Rivalry Is More Than Just A Word

WEST POINT, N.Y. – When one thinks of the greatest rivalries of all-time of course, Yankees-Red Sox, Lakers-Celtics and Packers-Bears comes to mind. But one of the biggest college rivalries is nestled between the banks of the Hudson and the Severn River.

It's a rivalry that dates back to 1890 when the two prestigious schools met for the very first time on the gridiron.

An annual battle between the football teams representing the Corps of Cadets and the Brigade of Midshipmen, who will eventually all be fighting for the same cause once their four years at the academies have concluded.

Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016 will mark the academies' 117th all-time meeting on the football field, but before the big day, here is an inside look at a magical run by the Black Knights that changed the way the rivalry was defined forever.

From 1992 to 1996, Army reeled off five wins in a row over arch-rival Navy by a combined 10 points. During that span, each game had several key moments that Black Knights fans will never forget.

THE RIVALRY

Kevin Gleason (longtime Army beat reporter, Times Herald Record) – "There's raw emotion that you don't get at every sporting event. Some of the most mentally tough student-athletes in the country are balling their eyes out and are inconsolable because it means so much to them. To see the effect on them makes you realize how much it means to the young players. They get notes and emails all year from people giving them inspiration for the game. They legitimately feel that they are playing for a bigger cause. It's the only game where everyone has a rooting interest. The buzz when you're on the field before the game is unmatched. You can't put it into words after the game of how these kids feel because you can't even relate to them."

Bob Sutton (Army Head Coach, 1991-99) – "The two sides compete to see who can cheer more, and it creates a unique energy that you don't see anywhere else. Period. Every time you started down the tunnel, the feeling was the same – it was the same butterflies and excitement year in and year out. It brought a lot out of you. You wanted to do whatever you could to help these guys get what they want. I was thrilled to be part of the rivalry. I think it's the best game in football. It's the ultimate in passion."

Ronnie McAda (Army Quarterback, 1993-96) – "All three of the games I played in were outstanding, hard-fought football games. That's what I've always remembered from those games. It's the one game of the year you do not want to lose. You have guys out on the field that aren't looking to enter the NFL. They're going to war and fighting on the same side. During the game though, we want to beat them. After the game, we always have a ton of respect for Navy, but during the game, they are our enemy and we want to win.

"The difference between Army-Navy and other rivalries is that we live similar lifestyles throughout the year leading up to the game. We get up at 6 a.m. to shine our shoes and go to drill and class. Football is the getaway at the academies, whereas at other schools, it's life. We're at the Academies to learn how to become a military officer and serve our country."

Thomas Burrell (Army Linebacker, 1992-95) – "My dad went to the Academy, so I grew up watching the Army-Navy game. It's absolutely amazing to play in it. You watch it your entire life, and then you find yourself walking out into Veterans Stadium."

John Feintstein (Renowned author of various works including Civil War and A Season on the Brink) – "When people ask me 'If you could go to one sporting event a year, what would it be?' I always say the Army-Navy game. And I say that because of the quality of the people playing in the game. I know from personal experience how special they all are. To play football at a Division I level, in addition to the responsibilities of being a cadet and a midshipmen, and to know that in most cases you won't see play in the NFL, makes it the best rivalry there is. From the march-on, to the game, to the alma maters, it's an awesome experience. I wish each game every year would end like those games during that five-year span."

John Ferro (former Army reporter, Poughkeepsie Journal) – "Everybody is from somewhere else. Everyone is different, but you don't make it through the Academy if you're not a true believer. All of them have a real sense of belief in what they're doing, outside of football. There's a genuine commitment to purpose that was self-evident in the players that I talked to over the years."

Anthony Bianchi (Army Defensive End, 1993-96) – "It was instilled in us early on how big of a game it was. We were expected to win those games. Coach (Bob) Sutton would give a speech before the Army-Navy game and say how someone was going to have to make a play to win the game for us. He said we could make a name for ourselves in these games. I think we capitalized on that. All four years I was at Army, we always made a play to win us the game."

Ben Kotwica (Army Linebacker, 1993-96) – "It was a really cool part of our lives. We were all fortunate to be a part of it. Any high school athlete right now that has a chance to go to one of these academies and be a part of this rivalry should take that chance and do it."

JUST THE BEGINNING

123817

Dec. 5, 1992 | Philadelphia, Pa. | Veterans Stadium
Army 25, Navy 24

Army's Patmon Malcom nailed a career-best 49-yard field goal with 12 seconds left to complete a 17-point comeback by the Cadets.

Navy raced out to a 24-7 lead in the third quarter, but would fail to score again, and Army quarterback Rick Roper would hit Gaylord Greene with a 68-yard touchdown pass, the longest pass play in Army-Navy history, to spark the rally.

Malcom originally drilled a 44-yard kick, but a delay-of-game penalty pushed a second attempt back five yards. The second kick remained perfect and capped off the biggest comeback in Army-Navy history.

Army 0 7 7 11 - 25
Navy 10 7 7 0 - 24

John Ferro (former Army reporter, Poughkeepsie Journal) – "The press box is a quiet place, but outside everyone was screaming. You have this eerie feeling of hearing the muffled screams. I remember that when Pat (Malcom) hit the field goal, there was an audible gasp, but then there's a penalty and he has to do it all over again. It gets quiet again, it goes through again, and the screams were even louder. People in the press box were even clapping, which is usually a no-no."

Bob Sutton (Army Head Coach, 1991-99) – "One thing I remember is we were down quite a bit going into the fourth quarter. We had a big pass for a touchdown that brought us close, and we actually ran a fake extra-point and scored a two-point conversion. That was a huge play to set up the late field goal. Right before we are about to kick, I asked Patmon (Malcom) 'where do you want the ball.' He knew we were going to kick it.

"We had done a lot of visualization training about those types of situations. I remember the ball going through and being excited, until I saw the flag. I saw the flag in the end zone and thought it was 12 men on the field. I was furious because there's no possible way for the referees to see the ball getting snapped and see the play clock at the same time. So I wasn't happy about that.

"It never crossed my mind that we could've had the penalty on us. You went from so excited to you've got to be kidding me; we have to kick again.

"But Patmon went back and put it through again, like nothing ever happened. Actually, Patmon and our holder, Chris Shaw, got into a tussle on Thursday before the game, so it was funny to see them work together in the biggest moment of the game. It was a great game. I lost my first contest to Navy, so it felt good to come away with such a dramatic win. It was big to get us going in the years to come."

Bob Beretta (Current Army Executive Athletic Director who served as the Sport Information Director during those years) – "The kick was the most memorable part of the 1992 game. It was such a climatic ending and I just remember the stadium erupting when he hit the first field goal. It was a 44-yard field goal in the wind and everyone was celebrating and then suddenly it came to a sudden stop because there was a flag. People were like 'I can't believe that there's a flag on the field.' It turned out that it was a delay of game penalty. So they had to back it up and re-kick it.

"They (Navy) iced Patmon (Malcom) during that penalty time, he was just kind of waiting. But when the ball went through the uprights it was just incredible to see. The place then erupted again and to see the celebration because it was inside of 10 seconds left in the game.

"I just remember watching the game on television in the press box and Brett Musburger had the call, and it was an amazing call. I think it was something along the lines of "He hit the first one and he did it again!" with his voice raising and it was an incredible experience."

TWICE AS NICE

123814

Dec. 4, 1993 | Philadelphia, Pa. | Veterans Stadium
Army 16, Navy 14

Army held a 16-0 lead heading into the fourth quarter, only to see it shrink to 16-14 after two Navy scores.

The Mids would march down the field and into field goal range with 21- and 22-yard runs from Billy James. It appeared Navy would find the end zone, but a last-second tackle by Pat Work stopped Brad Stramanak just short of the goal line.

It still seemed as if the Mids would prevail, but Ryan Bucchianeri's 18-yard kick sailed wide right and Army won for the second year in a row.

Army 0 9 7 0 - 16
Navy 0 0 0 14 - 14

Kevin Gleason (longtime Army beat reporter, Times Herald Record) – "Army really should have lost that game. The play that jumped out at me was the one right before the field goal attempt. Navy's tailback had a wide-open lane for a touchdown and Army linebacker, Pat Work, made a shoestring tackle to save seven points and, as it turned out, the game.

"After the game, (Ryan) Bucchianeri was holding interviews postgame and handled it very well. He was cast as a villain by his teammates because they thought he didn't care as much as he should have after missing the field goal. He became buried on that team."

John Ferro (former Army reporter, Poughkeepsie Journal) – "The Navy kicker was a freshman. Here was this kid, who had to bear the weight of the loss. It was a chip shot. Army called timeout before he kicked and he never left the field during the timeout. His routine was changed. He should've run off the field and come back on."

Bob Sutton (Army Head Coach, 1991-99) – "One thing that we worked on in the offseason was a pressure defense that would prevent an offense from getting to their spot to set up a field goal.

"You're fortunate when the guy misses in that situation. I figured that it was what this game is supposed to be - we got them the year before, and they were going to get us that year. Fortunately for us, we were able to come away with a win."

Ben Kotwica (Army Linebacker, 1993-96) – "I was sitting in the stands watching my teammates play and celebrate. I wanted to be a huge part of it in my next three years. I remember Pat Work making a touchdown-saving tackle that kept us in the game. I really wanted to be in that game with them."

THREE TIMES A CHARM

123819

Dec. 3, 1994 | Philadelphia, Pa. | Veterans Stadium
Army 22, Navy 20

For the third straight year, the outcome of the Army-Navy game hinged on the swing of a leg, and this time Army prevailed thanks to senior Kurt Heiss' game-winning 52-yard field goal with 7:52 to play.

Army used 12 points in the second half to win a dramatic game for the third year in a row.

It was a battle of two different offenses as the Cadets gained 373 yards on the ground and Navy amassed 363 yards in the air, including all three of the Mids' scores coming on plays of 27 yards or more.

Army 10 0 9 3 - 22
Navy 14 0 6 0 - 20

Ben Kotwica (Army Linebacker, 1993-96) – "That was my first direct experience in the Army-Navy rivalry. It was a great game. It was a coming out party for Ronnie McAda. I remember thinking 'it was never over.'"

Bob Beretta (Current Army Executive Athletic Director who served as the Sport Information Director during those years) – "Again it came down to a field goal for the third year in a row but it was midway through the fourth quarter. Kurt Heiss lined up and he was a kid who was in his first year as a kicker I think and he hit a 52-yard field goal. I didn't think at the time that that would be the deciding points of the game with 7:52 left after the last couple games went down to the final minute but as it turned out they were the game-winning points.

"Then of course the story about his eye sight came out. I think it all kind of grew as the weeks went on afterwards. He had some deficiencies in his eyes sight and that added to the lore and he became a folk hero in the Army-Navy football stories."

Bob Sutton (Army Head Coach, 1991-99) – "One of our approaches throughout the series is that we felt like we had to create this mindset entering the game that the most desperate team was going to win. Desperate isn't about your record or talent; it's an attitude that you bring. This is what's going to be required to get the job done.

"We knew that Navy felt the same thing. The series is so unique. The thing that is different about this is that for the seniors, it's their last shot at organized football. There's generally no next level. It brings a certain emotion and energy that can electrify the room.

"For people that have never gone to it, you can't experience it until you actually see it in person. This game's energy level keeps rising up throughout the game. It's an incredible atmosphere that exists only at the Army-Navy game. It's incredible to be a part of."

Kevin Gleason (longtime Army beat reporter, Times Herald Record) – "Kurt Heiss actually had congenital eye issues where he could barely see the goal posts. His vision was blurry and he was almost blind in one eye. None of us knew that he had a terrible vision problem until after the game. By that time, everyone is shaking their heads and we were thinking Navy is snake-bitten and can't get a win."

99 YARDS TO GLORY

Dec. 2, 1995 | Philadelphia, Pa. | Veterans Stadium
Army 14, Navy 13

Another year, another dramatic Army-Navy game as the Black Knights prevailed once again, 14-13.

This time it was the Cadets who marched down the field late in the game, thanks to a huge 28-yard completion from Ronnie McAda to John Graves on a seemingly improbable 4th-and-24. McAda rolled left and found senior wideout Graves in stride on a corner route. Graves was pushed out of bounds at the Navy 1.

A few plays later, senior fullback John Conroy burst into the end zone from a yard out with 1:03 remaining, capping an incredible 99-yard, 19-play drive that propelled Army to a thrilling 14-13 victory.

This miraculous series of plays may have never happened if the Midshipmen had opted to kick a field goal during their previous possession. Navy chose to go for it on 4th-and-goal from the 1-yard line with a pass attempt but were denied, setting up one of Army's greatest moments in the series.

Army 7 0 0 7 - 14
Navy 7 0 3 3 - 13

Kevin Gleason (longtime Army beat reporter, Times Herald Record) – "The most amazing game in Army-Navy history. McAda was one of Army's best passers in the last 20 years. On 4th-and-24, it was a simple post pattern where Graves made a great cut and the ball was delivered right in his hands.

"Before that series though, Navy committed the single greatest 'boneheaded' coaching decision. They had 4th-and-goal with about 8:30 left. Navy could've kicked a field goal to take a 16-7 lead, but instead they go for it.

"It's 4th-and-goal at Army's 1-yard line and he has his quarterback throw the ball in the end zone. Going for it was bad enough but the play call was even worse. Army took over at its own 1-yard line, and we're all looking at each other with this feeling that they were going to go 99 yards."

Anthony Bianchi (Army Defensive End, 1993-96) – "We had a really strong senior class. To prevent a non-losing season, we had to beat Navy. Even with that, we were still very calm and expected to beat our rival. I think that carried over onto the field. In the close games and big moments, our confidence never wavered.

"I don't think the players were worried. Yes the odds were stacked against us and the yardage wasn't great, but we still believed until the game was over. I think that kind of belief is what made us such a good team, especially when we played Navy."

Ronnie McAda (Army Quarterback, 1993-96) – "I remember standing on the sidelines and thinking, 'Why are they not kicking a field goal here?' Once they didn't convert, I knew we were going down to score and win the game.

"When it came to fourth down, Coach (Bob) Sutton and I were on the sidelines and he suggested the post-corner route for John (Graves). We had been working on that route in practice so we felt good about it.

"I went into the huddle and told the offensive line to give me time and Graves would be open. Sure enough when I dropped back I had plenty of time, and John made a great move on the defensive back. I actually thought I threw it too far to the left, but Graves made a great adjustment on the throw and caught it, and (John) Conroy scored a few plays later.

"It's funny because, if you had asked me right after the game about the drive, I wouldn't have been able to tell you anything about it. However, looking back now, I remember all of it like it was yesterday."

Bob Beretta (Current Army Executive Athletic Director who served as the Sport Information Director during those years) – "The 1995 game was certainly probably the most memorable and dramatic game in Army-Navy history. I think everyone was shocked when Navy decided to attempt a pass with Chris McCoy from the 1-yard line. At that point a field goal would have made it a two score game and probably would have put it away.

"The minute that pass on fourth down fell incomplete there was a feeling that came over the stadium almost like they expected Army at this point now to find a way to win the game. I think everyone felt pretty confident Army was going to drive 99 yards. Then having the 4th-and-24 play from the Navy 29 -- it was amazing. 99-yards to glory I'll never forget that.

Bob Sutton (Army Head Coach, 1991-99) – "When you're a wishbone team, you don't have many plays to get that many yards in the air. We had two pass plays that we wanted to choose from. We asked Ronnie McAda and John Graves, and they both said go with the corner route. So I said lets go for it.

"John ran a great route. Steve Carpenter, one of our running backs, had a great block on the play. He secured the block and McAda came off the fake to hit Graves. It was a really huge play.

"Each play during that drive was so big. Thursday before the game we have a sendoff for the seniors. I said a few words about what they meant to the program. When I went to Graves, I said 'I know if we need a big play, John will make it for us.'

"I get chills thinking about it."

SOMETHING MAGICAL

Dec. 7, 1996 | Philadelphia, Pa. | Veterans Stadium
Army 28, Navy 24

In a torrential downpour, defensive back Garland Gay's interception at the goal line with 10 seconds remaining sealed Army's fifth-straight win over its arch-rival.

The interception capped off an 18-point comeback by the Black Knights, which still stands as the largest come-from-behind victory in the series.

The stakes were high as the victor would claim the Commander in Chief's trophy and a spot in the Poulan/Weed Eater Independence Bowl on Dec. 31.

Navy jumped out to a 21-3 lead midway through the second quarter, but would only score three more points the rest of the game. Running back Bobby Williams exploded for an 81-yard touchdown run for Army in the third quarter, the second-longest run in Army-Navy history.

Fullback Demetrius Perry added a score from three-yards out late in that period for a 25-21 Black Knights' edge. The teams traded field goals before Navy mounted a late rally. Twice in the final minutes, the Cadets repelled the Mids deep in Army territory, including Gay's game-saving interception.

Army 3 10 12 3 - 28
Navy 0 21 3 0 - 24

Anthony Bianchi (Army Defensive End, 1993-96) – "We were 10-2 and ended up winning the Commander In Chief's trophy that year. But we started out 9-0 going into a Syracuse game a few weeks prior to the Navy matchup. I'd be lying if I didn't say that a lot of our heads were really big.

"We walked in against Syracuse and they really brought us down to Earth. They beat the crap out of us. I say that because I really believe that if we would've beaten them, we might have lost to Navy that year. But losing to them brought our focus back to a very high level and helped us prepare for what was a very good Navy team.

"Not many people can say that they beat Navy all four years, and my senior class can say that."

Bob Beretta (Current Army Executive Athletic Director who served as the Sport Information Director during those years) – "By now the streak was well in tacked. Four years, four dramatic victories and the 1996 game was played in an absolute monsoon. I think the total was eight or nine plays inside the 10-yard line in the final five minutes that Army turned Navy away. So that was all about Army's defense and it was exhilarating to see Army play after play after play turn them away in the end zone. It was the fifth win in a row by a total of 10 points so it was just an incredible stretch."

Kevin Gleason (longtime Army beat reporter, Times Herald Record) – "It became a familiar script where every game would have Navy dominate for most of the game, and then Army would come back late. Army's running back Bobby Williams ran 81 yards for a touchdown near the end of the first half to make it 21-10. That score cut the deficit and made it a new game from there."

John Feintstein (Renowned author of various works including Civil War and A Season on the Brink) – "The weather was terrible and you needed a special clearance to be on the sideline because President Bill Clinton was in attendance. There was a lot at stake in the game, as the two teams were playing for the Commander in Chief's' Trophy. Army won and it was really special for that senior class, as they had beaten Navy all four years."

Bob Sutton (Army Head Coach, 1991-99) – "You have to understand who you're dealing with. They're (Navy) going to bring this kind of energy into the game. You have to accept that as part of the challenge. They believe that they can beat you. We had to reach in there and dig and muster up just a little more.

"You have to have an appreciation for who you are playing. They were going to bring it all. It's proven over that stretch that you have to be ready to play the whole game. You can't get caught up in the momentum swings. We had to stay the course. The noise level is up."

Army West Point Athletics

Rivalry Is More Than Just A Word

Related Videos