Navy’s Matt Aiken tumbles over Army’s Josh Jackson for a key first down in the first half of Saturday’s Army-Navy game in Philadelphia. (Staff photo by Thomas Brown)
The ground games have been impressive, as expected — Army ended the third quarter with 268 yards on the ground and doesn’t appear to be slowing down. But who figured so many key plays would come with the ball in the air? For example:
- On Navy’s first scoring drive, Keenan Reynolds fires an out pass to Matt Aiken, who needs five yards for a first down. He gets them the hard way, as Military Times photographer Thomas Brown captured above. Two plays later, it’s 7-0 Navy.
- Army gets the ball with 19 seconds to play in the first half, down 10-7. Trent Steelman, not known for his throwing prowess, hits sophomore Chevaughn Lawrence for a 19-yard gain, giving his team a chance at a game-tying field goal.
- Army takes a 13-10 lead, then stops a Navy drive and gets the ball back. Navy avoids a momentum shift, though, when Tra’ves Bush breaks up a third-down Steelman pass intended for Patrick Laird, ending the drive.
With Navy needing a score late, don’t expect the air attack to go quiet just yet.
