Irish Sail to Victory Over Navy
Emmett Mosley ran for four touchdowns and tackle Alton Maiden returned an interception for a score as Notre Dame, smarting from a two-game losing streak, defeated Navy, 58-21, on Saturday.
Derrick Mayes caught touchdown passes of 60 and 20 yards, giving him eight for the season, one short of a school record.
The victory came at a crucial time for Notre Dame (5-3), which is unranked for the first time since 1986 and will play No. 9 Florida State at Orlando in two weeks.
Notre Dame’s defense played a big part in the game, holding the Middies (1-7) to 10 yards rushing in the first half and setting up two touchdowns.
Maiden intercepted Jim Kubiak’s pass at the Navy 44 and returned it to the end zone with 4:02 to play in the half.
Linebacker Bill Wagasy recovered a fumble on the Navy 21 to start a Notre Dame drive that ended with Mosley’s fourth touchdown run with 13:36 to play.
Navy scored first on Kubiak’s 32-yard pass to Ross Scott only three minutes into the game. But that was it for Navy, which hasn’t beaten Notre Dame in the annual series since Roger Staubach, on his way to the Heisman Trophy, engineered a 35-14 victory in 1963.
Mosley, who had rushed for only 81 yards this season, had an 11-yard touchdown run five minutes into the game.
A Notre Dame drive stalled after quarterback Ron Powlus suffered an ankle injury, and Scott Cengia kicked a 38-yard field goal.
Powlus returned early in the second quarter.
More to Read
Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.