Ravens are blown out by Navy 54-13

By Whitney Dowds ’16

Ravens quarterback Jose Melo threw for 174 yards, two touchdowns, and threw three interceptions. Navy took advantage as they scored 26 points off of turnovers in route to a 54-13 victory on Saturday, September 24 at Sodexo Field.

“We need to tackle better on defense and we need to improve in our passing game on offense,” said head coach Peter Ewald.  “We are young at the wide receiver position and inexperienced at the quarterback position but need to improve quickly at these positions.”

The Ravens were outscored 47-6 after the first quarter and allowed Navy to rush for 246 yards, including allowing senior running back Brendon Clements to run for 139 yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback Jon Saadey of Navy passed for 186 yards and three more touchdowns. Navy’s defense also returned two interceptions for touchdowns while holding the Ravens running game to 95 yards.

“We were behind by 4 scores in the third quarter,” said Ewald. “You’re not going to get back in the game by running the football, it is time consuming, and that had a lot to do with us not running for more yardage.”

Ravens freshman receiver Alex Revere finished the day with five catches for 121 yards and two touchdowns, which accounted for both of the Ravens touchdowns. Navy also had the advantage with first downs as they had 21 and the Ravens had 16.

“Alex has made huge improvements from day one and has done a great job learning our offense,” said tight end and wide receiver Alex Powell. “He is an explosive player and delivered a solid performance last Saturday. I look forward to seeing him get better.”

With the loss, the Ravens fall to 1-1 and Navy goes to 2-0. The Ravens won their opening day game against Post on September 17, 24-6 to win the Talon Cup.

In that game they rushed for 135 yards on 56 carries and intercepted two passes late in the game to seal their victory. Between the two games, quarterback Jose Melo went 14-for-48 for 185 yards and two touchdowns. He looks to improve on those numbers and have a balanced offensive attack for their next game.

The Ravens next game is on Saturday, Oct. 1 at 1 p.m. on Sodexo Field, where they will matchup against Penn during homecoming weekend.