Army Black Knights defeat the Navy Midshipmen, 14-13 to capture CiC Trophy

It was a cold cloudy day with light snow falling with an inch or two covering the field as the Cadets and Midshipmen marched off to their seating areas and the special teams came out to go through their warm up drills 90 minutes before kickoff. The odds makers made it nearly a toss up with Navy favored by 3 points despite Army’s better record this season; so there was naturally some speculation about how the weather would effect today’s game.

Army West Point dressed in what was beginning to look like camouflage white uniforms was looking to capture the Commander-in-Chiefs Trophy for the first time in over 20 years, and Midshipmen of Navy were equally determined to take the trophy back to Annapolis. The only thing we knew for certain is that the trophy would not stay in Colorado Springs as both Army and Navy had beaten Air Force earlier in the season.

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Navy won the toss and deferred to the second half; so Army elected to receive. Slotback and return man John Trainor took the short kickoff and returned it to the 32. Starting fullback Darnell Woolfolk made the first carry, 6 yards to the 38 and then QB Ahmad Bradshaw picked up a first down on two short gains. On the next play slotback Kell Walker broke loose around right end for a 35 yard gain to the Navy 25. Bradshaw picked up 6 and then Woolfolk carried inside the 20 for another first down. Three short gains brought up a 4th and 1 but Bradshaw carried for a first and goal at the 3 yard line. On the next play Woolfolk carried it in for the first score of the game, and Wilson converted to give Army and early 7-0 lead.

Nick Schrage kicked the ball to the 10 and Navy returned the ball to the 25. Malcolm Perry came out at quarterback for the Midshipmen and carried four straight times for a couple of quick first downs. Navy led by Perry continued on the ground to the Army 20 where Army forced them into a 4th and 1, but Navy converted on a QB keeper. Navy got 8 yards in their next three downs bringing up a 4th and 2 at the 11 yard line and Navy called a time out to talk it over. Niumatalolo elected to go for the field goal and Moehring converted to close the lead to 7-3 with 55 seconds left in the quarter.

John Trainor let Navy’s kickoff go into the end zone and Army started their second possession from their own 25. Bradshaw carried twice for 7, but Navy was called for a holding and Army had a first down on their own 47 as the quarter expired.

Trainor was dropped for a 3 yard loss on a reverse to start the quarter and then Navy stopped slotback Kell Walker for no gain to bring up a third and 13. Fullback Andy Davidson got 7 back, but with a 4th and long, Nick Schrage came on to punt the ball away, and Navy had it back on their own 26. Navy got 6 yards in two carries and then Perry found a hole on the right side and broke loose for a 74 yard touchdown run to give Navy a 10-7 lead.

Glenn Coates returned the kickoff to the Army 20 and two plays gained 7 yards, and Bradshaw was stopped short of the first and Schrage came in to punt again. Navy had the ball back on their 32 to start their next possession.

Zack Abey came in at quarterback for Navy, and on the second play, he completed the first pass of the game, a short pass to the flats for a gain of 2 to bring up a third and 7. Perry was sent back in but took too long to get the play off and Navy had to call a timeout to avoid a delay of game penalty. On third and 7, Navy attempted a reverse end-around pass, but Craig Scott missed his pass attempt and Navy was forced to punt. The punt was short, and Army got the ball back on their own 37 with 7:33 left in the half.

Woolfolk picked up a quick first down, but Navy held the Black Knights to 3 yards on the next three plays to force another Army punt, and Navy had it again on their own 20 with 5:22 left in the half. Perry picked up a quick 9 and then Chris High converted for a Navy first down on their 32. The Black Knights held Navy to 9 yards on the next 3 plays, but Army was called offsides on the 4th and 1 play to give Navy another first down, but Army held again and Navy punted the ball away with 9 seconds left. Woolfolk carried the ball for 6 yards before the clock ran out in the half.

Navy took the kick at the 12 and returned the ball to the 22. Perry carried twice for a first down at the 36. After 2 plays picked up 7, Perry broke loose for a 46 yard run to the Army 11. Navy got 6 yards on two plays, but then Alex Aukerman stopped Perry for no gain and Niumatalolo elected to go for the field goal on fourth down. Moehring converted from 24 yards out to increase Navy’s lead to 13-7.

Coates was dropped on the 21 after a 10 yard return of the next kickoff, and Army started its next possession with a long field. Navy stopped Army for two short gains, and offensive coordinator Brent Davis went to the air as Bradshaw found back-up fullback Calen Holt open for a 20 yard gain. Bradshaw was stopped for a two yard gain and then picked up 21 on his longest run of the day. Woolfolk carried twice for a first down to the 22, Davidson carried twice for 7 yards to the 15, and Woolfolk converted for a first down on the 12. Davidson got 3 to the 9 but then Walker lost a yard back to the 10. On third and 9, Offensive lineman Rick Kurz was called for a false start bringing up a long third and 13 on the 15 yard line. Davis called a reverse and Trainor was dropped for a loss to bring up 4th and down on the 18 as time ran out in the quarter.

The final quarter started with a 34 yard field goal attempt by Blake Wilson, but he kicked it wide right keeping the score at 13-7, and Navy took over on their own 20. A false start set Navy back 5 yards and the Black Knights held them on the next three downs forcing Navy to punt. Trainor fielded the ball on the Army 35 and was dropped immediately.

Bradshaw started that possession with a 13 yard run for a quick first down, and then followed it up with another run for a first down to the Navy 41. Bradshaw gained another 9 and Davidson converted another first down with a 3 yard carry. Bradshaw gained another 5 followed up by 3 yards from Davidson and another 2 yards by Bradshaw for a first down on the Navy 19. Bradshaw and Davidson combined for another first down to the Navy 9. Bradshaw was held for no gain on the next play, but then Trainor took a pitch that came close enough to a touchdown to call for an official review. He was ruled down inside the one, and Bradshaw pushed it in from a yard out, and Wilson converted the PAT to put Army back in the lead at 14-13 with 5:10 left in the game.

Schrage’s kickoff went out of bounds, giving Navy the ball on their own 35 and the Black Knight defense took the field to hold the lead. Perry picked up 6 on the first play, and another 4 yards for the first down on the 45. Perry bobbled the snap on the next play but recovered it for a 4 yard loss. Then Perry broke loose for a 13 yard gain and first down on the Army 44. Army stopped him for a short 2 on the next play but Perry got 4 back to bring up a third and 3, butAlex Aukerman came up with a key stop on Perry for a 1 yard gain to bring up a 4th and 3 on the Army 37. With a critical play coming up, Navy called timeout to talk it over. Navy lined up for the play, but Army called another timeout before the snap. Perry bobbled the snap but recovered it and ran for a 12 yard first down with 1:59 left. On the next play, Navy was called for a false start bringing up a second and 13 on the 27. Chris High carried for 2 yards as the clock ran down to 35 seconds. Navy was called for another false start moving the ball back to the 31 bringing up a third and 16 with 22 seconds left on the clock. With 4th down and 16 and the ball on the Army 35, Navy called their final timeout to send out the field goal team for a last second 49 yard attempt. Moehring’s attempt was wide left and the Black Knights held on for their second straight win and first CiC trophy since 1996.

Army West Point was held to a low of 221 rushing yards led by Ahmad Bradshaw who came alive in the fourth quarter and finished the game with 94 rushing yards to move into 5th place in the NCAA in individual rushing yardage.

Bradshaw completed his only pass attempt for 20 yards and scored the winning touchdown on a 1 yard carry. Woolfolk ran for 57 yards and a touchdown. Despite a 250 yard rushing effort by Perry, Bradshaw was named the MVP by the sportswriters.

Stay tuned for a more in-depth analysis in our Monday Morning Quarterback

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