The Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy is headed to West Point for the first time since 2020.
Army dominated most of the game and had a 17-3 lead with less than five minutes remaining, but Navy staged a fourth quarter comeback that came up 1 yard short. The matchup came down to a red-zone stop by Army as Navy QB Tai Lavatai attempted a sneak at fourth and goal with only three seconds remaining.
‘Nothing is easy, welcome to the Army-Navy game,’ Army head coach Jeff Monken said afterward. ‘We’ve got a 17-3 lead, we’re on the 1 yard line with a second to go and we made a play. Thank goodness. I’m really proud of our team.’
Here’s the best moments and highlights from“America’s Game’ on Saturday:
Army-Navy flyover will give you ‘chills’
One of the best highlights of the day happened before the game began. Flyovers are normally a beloved pregame tradition, but the flyovers ahead of the Navy-Army matchup on Saturday gave viewers across the country chills.
The Navy first ran onto Gillette Stadium as they were surrounded by Navy members on the field and four U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornets, known as “The Red Rippers,” flew overhead. Then, the Army took the field and ran out of a tunnel lined with Army members. Black Hawk helicopters flew overhead and an incredible close-up shot on the CBS broadcast showed service members waving from the aircrafts.
‘Army-Navy will never fail to give me chills every year,’ one user wrote on X.
Army tight end Josh Lingenfelter honors fallen solider
Josh Lingenfelter took the field with Dwyer written on his right arm.
It was a tribute to Chief Warrant Officer Stephen R. Dwyer Jr., one of five Army aviation special operations forces killed when their MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed in the Mediterranean Sea over Veterans Day weekend last month. The five soldiers were all part of the Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, known as the Night Stalkers, based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
Navy red zone interception leads to Army score
Navy got the ball at Army’s 47-yard-line after Army failed to pick up a fourth-and-2. Navy marched down to the red zone and looked poised to put up the first points of the game, but QB Xavier Arline’s pass intended for WR Cody Howard was picked off by Army DB Max DiDomenico, who returned the ball 30 yards to Army’s 35-yard-line.
Army capitalized on the first turnover of the game and QB Bryson Daily connected with TE Tyson Riley for a 4-yard touchdown to cap a 12-play, 65-yard drive. Daily found Riley wide open following a busted assignment from Navy for the first score of the game, 7-0.
Army extends lead heading into halftime
The Black Knights added to their lead heading into the locker room with a 47-yard field goal from Army kicker Quinn Maretzki with only one second on the clock. Army dominated Navy in the first half and possessed the ball 17:35, compared with Navy’s 12:25. Daily had 54 yards and one touchdown. The Black Knights had 153 total yards of offense.
Navy had 0 passing yards in the first half. Navy quarterbacks Xavier Arline (one interception) and Eli Heidenreich were 0-for-3 passing, but the Midshipmen picked up 81 yards on the ground. Navy was 1-for-5 on third down and 0-for-1 on fourth down.
Army scoop and score
Navy was in pursuit of a game-tying touchdown in the fourth quarter. Instead, a 44-yard fumble recovery put the Black Knights up 17-3.
On Army’s 48-yard line on third and 8, Lavatai was desperately looking to convert when Army brought the pressure. Army linebacker Kalib Fortner forced Lavatai to fumble, grabbed the ball and ran it back 44 yards for a touchdown.
Navy comeback stopped on fourth and goal
Navy wasn’t done yet. The Midshipmen quickly marched down the field and put together a seven-play, 59-yard drive in 2:02 to cut Army’s lead to 17-9.
After forcing Army to punt, Navy got great field position after kicker Cooper Allan’s punt only traveled 11 yards. Lavatai took the Midshipmen 72 yards down the field in 10 plays, but they came up just short of the end zone. On fourth and goal, Lavatai attempted a quarterback sneak but Army’s defense held him just short. The play was reviewed and upheld, meaning the Navy turned the ball over on downs to cement the win for Army.
Army took a safety to make the final score 17-11.
Daily finished with 54 yards and one touchdown. Lavatai finished with 179 yards and one touchdown.
Bill Belichick makes his pick in style
New England Patriots head coach ‘took a page out of Coach (Lee Corso’s) playbook’ and brought a prop to ESPN’s ‘College GameDay,’ where he served as the guest picker ahead of the Army-Navy Game. Belichick, whose father served as an assistant football coach at the U.S. Naval Academy, put on a throwback Navy helmet from 1962 to cement his pick.
