Notes: Duke 41, Navy 31

9/13/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football

By: Duke Sports Information

Pregame:

Game captains: Duke ? Re'quan Boyette, Vincent Rey, Tielor Robinson, Michael Tauiliili;
Navy ? Jarod Bryant, Clint Sovie

Navy won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. Duke will receive and defend the North endzone.

Weather at kickoff: 86 degrees, fair, 64-percent humidity, wind West Southwest at 6 MPH

Kickoff was at 12:02 p.m.

Duke Game Starters: Offense ? QB Thaddeus Lewis, RB Clifford Harris, WR Eron Riley, WR Johnny Williams, WR Austin Kelly, WR Sheldon Bell, LT Cameron Goldberg, LG Kyle Hill, C Bryan Morgan, RG Rob Schirmann, RT Fred Roland; Defense ? LDE Wesley Oglesby, DT Vince Oghobaase, NG Clifford Respress, RDE Greg Akinbiyi, SLB Marcus Jones, MLB Michael Tauiliili, WLB Vincent Rey, CB Leon Wright, CB Glenn Williams, LS Adrian Aye-Darko, RS Catron Gainey.

Duke 41, Navy 31

Starting Streaks
Four players have started over 20 straight games for the Blue Devils. Senior wide receiver Eron Riley earned his 28th straight starting nod. Vince Oghobaase and Rob Schirmann started for the 27th straight game while junior quarterback Thaddeus Lewis has now started in 26 consecutive games. Four other players started for the 15th straight game, including Cameron Goldberg, Vincent Rey, Leon Wright and Kevin Jones. Sophomore wide receiver Sheldon Bell made his first start of the season and second of his career.

Long Catch On First Collegiate Play
True freshman Donovan Varner entered the game in the second quarter for his first collegiate play and caught a 36-yard pass on third down and five. Varner is the sixth true freshman to see playing time in 2008.

Lewis & Riley Connect For Three Touchdowns
Thaddeus Lewis threw three touchdown passes to Eron Riley to give them 17 career touchdowns together. The two connected for scoring strikes of 27, 5 and 49 yards. Of those 17 scores, 11 have gone for 20 or more yards. The 17 touchdowns between the two players broke the school record for QB-to-WR touchdown combinations. The combinations of Ben Bennett-to-Chris Castor and Steve Slayden-to-Doug Green were previously tied for the record with 16 touchdowns.

Riley Climbs Touchdown Charts
Eron Riley's three touchdown receptions give him 19 for his career, moving him into fourth in school history. He passed Walter Jones and Chris Castor on the Duke career receiving touchdowns list. Riley is now two touchdowns away from Cedric Jones for third all-time.

Multiple Touchdown Performances
Eron Riley caught three touchdown receptions against Navy, giving him at least two touchdown catches in two of the three games this season. It was the fourth time in his career that he tallied two or more touchdowns in a game. He now has seven career touchdowns against the Midshipmen after making four touchdown grabs in 2007.

Riley Records 100th Career Reception
With eight catches for 137 yards and three touchdowns, Eron Riley became the 12th Duke player to record 100 career receptions. He now has 102 career grabs and is 20 receptions shy of cracking Duke's top-10 for career receptions.

100-Yard Receiving Games
Eron Riley caught eight passes for 137 yards and three touchdowns. He is the second wide receiver to post a 100-yard receiving game this season as Johnny Williams recorded 11 catches for 135 yards last week against Northwestern. Riley now has six career 100-yard receiving games, moving him in to a tie for third all-time at Duke with Doug Green.

Lewis 300-Yard Passing Game
Thaddeus Lewis tallied his third career 200-yard game with 317 yards against Navy. He also threw for over 300 yards against Wake Forest in 2006 and Navy in 2007. Lewis posted his 12th career 200-yard passing game. He has thrown for over 200 yards in back-to-back games after throwing for 256 against Northwestern.

Lewis Multiple Touchdown Games
Thaddeus Lewis threw three touchdown passes against Navy to give him five on the season. He has thrown for two or more touchdowns nine times in his 27-game career. Lewis has 37 career touchdown throws to rank fifth all-time.

Lewis Extends Streak
Thaddeus Lewis extended his streak of consecutive passes without an interception on Saturday as he completed 25-of-35 passes for 317 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. Lewis has now thrown 206 consecutive passes without an interception. He has not thrown an interception in his last six games dating back to last season. The ACC record for consecutive passes without an interception is 237 held by Chris Weinke of Florida State during the 1998 and 1999 seasons.

Robinson Rushes For Score
Senior tight end Tielor Robinson punched it in for two yards out for his first rushing touchdown as a Blue Devil. It was his sixth career rushing touchdown, with five coming at Army in 2003 and 2004. Robinson has five career touchdowns while at Duke with four receiving touchdowns in 2006. Duke now has five rushing touchdowns on the year, matching the season total from 2007.

Rey Posts Career Day
Junior linebacker Vincent Rey had a career day with 12 tackles, four tackles for loss, one sack and one fumble recovery for a touchdown. Rey posted his eighth career double digit tackle game. His four tackles for loss were a career high and give him 13.5 for career. He now has 3.5 career sacks and three career fumble recoveries.

Rey Scores First Career Touchdown
Vincent Rey recovered a fumble and returned it 37 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. It was the first defensive touchdown of the season for Duke and the third fumble recovery of Rey's career. The last fumble return for a touchdown by the Blue Devils was a 24-yard return by Leon Wright against Georgia Tech on November 10, 2007.

Double Digit Tackle Performances
Senior Michael Tauiliili and junior Vincent Rey each had over 10 tackles against Navy. Tauiliili finished the game with 13 tackles, including one tackle for loss. Tauiliili now has 13 career games with 10 or more tackles. Rey posted 12 tackles with four behind the line of scrimmage. It was Rey's eighth career double digit tackle game. It is the third time both Tauiliili and Rey had 10 or more tackles in the same game.

Aye-Darko Intercepts Pass
Senior safety Adrian Aye-Darko intercepted a pass in the fourth quarter for Duke's second of the season. Aye-Darko now has two career interceptions. His first interception came against Georgia Tech in 2006.

Maggio Boots Career-Long Field Goal
Nick Maggio made a career-long 46-yard field goal in the first quarter. The field goal was the fourth consecutive made attempt to start the season for Maggio. He has now made 4-of-5 field goal attempts in 2008 and is a perfect 8-of-8 on extra point tries.

Surgan Makes 52-Yard Field Goal
Joe Surgan ended the first half with a career-long 52-yard field goal. The 52-yard field goal ties the eighth longest in school history. The last Duke player to make a field goal over 50 yards was Matt Brooks when he made a 51-yard field goal against North Carolina in 2004.

Sheldon Bell Records Career High Receptions
Sophomore wide receiver Sheldon Bell registered a career-best five receptions for 21 yards against Navy. His previous career-best outing was two catches for 16 yards against Notre Dame in 2007 and two grabs for 19 yards against Northwestern this season.

Thaddeus Lewis Registers Career High Completions
Junior quarterback Thaddeus Lewis completed a career-best 25 passes this afternoon against Navy. His previous best outing came against Northwestern last week against Northwestern when he completed 24 passes. Lewis finished the afternoon 25-of-35 for 317 yards with no interceptions.

Attendance: 25,082