Go Navy! Beat Army!

After three years of disappointment, Navy's football team came through in a very big way today and soundly beat the Army team, 31-7. Army scored first on a long drive, but Navy responded with 31 unanswered points.

Navy's Malcomb Perry rushing for one of his two touchdowns

The Navy quarterback, Malcomb Perry, was truly remarkable, rushing for a record 304 yards on 29 carries. Equally impressive was Navy's defense. They held a normally explosive Army offense to a total of 148 yards. 

Overall it was a wonderful win for Navy and I can speak from experience when I say that Navy's current plebe class of 2023 is very happy tonight. Because of this win, the plebes get to act almost like normal human beings until January when they return from their Christmas leave -- aka, vacation. (I assume such traditions still exist.) 56 years ago, in December 1963, my plebe class experienced much the same happiness thanks to another quarterback named Roger Staubach when Navy beat Army 21-15.

The Army-Navy game was always a very special event in our family since my late brother, Jeff, was a West Pointer, class of 1962, and I was a Naval Academy grad, class of 1967. I also came from a multi-generational Army family, so when Navy beat Army...well, I'm sure you can imagine the personal thrill of victory as opposed to the agony of defeat experienced by others in the family.

A salute to the Army team as well. The cadets played hard, never gave up, and along with the Navy midshipmen, gave the nation a glimpse of the kind of remarkable young leaders the service academies produce.