Army football can't hold second-half lead, loses to Navy by a point
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A game of inches will lead to another year of heartbreak for Army football.
The underdog Black Knights could not hold a 16-7 third-quarter lead and gave up a go-ahead touchdown with 6:32 to play, falling to Navy 17-16 before nearly 71,000 at Baltimore’s M&T Stadium on Saturday, December 13.
As a result, Navy takes home the Secretary’s Trophy that goes to the winner of this game, and the coveted Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy as the winner of the series that includes Air Force. Navy has won it two years in a row, a year after Army last held the trophy in 2023.
Army was held to one first down in the second half, and Cale Hellums threw a critical interception with 11 minutes to play, setting up the go-ahead Navy score.
Hellums had receiver Brady Anderson wide open, but Navy’s Landon Robinson stepped into the throwing lane, forcing Hellums to hold the ball for an extra second or two. That allowed Phillip Hamilton to close the distance on Anderson at midfield and make his third pick of the season.
Navy quarterback Blake Horvath engineered a nine-play scoring drive chock full of histrionics on both sides. Horvath had the ball jarred free on a 1-yard plunge, but Eli Heidenreich chased down the loose ball. Horvath was inches away from being dropped for a sack, only to shot put an incomplete throw to Alex Tecza on third down.
On fourth down from the 8, Heidenreich took an inside route and caught the winner.
“They made more plays,” said a sullen Army head coach Jeff Monken, who’s lost to Navy in consecutive seasons for only the second time. “We had opportunities in the second half. We just didn’t make the plays; they did.”
What an unbelieveable sequence of plays leading to a Navy touchdown. pic.twitter.com/Qn3Ii2lpII
— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) December 13, 2025
Army fall to 6-6, with a bowl game remaining. Navy moves to 10-2, also with a Jan. 2 bowl game ahead.
“I’m heartbroken for them,” Monken said of his team. “I mean, we practiced well, we prepared well. I thought our guys played as hard as they could. That said, they just made more plays than we did.”
The game opened with a pair of patented scoring drives by both teams, the first time that’s happened since the 2021 game.
Horvath showed why he was a Heisman Trophy candidate with eight carries and 45 yards out of a 13-play opening series. Horvath took the final snap, moved to his right and followed a block of back Alex Tecza for the 5-yard score.
Undaunted, Hellums, making his first Army-Navy start, nearly mirrored the Midshipmen, engineering a 13-play drive and calling his own number eight times for 48 yards. On the opening play of the second quarter, Hellums went 2 yards off the right side, utilizing a devastating block of back Jake Rendina to run over Navy linebacker Coleman Cauley for the score.
Navy went three plays-and-out on its next possession, opening the door for Army. Hellums completed a 21-yard pass to Noah Short for an early third-down conversion, then converted a fourth down with a 2-yard gain off the right side to the Navy 8. The Navy defense stiffened, though, and Army head coach Jeff Monken elected to go for sure points on a fourth-down call from the 3. Dawson Jones booted a 20-yard field goal with 3:45 left in the half.
Horvath completed three throws to Eli Heidenreich (who established Navy’s all-time career reception yardage record) to the Army 39. But Horvath tried to pull down a passing attempt as he got pressured by Army’s Andon Thomas and fumbled instead and Jack Bousom (an Annapolis native) dove on the loose ball at the Army 45 with 20 seconds left.
That was enough time for Army as Hellums was chased to his right and found Brady Anderson cutting across the field for a 24-yard gain to the Navy 31. Then, with three seconds left, Jones booted a 45-yard field goal (his 14th of the season) for a 13-7 lead headed into the break.
This is the first time Navy has posted consecutive victories in the series since the record-setting 14-game win streak from 2002-15. The Midshipmen have moved to a 64-55-7 series lead.
Army football: Tight series games
The series has favored the defenses since 2014, with eight games decided by just one score (Army holds the 5-3 edge). Navy is the only team to post more than 21 points, winning 31-7 in 2019 and 31-13 in 2024.
Army has managed to surpass 21 points just three times this century: 30-28 loss in 2000; 26-17 win in 2001; 42-23 loss in 2005.
Boss in the House: President attends
Donald Trump attended the game for the fourth time as president (2018-20, 2025), a year after attending as President-elect. Ten U.S. presidents have attended, including Teddy Roosevelt (1901, 1905), Harry Truman (1945-50, 1952), John F. Kennedy (1961-62), George W. Bush (2001, 2004, 2008) and Barack Obama (2011).
Trump, standing between Navy’s game captains at midfield, was greeted with big cheers as he was introduced ahead of the coin toss.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and treasury secretary Scott Bessent were among those in the presidential box.
Up next: Going bowling
Army will take on independent Connecticut (9-3) in the Dec. 27 Fenway Bowl in Boston. Navy will take on Cincinnati (7-5) of the Big 12 Conference in the Jan. 2 Liberty Bowl in Memphis. Army’s record in bowl games following a win over Navy is 4-3 and is 4-0 following a loss to the Mids.
The 2026 Army-Navy Game will be hosted by MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on December 12. The 2027 game will be Dec. 11 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, the 91st time the series has called that city the home. The dates and locations for 2028 and beyond is currently being discussed.
kmcmillan@th-record.com
X / Twitter: @KenMcMillanTHR
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Army football falls to Navy 17-16 in 126th meeting
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