Army Conquers Navy on New England Patriots' Home Turf

Defying a pregame prediction from New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, the Army Black Knights took down the Navy Midshipmen at Gillette Stadium on Saturday.

Bill Belichick hasn't been able to approve much of what's transpired on Gillette Stadium's turf this season. But the long-tenured New England Patriots head coach, well-known for his defensive masterpieces in Foxborough, likely watched Saturday's event with a smile.

Situated in the Boston area for the first time (a week before the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party) in its 124-year history, the Army-Navy game at Gillette Stadium lived up to defensive-dominated billing to the tune of a 17-11 victory for West Point's Black Knights on Saturday. 

Army's Casey Reynolds (R) flees from Navy's Kush'i Abraham during Saturday's game / Danny Wild, USA TODAY SPORTS

Army (6-6) has won six of the past eight annual meetings between the two rival service academies. Combined with a victory over Air Force on Nov. 4 (the first part of a four-game winning streak to round out the season), Army's win will also allow them to take home the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy back from Colorado Springs.

The Black Knights might've proved Belichick, the son of a former Annapolis assistant coach, wrong after the Patriots coach picked the Midshipmen prior to kickoff. But Belichick could've appreciated West Point's defensive effort, one that allowed just 173 yards before Navy's final two drives.

Kalib Fortner was the star for Army in Saturday's battle of heroes: the sophomore linebacker took a strip fumble from Navy quarterback Tai Lavatai back 44 yards for the touchdown that proved to be the difference in the latest edition of the long-standing bout. 

Fortner's score made it 17-3 with 4:49 remaining and seemingly served as the finishing touch. Army scored the game's lone offensive touchdown to that point on a four-yard Bryson Daily touchdown pass to Tyson Riley in the second quarter. 

But Lavatai recovered from his fatal fumble to engineer a seven-play, 59-yard drive that took only 2:02 (and neither of their two remaining timeouts) to complete, capping things off with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Jayden Umbarger. Navy failed to complete the ensuing two-point conversion but lingered in contention nonetheless. 

Army went three-and-out on its ensuing drive, failing to run the clock out and giving the Midshipmen (5-7) one final go at it to fulfill Belichick's prophecy. They got all the way to the one-yard-line but Lavatai was stuffed on fourth down in the midst of a potential equalizing scrum, giving the Black Knights the ball back with three seconds left. One play prior, Fortner took down Alex Tecza with an open-field hit just two yards short of six, setting up the fourth-and-goal that yielded West Point euphoria.

After stopping Lavatai's sneak, Army ran out the clock and intentionally took a safety to prevent Navy from touching the ball again. Navy continues to lead the all-time set 62-55-7 as the two sides prepare to add a new layer to their rivalry: Army's football program is set to join Navy in the American Athletic Conference come next season, marking their first such excursion since a seven-year stint in Conference USA (1998-2004).

Patriotic Play: Patriots Home to Host 2023 Army-Navy Game

Traditionally held in Philadelphia (the de facto midway point between Annapolis and West Point), the Army-Navy Game will continue a de facto tour in 2024. Next year's game is set to be held near the nation's capital, as FedExField in Landover, MD will host for the first time since 2011.