‘There’s going to be a lot of emotion’
Mids look forward to hosting Air Force on 20th anniversary of 9/11
Saturday will not be a typical Navy-Air Force game by any means.
It is being played a month earlier than normal because the service academy showdown was purposefully moved to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.
While it will be strange to see Navy and Air Force meet in the second week of the season, players and coaches have known that would be the case for quite some time and have planned accordingly.
On Monday, Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo and senior safety Kevin Brennan used the word “honor” many times in relation to this annual matchup being put in the spotlight because of the 9/11 anniversary.
“Very humbling, both personally and as a program, to pay respect to those who lost their lives on 9/11. Obviously, that day changed our country forever,” Niumatalolo said. “A service academy game is always big no matter what date it’s played on. It’s a really heated rivalry that has gone backand-forth.”
This is the first leg of the Commanderin-Chief’s Trophy series with the winner having an opportunity to wrest the coveted piece of hardware back from Army West Point. There will be a lot of pomp and circumstance as part of Saturdays’ gameday atmosphere, and both Air Force and Navy are wearing specially designed alternative uniforms for the occasion.
“Just playing the CIC games in general is awesome. It’s a great experience and one of the main reasons that Navy football players come to the academy,” Brennan said. “Just the meaning behind this game, playing on the 20th anniversary of 9/11, it’s a huge deal to honor the people that gave their lives to save others. There’s going to be a lot of emotion.”
Navy must find a way to bounce back quickly from an embarrassing 49-7 season-opening loss to Marshall this past Saturday. Meanwhile, Air Force had an easy time dispatching Lafayette of the Football Championship Subdivision, 35-14.
Navy will be seeking revenge after being soundly defeated, 40-7, in Colorado Springs last season. In an oddity, that Oct. 3 meeting with Navy was the first game of the 2020 season for Air Force. The Falcons only played six games last season and finished 3-3 after falling to Army, 10-7.
“Last year they gave it to us pretty good. We definitely have a sick taste in our mouth after what happened last year,” Brennan said. “Our senior class doesn’t want to go out like that. It’s on all of us to get it together this week and be ready to play.”
The home team has won eight straight games in the rivalry, and Niumatalolo doesn’t want to see the Falcons become the first road team since 2012 to come away victorious.
“No doubt, we need that streak to keep going,” he said.
Adding further intrigue to this year’s matchup is the fact Air Force has 35 “turnbacks,” a term that refers to players that essentially redshirted. Air Force Academy leadership allowed a significant number of football players to withdraw from school during the 2020 fall semester due to the pandemic.
That decision, which preserved a year of eligibility for those players, was initially made after the Mountain West Conference announced it would play football in the spring. However, the Mountain West reversed course and wound up playing conference contests in 2020.
Among the Air Force turnbacks were four defensive standouts in end Jordan Jackson, outside linebacker Lakota Wills, inside linebacker Demonte Meeks and cornerback Tre Bugg. Jackson and Meeks were All-Mountain West Conference selections in 2019.
“That’s definitely a little weird. We’ve never experienced that before,” Brennan
said when asked about the Air Force turnbacks. “It was unprecedented times last year and they were able to do that. It doesn’t affect our preparation.”
Most service academy football games tend to be hard-hitting, low-scoring affairs because Army, Air Force and Navy all know how to defend option football. That certainly was not the case last season when quarterback Haaziq Daniels led the Falcons to a convincing victory.
Daniels and fullback Brad Roberts, who paired with Timothy Johnson to rush for 211 yards, return and Niumatalolo knows they must be contained. Roberts got the 2021 season off to a good start, leading Air Force with 111 rushing yards against Lafayette.
“Yes, we have to find a way to stop those two guys. That’s always a key with option football. You have to stop the dive first then the quarterback,” Niumatalolo said. “They do a really good job of getting their fullback involved in the game. They have different ways to get him the ball depending on what you’re doing. They do a lot of things formation-wise to spring the quarterback.”
Daniels has now made seven career starts for the Falcons. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound signal-caller runs with both power and speed.
“A good athlete, a very good option quarterback. We’ll have to contain him but we’re looking forward to the challenge,” Brennan said. “We got exposed by him last season. He read our defense well and made some good checks.”
Sophomore Tai Lavatai, who got the start at quarterback against Marshall, went down with an apparent knee injury early in the third quarter. Niumatalolo said Lavatai accidentally got leg-whipped by a defender and was undergoing an MRI on Monday to determine the severity. Niumatalolo said team doctors have determined the injury will not require surgery, but said “it doesn’t look good” for Lavatai being able to play this week.
“We’ll kind of see how he feels. The trainer said he’s still pretty sore,” Niumatalolo said. “We’re just grateful there’s no surgery required.”
It would seem likely that Xavier Arline will get the start against Air Force. Arline ran for 76 yards and his first career touchdown against Marshall. The 5-foot-9, 176-pound sophomore has service academy game experience, having started against Army at Michie Stadium in West Point last season.
“I thought Xavier came in and ran the option pretty well [against Marshall],” Niumatalolo said.
Niumatalolo admitted the lopsided loss to Marshall “hurts,” saying “to get beat like that is a hard pill to swallow.” However, the nature of college football is that the previous game — win or loss — must be put In the rearview mirror.
“You try you’re best in this profession to move on. You have to move on because you have the next game coming. This is a huge, huge game for our program,” Niumatalolo said. “Bouncing back is easier said than done, but we have to move forward.”