The Aloha Bowl
1996
Navy 42
California 38
HONOLULU- Ben Fay wanted to create some confusion and he certainly
did. The reserve quarterback, relegated to a backup role with the
installation of the spread option offense, was inserted into the lineup
in the fourth quarter Wednesday and proceeded to score two touchdowns
that lifted Navy (9-3) to a 42-38 victory over California in the Aloha
Bowl.
The Middies' co-captain scored on runs of 2 and 10 yards, the latter
with 1:41 left, but it was his passes off the triple-stack offense that
set the stage for the dramatic comeback victory. Fay completed 5 of 8
passes for 118 yards. Fay's second rushing TD was set up by his biggest
pass play of the game, a 52-yarder to Cory Schemm with two minutes left.
Schemm wound up with five receptions for 194 yards.
With the Middies trailing, 38-28, and struggling after a fumble and
interception, Fay entered the game and guided them on drives of 80 and
84 yards. "At the time, we needed a spark," coach Charlie Weatherbie
said. "We were bogged down. Ben's been in that situation before so it
wasn't anything new to him.
California coach Steve Mariucci was prophetic. "The kids on both sides
played their hearts out and it was a helluva game," he said. "But like
I've been telling you all week, it would come down to who had the ball
last. "In the fourth quarter, they came at us with the weird offense and
they made a couple of big plays off it and got a couple of scores."
The high-scoring game was a contrast in halves. The two teams combined
for 63 points in the first half with California (6-6) holding a 35-28
lead.
Over the final two periods, the only scoring came on Fay's two TDs and a
41-yard field goal by Cal's Ryan Longwell. The Bears appeared to have
the game in hand as they started the fourth period with a 38-28 lead.
But Fay led the Middies on scoring drives of 80 and 84 yards.
Cal totalled 434 yards of offense. Pat Barnes completed 27 of 37 passes
for 313 yards and three touchdowns. But it was Barnes' one fumble that
led to the game-winning score.
California's Deltha O'Neal set the tone for the seesaw game by returning
the opening kickoff a bowl-record 100 yards. It bettered the previous
mark of 94 yards set by Hema Heimuli of BYU in 1992.
After missing a field goal on its first possession, Navy got a 7-yard
run by Tim Cannada after Omar Nelson set up the score with a 57-yard
run. A 6-yard pass from Barnes to Bobby Shaw gave the Bears a
short-lived 13-7 lead. The Middies responded with two scores -- a 1-yard
plunge by Chris McCoy and 4-yard run by Ross Scott.
California bounced back with two scores to move ahead, 28-21, on a
20-yard pass from Barnes to Sean Bullard and 31-yard run by O'Neal.
Navy tied it at 28-28 on McCoy's 2-yard run that capped a 75-yard drive
highlighted by a 62-yard hookup from McCoy to Schemm.
With seconds remaining in the half, the Bears countered with a 20-yard
pass from Barnes to Shaw that made it 35-28 at the half.
Chris McCoy eludes Cal defenders
Navy's David Viger caused Pat Barnes to fumble
Ben Fay scores game winner
Attendance- 43,380
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
Cal- O'Neal 100 kickoff return (kick failed)
Navy- Cannada 7 run (Vanderhost kick)
Cal- Shaw 6 pass from Barnes (Longwell kick)
Second Quarter
Navy- McCoy 1 run (Vanderhost kick)
Navy- Scott 4 run (Vanderhost kick)
Cal- Bullard 20 pass from Barnes (Barnes pass to Benjamin)
Cal- O'Neal 31 run (Longwell kick)
Navy- McCoy 2 run (Vanderhost kick)
Cal- Shaw 20 pass from Barnes (Longwell kick)
Third Quarter
Cal- FG Longwell 41
Fourth Quarter
Navy- Fay 2 run (Vanderhost kick)
Navy- Fay 10 run (Vanderhost kick)
Individual Statistics
Rushing
Navy- Nelson 15-119, McCoy 19-61, Cannada 4-25
Cal- O'Neal 22-78, Benjamin 1-32
Passing
Navy- McCoy 9-13-277, Fay 5-8-118
Cal- Barnes 27-38-313
Receiving
Navy- Schemm 5-194, Plaskonos 2-58, Cannada 1-25, McGrew 1-36
Cal- Gonzalez 9-69, Benjamin 8-95, Shaw 3-39, 2 TD, Douglas 2-56
