Army Defeats Navy 17-11 in 124th Meeting

By Stephen Ur

Army and Navy met for the 124th time in the series’ history at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA on Saturday afternoon. Army leads the all-time series and also defeated Navy in last season’s matchup, 20-17 in double overtime.

The two teams had split the series at two games a piece over the last four seasons coming into the game. Seven of the last nine games between the two have been decided by one score or less.

After Navy punted on their first drive and Army turned the ball over on downs on theirs, Army’s defense made a big play as Max DiDomenico intercepted an Xavier Arline at the Army five-yard line and returned it 30 yards at the 6:32 mark in the first quarter.

After getting the ball down to the Navy 18, Army would once again attempt a fourth down conversion, and quarterback Bryson Dailey would run for a first down to the Navy 15 yard line. Army would get another first down to the Navy 4, but the first quarter would end in a scoreless tie.

The Black Knights would score on the second play of the second quarter as Dailey found tight end Tyson Riley for a four-yard score to give them the 7-0 lead with 14:19 left in the first half.

As Navy took over with 5:21 left in the half, they put in Tai Lavatai in at quarterback in place of Arline. Unfortunately for the Midshipmen, they were unable to convert on a 4th and 2, giving the ball back to Army with 1:05 left in the half. They were able to get the ball down to the Navy 30 with two seconds left in the half. Kicker Quinn Maretzki would kick a 47-yard field goal to give Army a 10-0 lead at halftime.

After a scoreless third quarter, Navy kicker Nathan Kirkwood kicked a 37-yard field goal to close the gap at 10-3. The Midshipmen would get the ball back with around seven minutes left, but with under five left, Kalib Fortner recovered a fumble and returned it 44 yards for a touchdown, extending the Army lead to 17-3.

A Navy score made it a 17-9 game, and with 1:53 left, the Midshipmen got the ball back with a chance to tie the game. With just three seconds left, however, and on a fourth and goal, Lavatai was stopped just short of the goal line, and Army held on for a 17-11 win after Dailey ran out of the end zone as time expired.

With the win, Army clinches the Commander In-Chief Trophy, signifying they’re the best team between them, Navy and Air Force.