CIC MVP: Jamale Carothers dominates for the Navy Midshipmen

This past weekend was quite exciting for both the Navy Midshipmen and the Air Force Falcons. Both teams earned their sixth win of the season which makes each of them bowl game eligible. Many individual efforts contributed to these wins, but only one player can earn this week’s Commander-in-Chief MVP recognition from Against All Enemies.

Honestly, it was a near-unanimous decision from the staff. There was some rumbling nonsense from a biased party which totally could have been sarcasm. I guess you’ll have to check out this upcoming week’s podcast to see if he was serious.

Ah, yes, the winner. Jamale Carothers.

The sophomore fullback has just come on scene within the past few weeks for Navy, taking over the starting spot for Nelson Smith. It appears as though Smith was dealing with some minor injuries, which gave Carothers the opportunity to shine.

Carothers scored every single one of Navy’s offensive touchdowns against the Tulane Green Wave, including on each of Navy’s first three drives. The first two were rushing scores and the third was a reception over the middle of the field that he took for 31 yards. Despite the Midshipmen offense struggling in the middle of the game, the sophomore from Bowling Green was still able to amass 154 yards on the ground.

Jamale Carothers’ last touch of the game resulted in a 15 yard touchdown where he dragged the defender across the goal line and put the Midshipmen up by seven in the middle of the fourth quarter.

We’ll look to see if Carothers can sustain his dominance on the ground when Navy takes on UConn this Friday night.

Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images

Honorable Mention: Bijan Nichols

I think honorable mentions are a lot like participation trophies. You didn’t win, but we don’t want you to feel left out.

However, this is hardly one of those scenarios. Navy’s freshman kicker was the real hero of the game. Carothers put the Midshipmen in a position to win, and Bijan Nichols won it.

With 0:02 left on the game clock, Nichols, who didn’t hit any warm-up kicks while the game-winning drive was working its way down the field, crushes a 48-yard field through the uprights. And when I say “crushes”, I mean it. The ball would have been good from about 55 yards...and it was into a stiff wind! The lack of warm-ups was simply, raw.

If this video doesn’t give you chills, you’re either emotionless or a Tulane fan.

Nichols hit a similar field goal of 44 yards, from the same left hash, in Navy’s opener against Holy Cross. He also made a 31-yard field goal earlier in the game against the Green Wave. The freshman has made some big kicks already this season and is 5-of-7 on the year. Bijan Nichols is set to have a long and bright future with the Midshipmen.