Army halts 14-game skid against Navy

BALTIMORE -- When the final whistle sounded, Army's Corps of Cadets stormed the field at M&T Bank Stadium, their gray coats flapping in the wind as they set off a raucous celebration with the Black Knights players.

More than a decade of frustration against archrival Navy had finally come to an end.

Army quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw scored the go-ahead touchdown midway through the fourth quarter and the Black Knights ended a 14-game losing streak against the Midshipmen with a 21-17 victory in their 117th meeting on Saturday.

"We heard for a long time here at West Point about the streak and all that," said Army coach Jeff Monken, who is a former assistant at Navy. "It feels good to be a part of the team that kind of put that to an end. Interestingly enough, I was in the other locker room when the streak started. So I'm really proud to be on this team to see the streak come to an end."

Fullback Andy Davidson rushed for a pair of touchdowns and the Black Knights (7-5) amassed 316 yards on the ground to control the clock and earn their first win over the Midshipmen since Dec. 1, 2001.

On a fourth-and-1 from Navy's 18, Davidson ran seven yards for a first down. That set up the 9-yard score by Bradshaw with 6:42 left in the game.

"It was a great feeling," Bradshaw said. "I can't describe it. It just felt amazing. Our team worked really hard for this to happen today."

Army, which entered the game second in the nation in total defense, shut the Midshipmen down the rest of the way.

Navy (9-4) has been ravaged by injuries, losing two starting quarterbacks and a pair of slot backs at different points of the season. That challenge proved to be too difficult to overcome against Army.

"You don't expect that many guys getting hurt," Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said. "It's football. We're not going to use that as an excuse. They outplayed us. Just tip your hat to them."

MIdshipmen sophomore quarterback Zach Abey was forced into his first career start after Will Worth went down last week in the American Athletic Conference championship game against Temple. After a sluggish first half where he had a pair of interceptions and passer rating of minus-66.5, Abey finally found some rhythm in third quarter.

A fumble by the Black Knights on their own 32 allowed the Midshipmen to get back in the game. Navy took advantage of the short field and pulled to within 14-7 on 1-yard touchdown run by Abey.

A 28-yard field goal by Bennett Moehring cut the margin to 14-10. Abey then gave the Midshipmen their first lead when he rumbled for a 41-yard score with 12:42 remaining in the game.

The Black Knights responded on the ensuing drive on Bradshaw's run and held on for the win.

Abey was 6 of 10 for 89 yards with two interceptions. He also had 19 carries for 73 yards.

"I take responsibility for the game," Abey said. "Obviously, in the first half, I made some bad decisions. I feel horrible for the seniors because I told them before the game that I would give it my all."

Navy was effective moving the ball on the game's first drive before fullback Shawn White fumbled on the Army 34. The Midshipmen had eight turnovers in the first 11 games, but five in the past two matchups.

This was one was costly as Army scored on the ensuing drive on a 1-yard plunge by Davidson. The Black Knights increased the lead to 14-0 on another 1-yard run by Davidson with 7:12 left in the half.

"That's a championship team in that other locker room," Army linebacker Andrew King said. 'We persevered through all of the adversity. This is a culminating event to a great game and a great season. We have more game coming up. We fought hard, we executed and most importantly we finished."

NOTES:

Army will take on North Texas in the Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl on on Dec. 27.

Navy plays Louisiana Tech in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl on Dec. 23.

President-elect Donald Trump attended the game and was cheered when shown on the scoreboard.