FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Army held its ground on a goal-line stand in the final seconds to send Navy mascot Bill the Goat — and Navy superfan Bill, the G.O.A.T. — home disappointed.
Army linebacker Kalib Fortner scored on a fourth-quarter strip sack and then helped stuff quarterback Tai Lavatai inches from the end zone with 3 seconds left to lead the Black Knights to a 17-11 victory over Navy on Saturday and win the 124th meeting of the nation’s oldest service academies.
“Why’s it always got to be like that?” said Army coach Jeff Monken, whose team won last year in double overtime. “It is. It’s always like that. We had a 14-point lead, and with 1 second to go they’re standing there knocking on the door with a chance to tie the game. Unreal.”
Bryson Daily ran for 84 yards and threw Army’s first touchdown pass against Navy since 2015 to help the Black Knights claim the much-coveted bragging rights for the sixth time in eight tries. Kanye Udoh ran for 88 yards for Army, which also claimed the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy that goes to the team with the best record in head-to-head matchups against other service academies. (Army upset then-No. 17 Air Force last month.)
Lavatai came off the bench in the second quarter and rushed for 74 yards, completing 16 of 26 passes for 176 yards — the most passing yards for a Navy quarterback against Army since 2010. Jayden Umbarger caught six passes for 75 yards and…
