Army Football: 3 takeaways from shutout win over Navy

Army football shut out the Naval Academy in the first game played at West Point since 1943. What did we learn from the latest edition of the Army-Navy game?

It’s an honor to write the recap of this game. These young men have the duty and burden of defending our country. In the movie The Junction Boys, one young man could not play because of a lack of practice. “It’s war,” head coach Paul “Bear,” Bryant said. The young man’s father — a military veteran — replied, “No, sir. I’ve seen war. This is football.”

Army-Navy means so much more than football, yet it reminds fans that it is just a game. When the pandemic first shut down the country, the Navy and Army’s young men intimated that if there were one game, they would try to play, it would be this one.

Because of restrictions, this game was played at West Point for the first time since 1943. The Army’s 15-0  victory was the first time either team was shutout since 2008. The Navy has not been shutout since 1969. This low-scoring game was 3-0 at halftime; the first touchdown was not scored until the fourth quarter after a fumble by Navy quarterback Xavier Artline.

The Midshipmen had an opportunity to score the first touchdown of the game in the third quarter. Artline went on a 52-yard run and got the ball to the Army 1-yard line. The Black Knights goal-line stand kept the Navy out of the endzone and preserved the shutout.

Here are three takeaways from this afternoon’s foggy affair.

3. Quarterback carousel 

Both Army and Navy had some instability at quarterback this season. Army has played six different quarterbacks this season. Today, Tyhier Tyler got the start for the Black Knights. Navy has started three different quarterbacks, with Xavier Arline starting for the Midshipmen. Both quarterbacks played admirably despite their inexperience.

It was obvious that Xavier Arline was not Malcolm Perry. With Arline in the game, the Navy playbook was limited. The Mids ran mostly power option, fullback belly and a lot of quarterback keep. Arline did have 109 yards rushing though he did not complete a pass.

The Army offensive attack was limited, as well. The sophomore was making just his second start of the season. The Black Knights ran mostly power option and quarterback power with Tyler under center. Tyler ended the day with 96 rushing yards.