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Navy's seniors, including Newsome High alum Will Worth, look to continue embossing their football legacy

 
Published Nov. 12, 2016

After Navy's final football game last season, the record-settling group of graduating seniors spoke to fellow players in the locker room about continuing the high standard they had set. Those accomplishments included tying a school record for wins by a senior class (36) and setting a program record for victories in a season (11).

This year's seniors — among them quarterback Will Worth, a graduate of Newsome High — embraced that challenge, with aspirations of achieving perhaps more. Entering the Midshipmen's final regular season game at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on Saturday, the Class of 2017 is within one victory of matching its predecessor for most wins over four years. Also at stake against Tulsa is first place in the American Athletic Conference West Division. The teams enter in a tie for first with 4-1 conference records.

"Just really proud of them because you had a group last year, that senior class accomplished things that never had been done before at the Naval Academy, and this senior class wasn't given much respect," coach Ken Niumatalolo said of his 31 seniors. "They kind of lived in the shadows of the seniors last year. Just overall they've represented our culture well.

"They've gained, I think, some respect, but it wasn't given to them. They had to earn it."

They've weathered adverse circumstances along the way. In the opener, senior starting quarterback Tago Smith tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, ending his college football career. Worth, who'd spent the past three seasons on the third string behind Keenan Reynolds and Smith, took over.

Navy struggled to move the ball for four games, but it seems to have found its stride. In the past two games, Worth set a Navy record for total yards of offense (428) during a 52-45 loss to USF and most recently ran for 175 yards and two touchdowns in a 28-27 win against Notre Dame.

"After last season, we had a really great year, and our season didn't start off too well," Worth said. "Just the entire group, they buckled down and kept grinding every single day. That showed the resiliency, and it's come to pay off this year so far."

The defense, meantime, has held up for the most part despite a season-ending foot injury to senior linebacker Daniel Gonzales, the leading tackler for Navy, during a 28-14 loss to Air Force on Oct. 1. The following week, the Midshipmen intercepted two passes from Houston's heralded Greg Ward Jr. in an upset of the then-No. 2 Cougars in Annapolis.

That victory in part helped put the Midshipmen (6-2) in contention to claim the AAC West title outright for the first time. Last season, Navy lost to Houston in the final regular-season game, and both teams finished with identical conference records in the West. The Cougars advanced to the AAC Championship Game by virtue of the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Navy's seniors are guaranteed at least five more games this season, culminating for now with the Armed Forces Bowl on Dec. 23. The Midshipmen also remain in the hunt for a Cotton Bowl berth should they finish as the highest-ranked conference champion outside of the Power Five leagues.

"It's been nostalgic because we've been together for four years now," senior defensive end Amos Mason said. "It's come really fast. Us being able to have a chance to defeat Tulsa and play in the AAC championship and the fact that we beat Notre Dame, we're doing something many other teams never had a chance to do or didn't do."