Army vs. Navy Game score: Black Knights stop Midshipmen at goal line in last-second thrilling finish

Army beat Navy 17-11 at Gillette Stadium to assert the tenth Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy in academy historical past. It’s the primary time Army has gained the trophy outright since 2020 (it retained the {hardware} in 2021).

Navy made a late cost in the ultimate seconds of regulation, marching 72 yards down the sphere in 10 performs whereas down 8 factors. Midshipmen quarterback Tai Lavatai was stuffed at the Black Knights’ 1-yard line with 3 seconds on the clock, nevertheless, as Army secured the win. 

While the sport got here all the way down to a goal line stand, the definitive second befell earlier in the fourth quarter. Facing a third-and-9, Navy’s Tai Lavatai dropped again to cross however was met in the backfield by Army linebacker Kalib Fortner, who stripped the ball from Lavatai’s hand, picked it up after a bounce on the sphere and took off for a 44-yard landing that gave Army a 17-3 lead and appeared to place the sport out of attain.

But this would not be the Army-Navy Game with out late drama, now wouldn’t it?

Army went conservative on protection, and Navy was completely satisfied to take benefit, answering with a fast landing drive to make it a one-score recreation. Army compounded issues by going conservative on offense, too. After a pair false begins and three runs to place themselves in fourth-and-3 in Navy territory, the Black Knights opted to punt as a substitute of go for it on fourth down. It was the incorrect choice as Army’s punt went solely 10 yards, and Navy instantly drove 72 yards in the subsequent 90 seconds earlier than Lavatai was stuffed at the goal line in the ultimate seconds.

The Black Knights had been led by quarterback Bryson Daily, who completed with 54 yards and a landing by the air and 84 yards speeding. When it wasn’t Daily toting the rock for Army, operating again Kanye Udoh was selecting up yardage in chunks, ending with 88 yards on 13 carries. While Army received the win, it wasn’t essentially the most spectacular efficiency from the offense, which displays the season as a complete.

Army moved to a shotgun offense at the beginning of the marketing campaign in an try to modernize and make the unit extra dynamic, but it surely completed the season with a number of the worst numbers of the Jeff Monken period with regards to stats like success fee and factors per possession. It additionally misplaced yardage on performs way more typically than it has in the previous. Of course, given the lengthy historical past of an choice offense at Army, it would be ridiculous to not anticipate there to be an adjustment interval. While the general numbers weren’t there this season or Saturday, the flashes of what this offense may be shifting ahead made themselves obvious typically sufficient to imagine in the long-term course.

For Navy, the offense struggled many of the afternoon. Xavier Arline began at quarterback, however the Midshipmen by no means received something going with him at the helm. Lavatai took over for good late in the primary half, and whereas he was capable of present a spark, it simply wasn’t sufficient to beat the 10-point deficit Navy confronted when he entered the sport. Lavatai completed with 74 yards speeding and 179 yards by the air with a landing, and he did most of his injury in the sport’s ultimate minutes. It was a powerful efficiency by Lavatai as he shrugged off his early struggles and almost rallied his crew to a surprising victory.

The win is Army’s second straight over Navy and sixth win in the final eight conferences. Navy nonetheless leads the all-time sequence 62-55-7.