Unfinished business
After bitter memory of 2020, Navy quarterback Xavier Arline wants ‘payback’ against rival Army
In a tiny interview room adjacent to the victorious visiting locker room, Navy quarterback Xavier Arline was already looking ahead to the biggest game of the season.
Navy had just upset 20th-ranked Central Florida on its home field for its most emphatic win of the 2022 season and Arline had played a prominent role.
Arline was thrilled about the impressive victory, which spoke volumes about Navy’s improvement and potential, and proceeded to praise the offensive line, fullbacks, slotbacks and wide receivers.
However, Arline quickly turned his attention to the game looming three Saturdays later, basically saying he had unfinished business as far as archrival Army is concerned.
“I have some payback coming for these guys,” Arline said matterof-factly.
“I’ve always been someone who builds motivation off proving people wrong. That’s always in the back of my mind every time I step on the field,” he said. “I had an opportunity to beat [Army] as a plebe and didn’t get it done.”
Arline was referring to the 2020
Army-Navy Game. Following a season-long quarterback shuffle, the Navy coaching staff settled on Arline as the starter for the final two games.
Bitter memory
Arline became just the fifth Navy freshman to start against Army and the first to do so on enemy turf.
Arline was not overwhelmed by the moment during his introduction to “America’s Game” and pretty much provided the only offense the visitors could muster on a dark, foggy, rainy day in upstate New York. The precocious plebe established a careerhigh with 109 rushing yards on 17 carries during an ugly 15-0 loss.
Unfortunately for Navy, the quarterback keeper was the only option that did any damage.
Afterward, Arline was naturally downcast and deeply disappointed about his inability to cross the goal line on two chances.
Arline authored Navy’s biggest play of the game, bursting through a big hole on the right side then using a sharp cutback to break loose for a 52-yard run. Army safety Cedric Cunningham thought he had an angle on
Arline, but got juked by a well-timed cutback. To Cunningham’s credit, he did not give up on the play and managed to chase down the Navy quarterback from behind and drive him out of bounds.
Although Arline reached out and slammed the ball against the pylon while going down, a replay review showed his knee was down at the 2-yard line.
“That play still haunts me, just wondering if I could have gotten one more yard if the outcome of the game would have been different,” Arline said. “I realized afterward how big that could have been if I had scored.”
Navy still had four plays to punch the ball in and take a 7-3 lead early in the third quarter. Two plays yielded no yards, then Arline got the call on third down. He found an opening on the right side and appeared set to dive into the end zone when Army linebacker Jon Rhattigan made a touchdown-saving tackle.
“I remember standing on the field afterward watching Army celebrate and their fans going crazy. That’s what lives in my head and it always will until it’s reversed,” Arline said. “It’s a huge game for the whole program, but individually I definitely have some things I want to overturn in my brain.”