Falcons always ready for Navy

Both teams hope to get CommanderinChief Trophy after drought

Air Force senior defensive back Garrett Kauppila’s vantage point for Navy games has included the sideline and the stands.

This Saturday, he will take in the rivalry from an even better spot — the field.

“I’ve seen a lot, heard a lot, heard the excitement, been on the sideline for that, in the stands for them as well, for two years,” Kauppila said . “I’m excited for the opportunity without a doubt.”

There’s no need to stress the importance of the game between Air Force (13) and Navy (22) at Falcon Stadium. This is for bragging rights. This is for a leg up to capture the coveted CommanderinChief’s Trophy, which goes annually to the academy with the best record in the roundrobin competition.

Army enters the season as the reigning champion, with Air Force earning the crown in 2016 and Navy in 2015.

“We need to bring it back,” Navy senior fullback Anthony Gargiulo said. “It’s been a minute since we’ve had it here.”

This marks the 47th year of the competition, with the winning team receiving an invitation to the White House. Air Force has won 20 outright titles, Navy 15 and Army seven. If the three service academies split their matchups, the team that won it the year before retains the crown.

The Falcons enter the game having dropped three straight, while the Midshipmen had a week off to think about a 3130 overtime loss at SMU. No extra motivation necessary — this game is always circled on both team’s calendars.

“Our guys recognize how important the CommanderinChief’s Trophy is for the program, for our goals,” Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said.

This will really be the first time Kauppila has gone against a tripleoption offense.

Well, outside of seeing it every day in practice against his own offense. The Falcons have been tough against the run (98.5 yards per game), but have been vulnerable to an air attack (282.8).

Facing a running team couldn’t come at a better time, right?

“There’s never a time when I’d say Army and Navy aren’t the perfect team for us to play,” said Kauppila, who broke his collarbone while blocking a punt early last season. “We build this program for these types of games. That doesn’t mean we have any excuse to have shortcomings in other areas. There’s no excuse for that.

“We’re built inherently to stop the run, that’s been one of our strengths. It’s something we really take pride in.”

Welltraveled Midshipmen:

Talk about racking up the frequent flyer miles. The Midshipmen will travel around 26,496 miles this season between six road contests and two neutral site games. A breakdown: To Hawaii (9,706 miles round trip), San Diego to face Notre Dame (5,334), Colorado Springs to play Air Force (3,366), Dallas to take on SMU (2,734), New Orleans for a game against Tulane (2,250), Orlando, Florida, to play Central Florida (1,764), Cincinnati (1,084) and to Philadelphia against rival Army (258).