Army puts up final-seconds stand at goal line, holds on to beat Navy to win coveted trophy

The Army-Navy game has been around for 124 years but this historic first trip to New England will be memorable for a lot of reasons.

Army’s defense came up with a handful of game-saving plays – two on Navy’s final snaps of the game – as the Black Knights held on for a 17-11 victory at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Army head coach Jeff Monken said he had some choice communication with defensive coordinator Nate Woody over the closing 90 seconds as Navy hit on five chunk plays, covering 67 yards in just over a minute. The Midshipmen – needing a touchdown and 2-point conversion to force overtime for a second year in a row – had no timeouts but had the ball first down-and-goal at the Army 6. Navy reserve quarterback Tai Lavatai had already directed two second-half scoring drives and was gunning for another when Army’s defense stiffened.

Army celebrates with the Commander-in-Chief Trophy after a 17-11 win against Navy at the Army-Navy Game at Gillette Stadium. Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports

Outstanding secondary coverage forced Lavatai to float two incompletions in the end zone. He found running back Alex Tecza on a short throw into the right flat but Army linebacker Kalib Fortner wrapped him up for his team-leading 10th tackle, 2 yards shy of the end zone.

Navy elected to rely on its reliable run game for the final snap and the clock running. Lavatai got the call but he was met with a forearm shiver to the helmet by linebacker Leo Lowin and lineman Dre Miller used all of his 270 pounds to wrap Lavatai in a shifting pile that was finally whistled a yard shy of the goalline.

Army took over on downs and quarterback Bryson Daily backpedaled the final snap out the back of the end zone for a safety and the Black Knights prevailed before 65,878 fans treated to the first Army-Navy game played outside of…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/army-puts-final-seconds-stand-031833536.html

Author : Times Herald-Record

Publish date : 2023-12-10 03:18:33

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