If you thought today’s Navy Football game was lackluster. Or if you left before the final three minutes. You missed what is perhaps one of the best games you will ever see from the Midshipmen.
Deep in the fourth quarter, this was my tweet.
. @AF_Football hung in there until the very end and should win this game. Hard fought. Now @NavyFB needs to focus on beating @ArmyWP_Football #NavyFootball
— Eye On Annapolis (@eyeonannapolis) October 5, 2019
Apparently I was not deep enough!
At the end of the first quarter, the Mids could not get on the board and trailed the Falcons 3-0.
At the end of the second quarter, they bookended a pair of touchdowns and allowed another Air Force field goal. But they led 14-6.
At the end of the third quarter, they seemed to hit their stride and tacked on another touchdown and held the Falcons to yet another field goal. The Mids were still up 21-9.
And that brings us to the 4th quarter!
It started out boring. With 13:26 left in the game and the Mids ahead 21-9 the Falcons nailed still another field goal. Score 21-12.
At 7:38 after a Navy fumble and an Air Force recovery, the Falcons swooped in for a touchdown making the game interesting, and too close for comfort. Score 21-19. Navy got the ball and ended up punting it away.
At 3:15, Air Force punched into the end zone and failed on a two-point conversion. Now with a 25-21 lead over Navy, it seemed that Navy was going to lose this game.
Navy got the ball, had a few sloppy plays and Malcolm Perry connected for 32 yards to CJ Williams which put them within field goal range which wouldn’t win the game. With 40 seconds on the clock, Perry lunged for a first down and came up short with a 4th and 1 on the 15. The play was reviewed and the 1st down was awarded. From there an eleven yard and three yard rush put Navy ahead again. And an extra point had the Midshipmen leading 28-25 with 22 seconds on the clock.
Air Force got he ball back. After three incomplete passes, and 1 second left to play, quarterback DJ Hammond pitched the ball to Geraud Sanders who got tripped up and fumbled the ball with no time left on the clock.
Navy’s Tony Brown recovered the fumble and ran it into the end zone for a touchdown. Final score Navy 34, Air Force 25.
And then this happened!
It was a sell-out crowd and the 4th largest crowd at Navy Marine Corps Memorial Stadium with 37,957 in attendance. It was the third highest attended game against Air Force played in Annapolis. Navy rushed for a season-low 214 yards, it threw for a season-high 162 yards.
You can read out live blog from the game here, and we will be publishing photos from the field a bit later this weekend! In the meantime, here are some shots from the sidelines!
