Ole Miss Red Team Wins Grove Bowl, 48-36

OXFORD, Miss. –  (Release) The Red team claimed Grove Bowl glory in the annual Ole Miss spring game on Saturday, taking down the Navy team 48-36 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

(Click here for Grove Bowl Box Score.)

Red found its footing through the air, leading the way with 257 total passing yards in the game, 182 of which came from Luke Altmyer.

Navy ended the game with a total of 276 rushing yards on the day, including Isaiah Woullard finishing the day as the game’s leading rusher with 78 yards on just four carries. Michael Trigg logged seven receptions for 89 yards and three total receiving touchdowns for Navy, leading the way in all three categories.

“Good to see some turnovers by the defense, some explosive plays,” head coach Lane Kiffin said. “Good to see some consistent movement by the offense, at times.

“We’ll go back and watch it. I think everyone got to play, which was good and looked like no major injuries, which is more important than anything.”

Red came out of the gates swinging to open the annual spring scrimmage, with Altmyer leading the offense down the field on their opening two drives of the game. The first two drives resulted in a pair of rushing touchdowns, one by Altmyer and one by new Rebel transfer Ulysses Bentley IV.

After grabbing an additional three points courtesy of a Cale Nation field goal from 35 yards out, the Rebel Red team seemingly had all of the momentum early-on over Rebel Navy, leading 16-0.

That momentum from the Red’s offense would transition over to the defense in the second quarter, as safety Tysheem Johnson turned on the jets to run back a 73-yard interception for a touchdown with just 2:03 remaining in the half, increasing Red’s lead to 23-0.

“It happened kind of quick honestly,” Johnson said. “I (was) just reading Dart then I looked and the ball hit my hands. I saw one player and I said, ‘I got to take this for six, I got to score six’ and that’s kind of how it happened.”

Even with Navy connecting on a 2-yard touchdown between Kinkead Dent and Michael Trigg to get on the board with 36 seconds left to play, Red carried a 26-6 halftime lead into the locker room.

The third quarter proved to be a different story, as Navy’s offense helped to claw the team back into the game, primarily on the ground. Sparked by a 55-yard Isaiah Woullard touchdown run and followed up with a 9-yard touchdown scamper by Urriah Shephard, Navy found themselves within striking distance of the Red Team, trailing 33-21 at the conclusion of the quarter.

Despite this surge from Navy, Red would prevail after Kinkead Dent linked up with Sellers Shy for 31-yard touchdown to open the fourth quarter, and later found Bobo Miller from seven yards out to help Red hit 48 total points on the day. Dent, who got reps playing for both the Red and Navy teams, ended his day throwing for a combined 140 yards and three touchdowns.

Jaxson Dart capped off the game for Navy with a late touchdown strike to Trigg from 3 yards out, marking Trigg’s third touchdown reception of the game. It proved to be too little too late for Navy, however, as Red went on to close out the game to claim a 48-36 victory over Navy.

Red’s defense filled the stat sheet to end the day, tallying a total of seven tackles for loss and six sacks, along with interceptions by Johnson and Derek Bermudez.

“Last season has nothing to do with this season, just like the previous one,” Kiffin said. “We always have to start over. It’s why preseason rankings and all that stuff don’t mean anything. Everything is brand new. So, we got a lot of work to do with so many new people.”