Army vs Navy: Score, highlights, recap

What went down during the latest edition of the Army vs. Navy rivalry game?

Army and Navy went to battle in their annual rivalry game on Saturday afternoon. The Midshipmen had won each of the past 14 meetings, as they last lost this matchup in 2001. That makes for a few handfuls of graduating classes that haven’t beaten the Mids, so plenty was on the line for the Black Knights in Baltimore, MD. How would they fare?

To start the game, Navy fumbled on the fifth play of their drive. Army would recover and march the ball into the end zone for a touchdown by Andy Davidson. All of their yards came via the ground game. Following the score, the quarterbacks for both teams threw an interception and ended the quarter at 7-0.

The Black Knights would break into the end zone for the second time after a methodical drive down the field. It took 11 plays and another Davidson touchdown to make it 14-0.

The second half would open with quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw fumbling the ball and Navy recovering. It would take a few minutes, but they would eventually get it down to the one-yard line and score to make it 14-7.

On their next drive, the Midshipmen would have by far the longest pass play of the game. Zach Abey threw it for 29 yards to a wide open Brandon Colon to get them inside the 40 yard line. They would later add a field goal to make it 14-10. Army then fumbled the ball yet again to give it right back to Navy.

To continue Navy’s momentum, Abey rushed for a 41-yard touchdown to give the Midshipmen their first lead of the game, 17-14. This started to signal yet another late-game downfall for the men of West Point in this historic rivalry. It wouldn’t be the case for long as they went 80 yards down the field on 12 plays, which started with a pass from Bradshaw and ended with a rushing score of his own. It would be 20-17 in favor of Jeff Monken’s team with just minutes left in the game.

With about five minutes remaining, Navy would get the ball back and try for a game-leading drive. However, they got stopped on first and third down. There was an opportunity after gaining about 10 on second down, but they ended up punting the ball away with just over four minutes left. This led to Army getting the ball and methodically working the game clock down as much as possible. The Navy defense has softened, leading to Army gaining chunks of yards with every rushing attempt. This led to the Black Knights winning the game, 21-17 after they ran down the clock enough to end their 14-year losing streak to Navy.

Three Stars

Kell Walker, Army – Walker rushed for 94 yards on 16 carries to lead the way for the Black Knights.

Zach Abey, Navy – The Midshipmen’s third-string quarterback had two rushing scores, but it wouldn’t be enough.

Andy Davidson, Army – Davidson has two touchdowns in the victory.

Highlights

What’s Next?

Bowl season is what’s next for both of these teams. The Black Knights will face the North Texas Mean Green in the Zaxkby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl on Tuesday, December 27. Navy will face Louisiana Tech in the Lockhead Martin Armed Forces Bowl on Friday, December 23.