In an Army-Navy game like no other, the Knights shut out the Mids under a blanket of fog
WEST POINT, N.Y. - The 121st football game between Army and Navy would be different, and that was obvious well before it started. Three hours before kickoff Saturday afternoon, during March On - the entrance in formation of the Corps of Cadets, followed by the Brigade of Midshipmen - the Cadets moved in relative silence, wearing their dress grays as the sound of the band echoed around Michie Stadium. The only people in the stands at the time were Department of Defense leadership.
Things got rowdier when it was Navy's turn. The coronavirus pandemic had moved the game to West Point for the first time since 1943, and it was truly a home game, even though no fans were in attendance. Boos rained down from the cadets as 4,000-plus Midshipmen in their dress blues congregated at the end of their march.
After 60 minutes of ground and pound under a blanket of fog, Army was victorious, 15-0, for its first shutout in the rivalry since 1969. The Midshipmen (3-7) have lost four of their past five meetings with the Black Knights (8-2).
This was an Army-Navy game like none other as many traditions were canceled in the name of safety. The pregame tug-of-war, however, went on, and it was dominated by the cadets - to the thrill of those in heavy gray overcoats.
The cadets' dress matched the sky as dense fog rolled in just before the game and worsened throughout. Jersey numbers were indiscernible from the stands, and Lusk Reservoir, which normally provides a picturesque background, disappeared behind the dense, low hanging clouds. The pregame flyover could only be heard as the fog obscured views of anything higher than the stadium's light poles. All of Navy's offensive coaches and all but two defensive coaches moved from the coaches' box to the field after halftime because they couldn't see.
President Donald Trump arrived about 30 minutes before the game and received raucous applause as he walked onto the field for the pregame coin flip.
Army quarterback Tyhier Tyler rushed for 96 yards and the game's only touchdown as Army finished with 134 yards on the ground and 162 total. Navy quarterback Xavier Arline rushed for 109 yards before he left the game with about two minutes remaining; that accounted for all but eight of the Midshipmen's yards. He finished 0 for 4 through the air, and the teams combined for just 12 first downs. J'arius Warren had a career-high 14 tackles for Navy.
The teams combined for just five first downs in the first half, and a 37-yard field goal by Army's Quinn Maretzki in the second quarter accounted for every point. The Black Knights' lone completion of the game, a 28-yarder from Tyler to Tyrell Robinson, had moved Army into the red zone.
Army had a chance to add three more points late in the half after starting a drive in Navy territory, but Maretzki missed a 38-yard attempt.
The Midshipmen's best scoring opportunity came on their first drive of the second half after Arline rushed for 52 yards on the second snap to set up first and goal from the Army 2-yard line. Navy ran the ball on four straight plays and still couldn't reach the end zone, giving the ball back to the Black Knights.
Army put the game away in the fourth quarter after Navy slotback CJ Williams dropped a pitch from Arline on the perimeter and the Black Knights recovered at the Navy 13-yard line. Tyler ran in a 4-yard draw to give Army a 10-0 lead.
That was more than enough to ice the victory as the Navy offense was, in the words of Coach Ken Niumatalolo, inept for the third consecutive game. The Midshipmen were held to seven, six and zero points in that stretch and failed to score a touchdown for the second week in a row. Navy was held to a touchdown or less in three consecutive games for the first time since a 1-10 season in 1992.
Arline became the fifth Navy freshman quarterback to start against Army, with the most recent being Keenan Reynolds in 2012. The other freshmen went 3-1.
A 14-yard loss on a reverse by Navy's Mark Walker gave Army two more points with just over five minutes to play when Daryan McDonald dropped him for a safety. A 40-yard field goal by Maretzki with 2:20 left added insult to injury.
