Saturday was no different. For 55 minutes, the teams combined for 13 points — Army 10, Navy 3 — before a crazy final five minutes led to the Black Knights winning the game — and the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy — by nearly a foot. Final score: Army 17, Navy 11.
It was Army’s second straight win over Navy that was decided by inches, and its sixth win in eight seasons against the Mids. Since neither team went to a bowl game (Army finished 6-6, Navy 5-7), this was the final college football game for the 33 Army seniors and 25 Navy seniors. Unbridled joy for the cadets, heartbreak for the midshipmen – all of them, not just those in uniform.
For reasons no one can really explain, the Army and Navy have always been about lines, especially in the last 30 years.
From 1992 to 1996, Army won five straight games — by a total of 10 points. From 2002 to 2015, Navy won 14 straight. Sometimes the games were close, sometimes they weren’t, but somehow, Navy always won.
Now, Army has won six of eight, with a combined margin of 36 points in its six victories. The teams were separated by eight total points in those eight games, with Army’s last two victories decided by a margin of a foot or less.
A year ago, when Army won 20-17 in double overtime, Army’s defense stripped Navy’s Anton Hall Jr. just shy of the go-ahead run with the score tied at 17 in the second overtime. On Saturday night, Army’s defensive line stopped Navy quarterback Ty Lavatai inches away from making the score 17-15 with three seconds left, with a chance to tie it up with a two-point conversion.
Sadly for the Navy, margin or circumstances never matter in this rivalry. What matters is who sings their second alma mater. Saturday was the army. As always, the joy and despair were evident on the faces of the players and all 4,000 cadets and 4,000 midshipmen. This is, after all, the only college football game attended by every healthy student from both schools.
“It’s always like that. We had a 14-point lead, and with one second to go, they’re standing there knocking on the door and they have a chance to tie the game,” Army coach Jeff Monken said. “Unreal.”
Monken just finished his 10th season at Army, turning around a program that had become an embarrassment during the early years of the 21st century. Peer Brian Newberry is in his first season at Navy, having replaced Ken Niumatalolo, the school’s all-time winningest coach, a year ago. Newberry played four games between Army and Navy as defensive coordinator but this was his first as head coach.
During the week, he expected the match to be decided by the team that committed the fewest mistakes.
“That’s always the case in this game,” he said. “You can’t turn the ball over, you can’t take penalty kicks, especially mental foul kicks. You have to play with great emotions but don’t let your emotions control you.”
As it turned out, Newbery’s prediction was correct. The Mids had two crucial turnovers, including Army recovering a scoop and score, decisive actions and delay of game penalties – delays before kicks.
Army’s first touchdown, in the second quarter, came after Navy’s Xavier Arline, who started in this game as a freshman in 2020, made an interception in double coverage. The subsequent touchdown came due to another error, a blown coverage that led to a four-yard scoring pass from Bryson Deeley to Tyson Riley. Riley lined up wide with no one on him while a middle five gathered in the middle of the field. By the time they realized their mistake and attacked Reilly, Dele had fed the pass to him.
Later, a procedural penalty led to what proved to be the decisive relegation. The third-and-3 penalty was changed to a third-and-eight and Army came out with an all-out attack instead of having to respect the potential range. Linebacker Kalib Fortner’s sack and 44-yard return made it 17-3 with 4:49 remaining. game over.
Only, it’s not over. The Army made the mistake of falling back from its defense and Lavatai quickly captured the Mids for a landing. Army recovered the onside kick but then had its worst possession of the day — two penalties, three runs and an 11-yard kick — to give Navy one last chance. With the Army defense still backing up, the Mids drove 72 yards as the clock ran down. The problem is they needed 73.
Only after replays confirmed that Lavatay, who had been brilliant on the final two drives of his final game, was inches away, did everyone watch to exhale.
The clock ran down to zero after Daily caught a safety on the last play, leading — as always — to the best five minutes in sports, an Alma Matters game. The losers sing first, usually with tears in their eyes. Then the winners sing, with tears in their eyes as well.
This is the essence of the Army and Navy and it will never change, not next year, not ever.
College football has undergone significant changes over the years, some of which have altered the landscape of the sport. Many argue that these changes have led to the commercialization of the game and have diminished its purity and tradition. However, amidst these changes, one thing remains constant: the historic rivalry between the Army and Navy. This enduring tradition will forever remain untouched by the modernization and commercialization that has plagued college football, making it a timeless and cherished part of the sport.