The ground attack by Navy was too much for the Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee to handle. The Midshipmen rushed for 366-yards total to win 24-6 in the 2013 Armed Forces Bowl.
Navy sophomore quarterback Keenan Reynolds only threw the ball a total of seven times, but did run for 86 yards and two touchdowns tying an Armed Forces Bowl record. He was also named Navy MVP for the game. "It's great to be champions of the bowl game", says Reynolds. "This is a tribute to everyone on the team."
Marcus Thomas gave the Midshipmen great field position returning kickoffs, 98-yards total on three returns.
The game was more of a battle than the score would indicate as three players, two from MTSU, were ejected in the game for personal foul violations. Coach Rick Stockstill commented on the his team's physical play:
"I thought the one on the interception when we got the one out there on Darius, you know, the late hit out of bounds, it looked like he tripped. That stuff happens. The one late there when they stuck the ball out there and we knocked that out of the hand, we shouldn't have done it. But I'm not going to back down one bit. We came out there and we had something to prove. I thought our defense was very, very physical and tough, and I loved how they played."
The Middle Tennessee offense could never get anything going in the second half. All six of their points came in the first half. Senior quarterback Logan Kilgore was 19-33 for 218-yards and two interceptions. His main target Kyle Griswould, also a senior, had his career high with nine catches for 106-yards. "Looking back I couldn't be more proud to be the quarterback the past four years", commented Kilgore. "We've come back these last two seasons, back-to-back eight-win seasons, and I just think that we're making this a habit."
Sophomore linebacker T.T. Barber was named MTSU MVP after recorded a bowl record 2 fumbles and 14 solo tackles.
"It's good to go out on a winning note and beat a fine Middle Tennessee team", says Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo. "I could not be prouder of these guys. It was a super win and a super year for us. We had a good defensive scheme and carried out our assignments. That was the key to stopping them. We really battled the entire game."
Navy finishes their 8-4 season with a bowl win over a good MTSU team.
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