adams following a 41-yard return. Krah recovered the fumble as well, making it the 14th consecutive game in which the Midshipmen have forced a turnover. Navy got the ball at the Bulls 42-yard line, and on the first snap of that series, Reynolds landed awkwardly on his head while being tackled. “I was pile-drived,” he said. With 6:26 to play, Reynolds walked to the sideline, where he underwent further examination. Junior backup Tago Smith took his place with the Midshipmen at the 39. Once Navy’s medical team determined there was no head trauma, Reynolds began lobbying to get back into the game. “It’s awesome,” defensive end Will Anthony, Reynolds’ roommate, said of the touchdown record. “I’m sure more people will probably come to the room for autographs and everything. It’s awesome just to be able to sit there with him every day and talk to him, and just to watch him out on the field. It’s a blessing on my part as well.” Anthony and the rest of the defense held up their end to keep Navy within reach after the Midshipmen fell behind on the opening kickoff. That’s when Adams ripped off a 97-yard touchdown return, the first Navy has allowed since 2009 and the first opening kickoff for a touchdown it has permitted since the 1996 Hula Bowl. The Bulls (4-4, 2-2) entered with the No. 14 rushing offense in the Football Bowl Subdivision, averaging 236 yards per game. They finished with a season-low 62 and only 270 yards of total offense to end a three-game winning streak. South Florida wound up running just 44 plays with a disparity in time of possession of nearly two to one. “It was all about getting ahead and putting the game out of reach,” Reynolds said of the record he shares with former Wisconsin running back Montee Ball. “I mean, it’s a big deal. Obviously very blessed, fortunate, but always deflect attention to teammates because I always say there’s 11 guys out there working.” |