“So to lose to them is very disappointing.’’Īrmy’s normally reliable offense sputtered miserably after seizing a 10-7 lead in the first quarter. “This is the game we build up for year-round,’’ said senior defensive back and co-captain Cedrick Cunningham. 22 Armed Forces Bowl meeting with Missouri but that didn’t take the sting off this setback. We didn’t do our jobs.’’Īrmy still has a Dec. “We didn’t make plays,’’ said junior defensive back and co-captain Marquel Broughton. “I think (Navy) just came out and outplayed us in all phases, just the simple things you need to do to win football games,’’ said senior nose guard and co-captain Nolan Cockrill. Getting humiliated in front of a worldwide audience of celebrating sailors and sullen footsoldiers will get you canned.Photo gallery: Navy defeats Army 17-13 at MetLife Stadium His 5-29 record is the worst three-year start in Army history, and losing to Navy doesn’t sit well at West Point. He’s been on the hot seat since losing to Rutgers and Division I-AA Holy Cross. You’ve got the rest of your life to remember,” Johnson said.Ĭounterpart Todd Berry was on the other end of the spectrum. “I just told everybody stay focused, play football for 60 minutes. But Johnson – who’d been Navy’s offensive coordinator in 1995 and ’96 before winning consecutive I-AA titles at Georgia Southern – became only the fourth rookie in the past 40 years – and first in 20 – to win this game. Rookie coaches don’t win this game: They’re overwhelmed by it. Johnson won his debut over SMU to start the season, but Navy had gone winless since. In a rivalry known for hard-fought classics – eight of 13 had been decided in the last minute, and the teams had scored exactly 177 TDs each – this one was over quickly. The score was 14-3, and even though they were just one play into the second quarter, this game was won. He went for it on fourth-and-goal, and Candeto got it. After Candeto got tackled on the 1 to end the first quarter with Navy ahead 7-3, Johnson made a call that will stamp his tenure. The line – led by Rhodes Scholarship nominee Grant Moody – opened holes for 421 rushing yards. Navy dominated from the start, as soon as their four F-14 Tomcats finished their stadium flyby. Their zone-blitz defense – mixing eight-man fronts with nickel packages – dismantled Army’s spread offense. “His wife really wanted to be at the game, and since he couldn’t be there with us, he told us to play hard, and that’s what we did today we played hard.”Īnd brilliantly. “When he lost his wife it’s like we lost a family member, too,” Michawn Yuvienco said. Secondary coach Keith Jones’ wife Bernadette had gone into a coma Thursday night and died on Friday he told the team to play hard in his absence.
#ARMY NAVY STREAKER SERIES#
This series is about passion, not compassion.įirst-year Navy coach Paul Johnson cautioned his players to tame that passion with poise. While they may find themselves fighting alongside each other with war threatening in Iraq, the Midshipmen (2-10) showed little mercy on Army (1-11).
That makes you play that much harder, knowing it’s not just about football it’s about service and loyalty to your country.” We’re playing for those people that are fighting overseas for us. He’s the most popular man in Annapolis after he beat Army with a home run last spring. We’re playing for all those people that died for our freedom,” said Candeto, nicknamed Candy Man for his sweet moves. On the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, he tied a school record set in 1917 and ’19, back when the Navy was embroiled in World War I. He ran Navy’s wishbone offense like he invented it, throwing for a touchdown and rushing 18 times for 103 yards and six TDs. And quarterback Craig Candeto had the greatest day in Army-Navy history, the kind of game that will make him a hero to sailors worldwide. Navy cruised, 58-12, in front of 78,672 at Giants Stadium, the biggest offensive outburst in this series’ 103 games.
But yesterday’s fight was one-sided, with the Midshipmen earning arguably the most emphatic win ever in this series. Someday soon, the men who played in yesterday’s Army-Navy game – no, make that the Navy rout – will be fighting side-by-side to defend the country.
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