FOXBOROUGH – Incredible. Emotional. Memorable.
Just a few words to describe the day in Foxborough on Saturday. If you were one of the 65,878 people or one of the dozens upon dozens of media folks covering the 124th meeting of Army-Navy at Gillette Stadium, it was an experience you or I will never forget.
Not just for the pageantry and the atmosphere surrounding the stadium from 9 A.M. through Army singing second after wild 17-11 win, but the game itself lived up to all the hype, even with such a low score.
Leading 10-3 with four-plus minutes left in the game, the Black Knights (6-6) seemingly got a put-it-away 44 yard scoop and score touchdown from Liam Fortner to make it a two-touchdown game. But, with 2:47 left, Navy QB Tai Lavatai quickly led the Midshipmen downfield and hit Jayden Umbarger for a 14 yard TD. The ensuing two-point attempt was no good, leaving the deficit at six.
Navy got the ball back one more time with 1:39 remaining at its ow 27. The Midshipmen swiftly moved downfield and with roughly 15 seconds left in the game, Navy had 3rd-&-goal from the six. Alex Teza caught a pass in the right flat and seemed destined for the end zone, but Kalib Fortner made an incredible tackle in space. With no timeouts left, Navy rushed up to the line and Lavatai pushed forward, getting stopped at at the one despite appearing to possibly get the ball across the goal line. After a lengthy review, the call on the field stood.
With the ball inside his own one, Daily dropped back with three seconds left on the clock and took a safety to end the game. The boys in gold rushed the field as cadets jumped from the stands and did the same. Navy sang first before Army players jubilantly sprinted towards the rest of their brothers in the stands to sing second.
“Man, one of our coaches said on the headset, welcome to the Army-Navy game,” said Army head coach Jeff Monkey. “He’s right. It’s always like that. We had a 14-point lead, and one second to go, they’re standing there knocking on the door with a chance to tie the game up. Unreal. But proud of our team. What a great win. Both teams just fought like crazy.
That’s what’s great about the game. Their players played hard, played their hearts out. Ours did, too. Fortunately we came up with a play there at the end and got away with the victory.
“Obviously, a tough night. Your heart breaks for your team, especially your seniors,” said Navy head coach Brian Newberry. “I really wanted this for them more than anything. Those guys have been through a lot in the last four years and they’re an extremely resilient group. I’m really proud of the way they led, I’m proud of the way they stayed the course, I’m proud of the way that they accepted me as their head coach and bought into what we were doing and the way that they all led in their own way. Those guys deserved to win today and, unfortunately, we couldn’t get it for them. We knew the game was going to be a dogfight, it always is.”
The game’s first big play came in the form of a leaping interception for Army safety Max DiDomenico near his own end zone. DiDomenico returned it out to the Army 35 as his fellow cadets went nuts in the Gillette stands. Seven snaps later, the Midshipmen faced 4th-&-2 at the Army 18and quarterback Bryson Daily converted with his legs.
As the second quarter started, Army had 1st-&-goal from the four heading into the Optum Lounge end where both schools’ cadets were sitting. A few snaps later, Daily hit tight end Tyson Riley for a four yard TD to put the Black Knights on the board first with Quinn Maretzki adding the PAT. The TD pass was Army’s first against Navy since 2015. No, that’s not a typo.
After trading punts, Navy took over at its one 18 with 5:21 left in the half and Tai Lavatai took over at QB. Using his legs, Lavatai moved the Midshipmen down to the Army 37, but he was stuffed on a 4th-&-2 run, turning it over on downs with 1:05 to go. Army quickly moved into field goal position and with just a second left, Maretzki drilled a 47 yarder to give the Black Knights a 10-0 lead at the break.
Army had 153 yards of offense in the first 30 minutes on 34 plays while Navy had just 81 on 24 plays. The Black Knights also held the ball for 17:35.
It was a punt fest in the third quarter as the teams combined to run 24 plays with three punts. Navy began a drive at its own 11 with 2:53 left in the third and it extended into the fourth, ultimately settling for a 37 yard field goal to make it 10-7, setting up the incredibly dramatic finish.
“It’s always a great feeling, sir. I mean, it’s always awesome singing second,” said Fornter. “I guess we’ve never been to Foxborough, but this was an amazing atmosphere, and we’re glad we could sing second here.”
“It was fantastic,” said Monken. “The folks here, the Patriots organization and just how welcoming they were, we came to the luncheon last Wednesday, they were fantastic. It’s a beautiful stadium, incredible American history here in this part of the country. This is the birthplace of our revolution, so to bring this game here is pretty special.
“But frankly we could have played it out in a parking lot with nobody out there, and I promise you the two teams would have fought their asses off to win the game. Pardon my French. But that’s just the way these games are. We could have met halfway up the interstate and just said let’s get it on right here, and that’s what this game is.”
Even with the soul-crushing defeat, Newberry summarized what this week and day meant perfectly.
“The venue was awesome,” he added. “The folks who put this on rolled out the red carpet for us. I really enjoyed playing here and I enjoyed being in Boston. I would say that the people who came to the game were entertained and hopefully proud of what they saw. This game, in the grand scheme of things, is about more than football. It’s about celebrating some of the finest young men in the country on the field and then celebrating and recognizing all those that have dedicated their life to service, that have served and are serving your country.
“Shining a light on them, celebrating them and showing gratitude for their sacrifice and their commitment. That’s what it’s all about. I think, at the end of the day, whoever was in the stands was proud of what they saw these young men do, as far as their fight and their grit and their toughness and their resolve.”
