Annual Army-Navy Football Game

Army Edges Navy 20-17 in Double OT of America’s Game

It is called America’s Game and the name fits well.

by John Chuhran

Above: Army (left) and Navy (right) front lines facing off in the 2022 Army-Navy Football Game

14 | November-December 2022 I t is the Army-Navy Game, arguably the great est rivalry in sports and undeniably the greatest example of pure amateurism in any athletic competition. And the 123rd annual edition of this iconic American competition, a 20-17 double overtime thriller won by Army December 10 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, will stand prominently among its predecessors and those games to come.

What makes the Army-Navy Game so special? It involves a sport that is uniquely American (while baseball has been embraced by Latin America and Far Eastern countries like South Korea and Japan), and it involves players who play the game for only one reason – the love of the game.

The U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY and the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, MD (and the U.S. Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs) present the greatest challenge in existence for a student athlete. Beginning with academic requirements that equal or surpass those at the most highly regarded learning institutions in the land (beginning with Harvard, Yale and Stanford), these military academies add the rigors of learning how to be a soldier, sailor, aviator, or marine. That mixture takes up more time and effort than can be found at any other institution; add the requirements of mastering the skills and building the strength and endurance necessary to compete against the best athletes in the toughest inter-collegiate competition in the land makes it easy to see that the football players at Army, Navy and Air Force represent the absolute best of what an American student can be.

More than just a physical test, football at a military academy is a mental exercise that forces players to maintain high quality of performance when others have yielded to fatigue. That test happens because these players are generally a fraction smaller and have a fraction less speed or strength than those at power houses like Alabama or TCU or Georgia. Military requirements involving running while carrying a 50-pound pack for five or 10 miles below a certain time limit; players weighing more than 300 pounds generally find it impossible to accomplish. Toss in the requirement that any graduate of a military academy must also fulfill a five-year commitment of military service and, in an age when most people want easy success with minimal work, few top athletes would give Army, Navy or Air Force the slightest consideration as a place to go to college.

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To compensate for any physical disadvantages Military Academy football teams have when playing most other teams during the year, the players tend to have greater intellectual capacity, resourcefulness, endurance, mental toughness, and discipline – attributes that enable them to adapt and fight opponents in a way that usually keeps scores close. These are also skills that prove to be invaluable in battle and explain why football is regarded so highly among senior military leaders; to them, football is the best teaching tool in existence that prepares a student for combat. Just how much football matters in building character and leadership among the cadets and midshipmen can be seen on a brass plaque usually mounted on a wall at the southeast corner of Michie Stadium at West Point. The bronze tablet carries a few words supposedly spoken by General George Marshall, then the Chief of Staff of the Army, during World War II. They are a simple but powerful testament to the value of football: “I want an officer for a secret and dangerous mission. I want a West Point Football player.”

As a result of the size, speed and strength disadvantages military athletes have against most opposition, the three service academies must play a style of football that is an anachronism -- a time capsule illustrating the way the game was played 50 or 60 years ago. The military academies play “oldschool” football – a run-oriented offense called the triple option. The quarterback usually takes the snap, swings out, starts to run and watches the play unfold. He waits until the last moment before deciding whether to keep the ball, pitch it to another back, or pass it.

All 11 players must execute their jobs properly for this type of attack to succeed, and even then the gains will usually average a mere 3.2 to 4.5 yards per play if a team is to win. Players must work as a team but must also be ready to seize an opportunity to make extraordinary individual effort, all while experiencing pain and fatigue. Like boot camp, it is a grueling experience that makes men better.

For 60 minutes every year, the players from Army and Navy play with all the intensity they can summon. But after the game ends, they solemnly embrace each other and respectfully stand at attention as the bands play the alma maters of the two schools (winner sings last). It is a touching and emotional reminder that, for the seniors, within six months they may very well be absolutely relying on the players they had so desperately wanted to destroy. Indeed, their very lives might depend upon those former opponents.

With the stakes so high, it is easy to see why the Army-Navy Game is truly America’s Game. It earns that title because it is so much more than a game. Nothing else comes close.

It was with this history – known by all on the sidelines and by most of the 69,117 fans attending the contest in Philadelphia – that the 123rd Army-Navy Game was held on December 10. The game was far from the extreme scoring seen in the college football playoffs a month later. Statistically, Army and Navy had horrible offensive statistics – Army

Above: Some of the Army team members in post-game celebration. Below: Army coach Jeff Monken (green jacket, no hat) giving post-game hug to Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo (blue jacket); Army and Navy players showing support for eachother post-game

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Above: Army and Navy paratroopers in pre-game show. Below: Signs of the long-standing rivalry between Army and Navy football teams

(6-6) had been averaging of 304.4 rushing yards per game (second-best in the country) but advanced a pitiful 33 yards on 14 carries on the ground in the first half and had just 153 total yards for the game (vs. an average of 385.5 ypg coming into Saturday’s competition). Navy (4-8) logged just 284 total yards – far fewer than its 330.7 ypg average for the first 11 games.

The offensive squads did not forget how to play nor did they stop trying. There is always cause and effect. In the 2022 matchup, exceptional punting and stunningly effective defensive play carried the day. Brief outbursts of offense came from rare defensive failures. This was classic “smash-mouth” Army-Navy football. The punters – Riley Riethman for Navy, Billy Boehlke for Army – had nine boots each and most put the opposition inside its own 30 yard line. Fearing a turnover that could easily allow the defensive team to score, both offenses played conservatively.

The defenses used a mixture of quick reactions, anticipation, correct recognition of the threat, and proper execution of fundamental training – characteristics that are familiar to those who serve in the military. Army defenders Leo Lowin (16 tackles), Marquel Broughton (10), Chris Fey (10), Jimmy Ciarolo (9), and Camden O’Gara (8) were matched by Navy’s Nick Straw (9), John Marshall (8), Jianni Woodson-Brooks (8), Colin Ramos (8), and Clay Cromwell (6). They all demonstrated excellence.

The first quarter was scoreless, but Navy took the lead at 12:36 of the second when Bijan Nichols drilled a 44-yard field goal. As clocked ticked down towards the final minute before the halftime break, Navy had to punt when trapped on its own 14 yard line and Army’s Noah Short found a hole and blocked the Navy punt. As the ball bounced back into the Navy end zone, Army’s Jabril Williams fell onto it for an Army touchdown.

After the break, Navy’s Anton Hall Jr. charged 77 yards – the longest running play by Navy in the history of “America’s Game”– for the touchdown and a 10-7 Navy lead at 4:09 of the third quarter. Army benefitted from good starting field position as the final four minutes ran down, and the Black Knights advanced 25 yards to set up Maretzki for game-tying 25-yard field goal that tied the score 10-10 and sent the game to overtime for the first time since the series started in 1890.

On the very first play of the extra session, Army’s Markel Johnson found a hole and dashed 25 yards for the TD. Navy responded with a touchdown pass from QB Xavier Arline to Maquel Haywood that again knotted the score.

Double overtime decided the outcome. Six plays in, Navy was on the Army 3 when Hall made hard contact with Army’s Austin Hill. The ball popped out and Army’s Darius Richardson fell on the ball on the Army 1, ending the threat. Knowing a field goal would give Army the victory, the Black Knights focused on keeping the ball in the middle of the field. Maretzki booted a 39-yard game winner that just stayed inside the right upright, giving Army a 20-17 win.

“What a game,” said Army Head Coach Jeff Monken, 5-4 in Army-Navy Games. “That was two football teams that fought just as hard as they possibly could. It was an epic battle. It’s one that I’ll remember for a long time, probably forever, just how we managed to win.

It feels like every single play, that the game is hanging in the balance. That’s the intensity of this game. It was fought that way from start to finish. That’s what’s great about this game and about these teams. We want to win this game. We want to beat their pants off. I want to beat them every time we play ‘em. But I respect the fight that the competitors have in this game. Their guys, our guys. It’s what makes our military the best fighting force this world has ever known, because of people like that leading soldiers.” It was the second loss by Navy in the last three ArmyNavy Games and that, combined with Navy’s poor overall record for the last three years, resulted in Niumatalolo, the all-time leader in victories (10-5) in America’s Game, getting fired a day later.