WEST CALDWELL, N.J.- The Caldwell University sprint football team rallied back from a halftime deficit but fell in the final quarter 23-10 to the United States Naval Academy in Collegiate Sprint Football League South Division play.
 
The Cougars fall to 2-2 overall and 1-1 in the South Division, while the Midshipmen improve to 4-0 and 2-0 in division play.
 
After battling through a scoreless opening quarter, Navy broke through early in the second quarter with a 33-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead. The Midshipmen added a touchdown through the air midway through the quarter for a 10-0 lead.
 
The Caldwell defense got a key sack-fumble that was recovered by junior Randy Antenor (Jersey City, N.J.) to set up the Cougar offense deep in Navy territory. Caldwell got a key penalty to move inside the 10-yard line. Junior Christian Cornelius (Woodland Park, N.J.) booted a 24-yard field goal just before halftime to cut the score to 10-3 at the break.
 
The Cougars rallied back at the start of the fourth quarter as they started a key drive at the Navy 45-yard line. Junior Carl Watson (Newark, N.J.) had a 15-yard scamper and added a three-yard run to get the Cougar offense inside the 30-yard line. Junior Steven Yost (Walnutport, Pa.) connected with freshman Schadrac Petit-Homme (Linden, N.J.) for a 10-yard pass play to move the offense inside the red zone. Yost hit junior Zion Rodriguez (Hoboken, N.J.) for a nine-yard connection to get the ball down to the four-yard line. Sophomore Armani Bermudez (Newark, N.J.) finished off the drive with a four-yard run into the end zone to tie the game at 10.
 
Navy answered on their next possession with a 7-play, 55-yard that ended with a short rushing touchdown. The Midshipmen forced a turnover on the next Cougar possession to set another Navy touchdown that pushed the score to 23-10 with 7:34 left in the game.
                     
Bermudez led the Caldwell rushing attack with 13 carries for 80 yards and one score.
 
Junior Royce Francisco (Passaic, N.J.) led the Cougar defense with 12 tackles. Antenor tallied nine tackles, 3.0 for losses, one sack, one fumble recovery and one pass defense. Junior Colin Williams (East Orange, N.J.) totaled seven tackles, one for loss and one sack.
 
Following the bye week next weekend, the Cougars return to action on Saturday, October 19 as they travel to West Point for a CSFL contest against Army at 1 pm.