Owls win first conference championship in 49 years

Junior defensive back Cequan Jefferson celebrates a Navy fumble at the end of the first quarter of the conference championship game on Saturday. GENEVA HEFFERNAN FOR THE TEMPLE NEWSPhil Snow had faith in the beginning, even when most didn’t.

The Owls’ defensive coordinator told alumni during the summer the team would be better than last season.

Despite losing three defensive starters to the NFL Draft and its leading receiver, Temple set the bar high to beat its historic 10-win season in 2015 that tied the mark set by the 1979 team.

“They all looked at me like I was crazy,” Snow said.

Wayne Hardin, who coached Navy from 1959-64 and led the Owls from 1970-82, was on the field for the coin toss…