Army-Navy series heads to New England with bragging rights, coveted trophy at stake

America’s Game is taking a detour to celebrate America’s founding.

The 124th edition of the Army-Navy Game will be played at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, home of the NFL’s New England Patriots. It marks only the third time in a series dating back to 1890 that the contest will be played outside the mid-Atlantic region: Chicago’s Soldier Field hosted in 1926 and the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, hosted in 1983.

The game will recognize the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party in December 1773, the spark of the American revolution.

There is great excitement for the sold-out contest, which will be televised nationally by CBS Sports (WCBS-2 in New York) at 3 p.m. ET Saturday.

For the players and coaches from both academies, this has always been more than just a football game and there is much at stake. Both clubs are 5-6 and desperate to reach a .500 record that will ease the disappointments of the 2023 season. Army has won its last three and Navy two of its last three.

Outside all of the pomp and circumstance it still boils down to one thing: winning.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey presents players with replicas of Paul Revere bowls to welcome them to the state for the Army-Navy game during a news conference at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., on Nov. 29, 2023. From left are players: Navy defensive end Jacob Busic, linebacker Will Harbour, quarterback Xavier Arline, Army linebacker Leo Lowin, and defensive back Jimmy Ciarlo.

“Their guys are going to come into that game sky high and playing as hard as they can,’’ Army coach Jeff Monken said, “and hopefully our guys will come into the game sky high and playing as hard as we can and that’s what makes the game so great. It’s intense. It’s physical. It’s a group of guys on each side just fighting as hard as they can to…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/army-navy-series-heads-england-121318650.html

Author : Times Herald-Record

Publish date : 2023-12-08 12:13:18

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