Army puts up final-seconds stand at goal line, holds on to beat Navy to win coveted trophy
The Army-Navy game has been around for 124 years, but this historic first trip to New England will be memorable for a lot of reasons.
Army’s defense came up with a handful of game-saving plays – two on Navy’s final snaps of the game – as the Black Knights held on for a 17-11 victory at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
“What a great win,’’ said Army coach Jeff Monken. “Both teams just fought like crazy.’’
Monken said he had some choice communication with defensive coordinator Nate Woody over the closing 90 seconds as Navy hit on five chunk plays, covering 67 yards in just over a minute. The Midshipmen – needing a touchdown and two-point conversion to force overtime for a second year in a row – had no timeouts but had the ball first down-and-goal at the Army 6. Navy reserve quarterback Tai Lavatai had already directed two second-half scoring drives and was gunning for another when Army’s defense stiffened.
Outstanding secondary coverage forced Lavatai to float two incompletions in the end zone. He found running back Alex Tecza on a short throw into the right flat, but Army linebacker Kalib Fortner wrapped him up for his team-leading 10th tackle, two yards shy of the end zone.
“I was able to get underneath and kind of wrap him up and make sure he didn’t fall forward and get outside,’’ Fortner said. “It was a great play.’’
Navy elected to rely on its reliable run game for the final snap and the clock running. Lavatai got the call, but he was met with a forearm shiver to the helmet by linebacker Leo Lowin, and lineman Dre Miller used all of his 270 pounds to wrap Lavatai in a shifting pile that was finally whistled a yard shy of the goal line.
“You could tell it was going to be a quarterback sneak,’’ Lowin said. “I just had to fire out, stop them.’’
“We had the play call,’’ Lavatai said. “We just couldn’t get it in the end zone.’’
“I think I’ll just play that (video) every morning, every night before I go to bed, just to put me in a good mood,’’ quarterback Bryson Daily said.
Army took over on downs, and Daily backpedaled the final snap out the back of the end zone for a safety, and the Black Knights prevailed before 65,878 fans treated to the first Army-Navy game played outside of the mid-Atlantic states since 1983.
As a result, Army saved face with a 6-6 season, winning its final four games of the season and bringing the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy back to West Point for the first time since 2020. Navy fell to 5-7.
“We’re never letting that trophy leave West Point again,’’ Daily said.
It was Fortner who staked Army to a 17-3 lead with 4:49 to play, stripping Lavatai, scooping up the bouncing loose ball and racing 44 yards to the end zone, apparently giving the Black Knights some breathing room in what had been a defensive tussle throughout.
“It was a crazy, crazy surreal moment,’’ Fortner said. “I hit the ball. It’s almost kind of like I planned it the way it bounced into my hands. I had to start a run and I saw on the Jumbotron a sea of gold (Army) jerseys behind me and I kind of let off.’’
But Lavatai – who replaced ineffective senior Xavier Arline in the first half – started to effectively pick apart Army’s secondary with a series of hitch passing plays to the sidelines. Then he found favorite target Jayden Umbarger open across the middle for a 14-yard touchdown with 2:46 to play. A subsequent two-point conversion pass attempt failed.
Typical of a good number of Army games this season, the Black Knights’ offense sputtered in the second half, resulting in five punts. Monken said he considered going for it on a fourth-down-and-3 call from the Navy 38 but called time out and sent punter Cooper Allan out for the seventh time with 1:45 to play. Allan was the victim of at least four retreating bad bounces resulting in shorter punts, and this critical one went for only 11 yards.
Army took the early lead on a Navy defensive breakdown on the second snap of the second quarter. Blocking back Tyson Riley had calmly walked out to the right flanker spot with three fellow receivers lined on the left. To the surprise of everyone, Riley was left wide open, and Daily was glad to change the play, hitting the senior with a 4-yard touchdown pass just beyond the fingertips of Navy celebrated linebacker Colin Ramos, whose last-second scurrying attempt was too late. "(Riley) did say, 'Hey, throw it, throw it!'' Daily said. It was Riley’s third scoring reception of the season and Daily’s seventh touchdown thrown from the new shotgun option offense.
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Navy was driving for a potential tying score late in the second quarter. Army defensive back Quindrelin Hammonds got under Lavatai on a fourth-and-2 plunge, and the quarterback’s stretch actually was halted by the foot of his own lineman, Joshua Pena. Army took over at its own 36, Daily completed three throws totaling 27 yards and Quinn Maretzki – who hit the game-wining field goal against Navy in 2022 – nailed a career-best 47-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead at the final gun.
X / Twitter: @KenMcMillanTHR
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Army beats Navy to win Commander-in-Chief's Trophy
