Philadelphia, Pa. - By conventional football wisdom, Navy should have won the 123rd rendition of the Army-Navy Game. They almost doubled Army's total yardage and controlled time of possession. However, after 60 minutes and two overtimes, it was Army who was victoriously singing second. The Black Knights used a strong defensive effort and a blocked punt recovered in the endzone for a touchdown to help sink the Midshipmen 20-17 in the first overtime game in Army-Navy Game history.
The first half was all Navy. The Midshipmen held the Black Knights to only 33 yards for the half while amassing 111 themselves. Additionally, Navy had a 22:07-7:53 time of possession advantage at the half.
Navy opened the scoring in the second quarter when Bijan Nichols connected on a 44-yard field goal with 12:36 left in the half to put the Midshipmen up 3-0. The score would remain the same until late in the half when, after the Black Knight defense held Navy to a three-and-out. Army's Noah Short blocked the Navy punt and Jabril Williams recovered the loose ball in the endzone for the touchdown. The Black Knights tacked on the extra point and their defense was able to hold for the final 56 seconds of the frame to head into the locker room up 7-3.
Army's Jabril Williams recovers a blocked punt in the endzone for a touchdown. (Photo courtesy of Christopher Shannon)
Like the first half, the second half was primarily a defensive struggle, and, like the first half, Navy cracked the scoreboard first. With 4:21 left in the third quarter, the Midshipmen gained possession of the ball at their 23-yard line. On the first play from scrimmage Anton Hall, Jr. took the handoff and rushed 77 yards up the middle for a touchdown to help put Navy up 10-7 with 4:09 left in the period. Hall's touchdown run was the longest rush for the Midshipmen in the Army-Navy Game.
Navy maintained their three-point lead until late in the final stanza when Army's Quinn Maretzki capped a seven-play, 34-yard drive with a 37-yard field goal to tie the game at ten with 1:53 remaining. The Black Knight defense then held the Midshipmen to 20 yards and forced a punt on their final drive of regulation to force overtime.
Army's Quinn Maretzki kicked both the game tying, and game winning, field goals for the Black Knights. (Photo courtesy of Christopher Shannon)
Army got the ball first in the first overtime period and it did not take long for the Black Knights to find paydirt. On the first play from scrimmage, Army's Markel Johnson carried the ball up the gut and rushed 25 yards for the touchdown to put the Black Knights ahead. However, it didn't take Navy long to respond on their first overtime drive. On the Midshipmen's first play, quarterback Xavier Arline found a wide-open Maquel Haywood for the touchdown to send the game to a second overtime session.
Navy got possession first in the second overtime. The Midshipmen put together a more conventional seven-play drive to get down as far as the two-yard line. However, Arline would lose a yard, and then, on the next play, Hall fumbled the ball just short of the goal line and Army recovered to keep the Midshipmen from scoring. After a couple of Army rushes on their ensuing possession, Maretzki trotted onto the field and put a 39-yard field goal inside the right upright to deliver the 20-17 win to the Black Knights.
Tyhier Tyler led Army's rushing attack carrying the ball 23 times for 62 yards, while Cade Ballard led the Black Knights through the air going 2-of-10 for 28 yards. Ballard's favorite target was Braheam Murphy, who hauled in both of Army's completions. A shifty Arline led the Navy rushing attack with 28 carries for 102 yards. He also completed the one overtime touchdown pass.
On defense, Leo Lowin led Army with 16 total tackles, while Chris Frey and Camden O'Gara each had 1.5 tackles for loss. Austin Hill forced Navy's second overtime fumble. The Midshipmen were led defensively by Nicholas Straw's nine tackles and John Marshall's one sack.
With the win, Army finishes their season 6-6, while Navy ends their season 4-8 with the loss.
Special Uniforms
Both teams wore special uniforms for the game. Army's uniform honored the 1st Armored Division, with special attention being paid to their part in Operation Torch and the North African campaign of World War II. For their part, Navy's uniform honored Naval Academy graduates who went onto become astronauts. Navy has the most graduates to become astronauts of any of the academies.
Army and Navy wore special jerseys for the Army-Navy Game. (Photo courtesy of Christopher Shannon)
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