Ballard gets his sea legs, leads Navy to win

PHILADELPHIA – Adam Ballard broke his leg the last game he played in Philadelphia. This time, he walked off the field with Navy a winner.

Ballard ran for a pair of a touchdowns and Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada had a 44-yard TD run, leading the Midshipmen to a 30-19 victory over Temple on Friday night in the season opener for both teams.

Navy feels right at home at Lincoln Financial Field, home of the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles. The Midshipmen have won all four games over service-academy rival Army played at the Linc. With the Army-Navy game moved to Baltimore this season, the Middies roughed-up the Owls to keep alive that unbeaten streak.

Ballard ran for 792 yards last season, but broke his right leg in the first quarter of Navy’s 26-14 win in the regular-season finale against Army and missed its bowl game. He returned for spring practice and showed against the Owls that he hasn’t lost a step.

The Midshipmen, who love to run under coach Paul Johnson, surprised the Owls on the third play of their first drive when Kaheaku-Enhada connected over the middle on a 37-yard play to Shun White. It was the only completed pass on an 11-play drive that ended on Ballard’s 1-yard TD.

Kaheaku-Enhada completed a 20-yard pass on the first play of the second drive and ran 44 yards for a touchdown on the next one to put Navy ahead 14-0.

Anyone who’s followed Temple through 17 years of futility – only four wins combined the last four seasons – has seen those early scores turn into a lopsided rout countless times.

Not this time. The Owls, who lost to Navy 42-6 last season, kept this one close and turned it into a rare competitive game. Adam DiMichele’s 22-yard TD pass to Matt Balasavage with 4:06 left made it 27-19. The extra point was blocked, and Navy sealed the win on Matt Harmon’s 43-yard field goal with 1:07 left.