A gutsy fake punt to an unlikely hero seals Navy’s upset win over Army in the rivalry’s 125th game

By Kyle Feldscher, CNN

Landover, Maryland (CNN) — Throughout Saturday’s 125th Army-Navy game, Landon Robinson led the way for Navy’s defense. But on one play early in the fourth quarter, the 6-foot, 285-pound nose guard seized a moment of special teams glory that will live on in Naval Academy football history.

The Midshipmen appeared to be stopped at their own 47, facing a fourth-and-5 that looked like it could be the stop Army needed to give themselves a chance to tie the game. Navy lined up to punt and the Corps of Cadets were in high spirits – many of them turning their back on the field to chant at fans in the second level above them.

But when the direct snap went to Robinson, those chants fell silent.

The big man had seen something in the Army punt return team – he wouldn’t say exactly what after the game, keeping those cards close to the chest – and called his own number. He took the snap and broke through the line, finding nothing but open green. He rumbled 29 yards to the Army 27-yard line, picking up a first down that broke the collective back of the Black Knights.

“The fake punt is just something that we saw,” Robinson told reporters. “You know, just something that we worked on for pretty much all season. We showed it at the South Florida game as well. They just gave us the right look, and I just called it on the field.”

The ball came out as Robinson was knocked to the ground, but senior linebacker Colin Ramos – following the play after he made his block jumped on the fumble to ensure Navy picked up the crucial first down.

The play led to a touchdown that gave Navy a 15-point lead with a little less than nine minutes to go in the game. It was a lead they would not relinquish.

Robinson’s jaunt down the sideline all but confirmed an upset win for Navy (9-3) over their archrival, going on to win the game 31-13 and taking home the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy having defeated West Point and the Air Force Academy this season. It was the first time Navy had won the CIC in five years, allowing the team’s seniors to get a key goal checked off before graduation in front of a crowd of more than 60,000 at Northwest Field outside Washington, DC, which included President-elect Donald Trump.

“(It was) good seeing that big boy, 280 pounds, running fast as he does and getting it done. I felt like we could convert there and it’d be huge momentum and that’d probably seal the game for us,” said head coach Brian Newberry after the game.

It was a gutsy play call from a Navy team that had two weeks to prepare for the game, something Newberry alluded to when speaking to CNN leading up to the matchup. That preparation showed as Navy forced Army (11-2) out of its comfort zone and forced the run-happy Black Knights into seeking big plays through the air.

Robinson’s 13 tackles led a defensive line that stymied the top rushing attack in the country, holding Army to 113 yards on the ground when they typically average more than 300. The Navy defense’s play was so strong that the Black Knights were often forced into the uncomfortable position of having to throw the ball to get anything going on offense.

“It’s hard to take away the running attack but you certainly want to control it,” Newberry said. “If you told me they were going to throw it 16 times, I’d have thought that would be a good day for us.”

Army quarterback Bryson Daily will be disappointed at his performance in his final Army-Navy game, throwing three crushing interceptions – the first that led to a Navy first-half touchdown, the second in the fourth quarter when he threw across his body into heavy coverage that led to another Navy touchdown that put the game out of reach and a third that sealed it late in the game.

Navy seizes the momentum early

From the start, Navy looked to have their rivals’ number.

The game started very much in the way the Midshipmen wanted it – a 12-play, 65-yard drive that ended in a Blake Horvath touchdown run and ate up more than six minutes of game time. Navy’s rushing attack may not have been as potent as Army’s before the game but the Horvath-led ground game cut through Army’s impressive defense to pace Navy out to an early 7-0 lead after the game’s first drive.

“I don’t think there was any hesitancy in our game plan or our play calling or how we played,” Horvath said. “We weren’t afraid of going out there and knew, you know, what our game plan was going to be. And, we executed really well in that first drive.”

Army was simply unable to get much of anything going in the first quarter, with Daily unable to find many holes in the Navy defensive line. The Black Knights were only able to pick up a single first down on their first possession. Their second ended in calamity after Daily threw behind his intended receiver and into the waiting arms of Navy’s Deshaun Peele. Two plays later, Horvath used his arm to put the Midshipmen on the board again, throwing an 18-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Brandon Chatman to put Navy up 14-0 early in the second quarter.

Newberry had told CNN ahead of the game that the Midshipmen would be ready for Army’s run-heavy offense and the Black Knights did not look like the team that ran all over Tulane a week ago in the American Athletic Conference championship game. But Daily – who threw 16 passes, more than he threw in every game save for one this season – and offensive coordinator Cody Worley decided to rely on their senior’s arm in critical moments.

First, it was a pass for 18 yards on a critical fourth-down play that kept the touchdown drive going. It was the first real spark of the game for Army and two plays later, Daily threw for the 23-yard score that put Army on the scoreboard for the first time, cutting Navy’s lead in half. It was exactly what Army needed with a little more than six-and-a-half remaining in the first half.

Navy looked like it might score again on the ensuing drive, with Horvath breaking loose for a 37-yard run to put the Midshipmen in a threatening position. But the stout Army defense knocked Navy back and they’d eventually punt.

Army stalls on key drives and Navy hits a big play

Army got the ball first in the second half, marching down the field bit by bit on the ground. The biggest play came on a fourth-and-one play from the Navy 49-yard line when Daily overthrew splitback Noah Short, but the referees threw a flag for pass interference on Navy cornerback Andrew Duhart. The penalty gave Army a first down in a dangerous position, but the Black Knights’ drive eventually stalled out and kicker Trey Gronotte nailed a 39-yard field goal to make the score 14-10 in favor of the Midshipmen.

A big return on the ensuing kickoff gave Navy the ball in favorable field position, but the Army defense looked like it was starting to clamp down as it had all year long. But on third down and four, Horvath connected with Eli Heidenreich at the Army 42. Heidenreich avoided Army cornerback Donavon Platt, watching the defender fly past him before he ran untouched into the end zone for a 52-yard score that put Navy up 21-10.

Heidenreich said he blacked out after crossing the goal line but had clear thoughts as the field opened in front of him.

“I think the big thing is like next step, don’t trip. You don’t want to be falling down on your own, but I think a big thing is just, you know, hitting your stride,” he said.

The Navy half of the stadium exploded while the West Point side fell silent, having seen a massive chance to get back in the game go by the wayside in the span of about two minutes on the game clock.

Army moved down the field – aided by another penalty on a fourth-down play, this time a roughing the passer call on Navy striker Kenneth McShan – but once again saw its drive stall in the red zone early in the fourth quarter. The nation’s top running offense increasingly turned to the pass to try and overcome a stiff Navy defense. Daily missed a wide-open Casey Reynolds in the end zone, a chance that had the senior from Texas crouched over with his head in his hands. The Black Knights kicked a field goal to cut the Navy lead to eight.

The stalled Army drives in the red zone were critical stands by the Navy defense.

“We knew it was going to be that way,” Newberry said. “They grind you out, get in third and two, they get in fourth and one, and go on and convert on some of those fourth downs … we got some stops down in the red zone and really you want to force field goals and not give up touchdowns, and we did a good job of that.”

Horvath’s heroics put the game on ice

After that stand came Robinson’s heroics and another rushing touchdown by Horvath, who soundly outplayed his Army counterpart, accounting for more than 311 total yards and four touchdowns.

“These guys here, the offensive line, you know – shoot, I know we didn’t win no Joe Moore, but it looks like the rushing yards were 271 to 113,” Horvath told reporters, alluding to the award the Army offensive line won earlier this week as the best in college football. “So, it’s just the facts right there. And, you know, we played hard today and wanted it more.”

After Daily’s second interception, Horvath gashed through Army’s defense for a 48-yard gain that would essentially put the game out of reach for Army. Navy added a field goal to make the score 31-13 with just under four minutes to go.

After the game, CNN’s Coy Wire asked Horvath if he felt like Superman after his MVP-winning heroics – he shared the honors with Robinson.

“Yeah, more like Captain America,” Horvath said, a veiled reference to Daily’s nickname.

“It’s just awesome, honestly, to … (have) been banged up all season, to get back out here and just play for the seniors and playing for everybody. It’s awesome, that’s all I can say.”

A third pick from Daily on the ensuing drive sent the Navy fans into hysterics and the Brigade of Midshipmen broke out into taunting chants of “Overrated!” at their rivals.

The defeat to Navy puts a damper on what was a historic season for Army. After defeating Tulane for the AAC conference championship last week, the Black Knights hoped to achieve the first 12-win season in school history. They will have one more chance to achieve that in the Independence Bowl. Their planned opponent, Marshall University, pulled out of the game because so many of its players transferred after the team’s head coach left for a new job. Louisiana Tech will now take Marshall’s place.

Navy will play Oklahoma in the Armed Forces Bowl later this month.

This story has been updated with additional reporting.

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