Army sinks Navy to end 14-year losing streak

TRADITION at the Army-Navy game calls for each team’s players, at the game’s end, to stand in front of their fellow students and sing their alma mater, with the winning team singing second. On Saturday, for the first time since December 2001, Army sang after Navy did.

Army had pulled off a 21-17, comefrom-behind victory that ended a series-record 14-game losing streak to Navy.

And when the game ended, with Army running out the clock in front of a capacity crowd announced at 71,600 at M&T Bank Stadium – a crowd that included president-elect Donald Trump – thousands of members of the grey- coated Corps of Cadets jumped over the fence to flood the field. Which, in turn, made for a pretty loud backup chorus.

“I can’t put words to it,” said Edgar Poe, a senior wide receiver who finally learned what it feels like to beat Navy. “It’s surreal. It doesn’t even feel like it’s for real.”

The winning touchdown was a thrilling one: junior quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw scored on a 9-yard run with six minutes to play, putting Army back ahead after it had squandered a 14-0 half-time lead.

Navy still holds a 60-50 edge in the series, which dates back to November 29, 1890, and also includes seven ties. And although they were severely short- handed in this game because of injuries to top players, the Midshipmen (9-4) made Army (7-5) earn the victory.

“We’ve heard for a long time about the streak,” said Army coach Jeff Monken, who is in his third season at West Point. “It was good to be part of the team that put that to an end.”

“We persevered through everything,” Andrew King, an Army senior linebacker, said of the game and the season. “We fought hard, executed and, most of all, we finished.”

Brandon Jackson, a sophomore cornerback, had been killed in a one-car accident after Army’s second game of the season. On Saturday, his mother, Morna Davis, made her first appearance at a game since his death, Monken said. Afterward, she was with the team in the locker room for the celebration.

“To share that victory with her, and for her to see how much she means to these guys, was really special for all of us,” Monken said.

As for Trump, he waved to the crowd and pumped his fist as he arrived during the first quarter and then watched the game from two luxury suites, one linked to Army, the other to Navy.

At half-time, he appeared on the CBS television broadcast of the game, said he was “absolutely neutral” and suggested that the quality of the game might not be the best but that the spirit was.