Navy beats Army as Trump’s attendance sparks protests

For the second year in a row, the Navy Midshipmen have won the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy.

The Midshipmen earned a gutsy 17-16 victory over Army in one of the greatest rivalries in sports.

Navy got out to a scorching-hot start, scoring a touchdown on their its drive. Blake Horvath rushed for 45 of the 75 yards on the drive and ran in for the score. He also had an 11-yard pass.

Army, though, answered right back with an identical drive, going 13 plays for 75 yards, ending with Cale Hellums punching one in.

Navy’s offense stalled for a long while after. Its next three drives ended in a punt, fumble and interception. In the meantime, the Black Knights were able to tack on three more field goals to go up 16-7. Late in the third, the Midshipmen finally added more points with a field goal that cut their deficit to three.

Early in the fourth, Navy forced an Army interception. Navy had the ball at the goal line but fumbled on a quarterback sneak, losing seven yards. Horvath hit Eli Heidenreich in the end zone, though, and the ensuing kick gave the Midshipmen their first lead since the first drive of the game. 

Navy promptly forced a three-and-out and got the ball back with less than five minutes to go. Navy lost a fumble when trying for a first down that would have iced the game, but the play was reviewed, and the call was reversed. So, Navy had a fourth and 1 and kept the offense on the field, converting a first down to ice the game.

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With the win, Navy earned the Commander-in-Chief’s trophy after also defeating Air Force earlier in the year.

The game was its usual old-school ground-and-pound style of football with only 24 pass attempts compared to 86 runs.

President Donald Trump attended the game for the seventh time and his second in as many years since being elected again. Trump participated in the coin flip, and protesters wielded lewd signs opposing Trump on the street leading to the stadium. 

Protests were expected for the game in the blue city since Trump has suggested sending the National Guard to Baltimore to help address the city’s rampant crime. Baltimore consistently ranks among U.S. cities with high crime rates, often appearing in the top 5 for violent crimes, especially homicides and robberies. 

The protests against Trump also came on the same day officials said two U.S. Army soldiers and a U.S. interpreter were killed in an ambush attack in Syria. 

Fox News’ Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.

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