Spirit Spots Start to Roll In

With less than a week until the 111th Army Navy Game, service members stationed across the globe have begun to submit "shout out" videos that will be shown in-stadium and on the television broadcast. One such video from Navy and Marine Corps members in Kandahar, Afghanistan is below:

Salutes for Army and Navy

By Gene Wang, The Washington Post, December 2, 2010

                     1946 Army Navy Game Program, Source: letsbepreppy.blogspot.com

PHILADELPHIA - Navy quarterback Ricky Dobbs had just finished his interview obligations during Army-Navy media day when he spotted Army linebacker Stephen Anderson getting ready to sit down for lunch at his assigned table. The senior co-captain made it a point to embrace his adversary from West Point, then spoke glowingly about the rivalry and how humbled he was to be a part of this most meaningful of games for the final time.

The mutual admiration between the two was one of many such instances on Wednesday, when players, coaches and top officials from both service academies gathered at Lincoln Financial Field to commence the buildup for the 111th Army-Navy game, which this season has a decidedly different complexion from previous years.

For the first time since 1996, both service academies enter the game eligible for a bowl, meaning the Midshipmen may have a tougher time with the Black Knights than in recent meetings. Navy has won eight straight over Army, a series record.
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"I know come Saturday, December 11, everybody's going to be amped," said Dobbs, who is part of a senior class has won the past three games against Army by a combined 89-6.

Navy (8-3) did not give up a touchdown to Army in any of those games, including last year's 17-3 triumph at Lincoln Financial Field that featured 113 yards rushing and one touchdown by Dobbs. The Midshipmen are bidding to become the first team to hold Army without a touchdown for four straight years. No Navy or Army team has accomplished that against the other.

Establishing precedents, however, is nothing new for Dobbs, who along with fellow senior co-captain and safety Wyatt Middleton and Army seniors Patrick Mealy and Anderson received honorary proclamations from Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter at the post-interview luncheon. Among Dobbs's most notable achievements are the NCAA record for most rushing touchdowns (40) by a quarterback in consecutive seasons and becoming Navy's all-time leader in points with 290.

Middleton, meantime, is in line to start his 47th consecutive game, the longest active streak by a Navy player.

He is tied for sixth in the country in fumble recoveries per game and is part of a unit that ranks 17th in turnover margin (plus-0.91 per game) and 45th in scoring defense (22.8 points per game). His leadership also has been invaluable in stabilizing a secondary that has gone most of the season without starting safety Emmett Merchant, who suffered a season-ending concussion Sept. 11 in a 13-7 victory over Georgia Southern.

"Once Army-Navy week gets here, I usually get a good feeling," Middleton said. "You have a lot of things going on . . . back at school, a lot of festivities going on. It's Army week so a lot of people are doing pranks, different things like that. It's exciting, but when Thursday comes around, that's when you really got to start just focusing on the game and nothing but the game."

With the resurgence of the program under second-year Coach Rich Ellerson, the Black Knights certainly have the attention of Navy players. Army enters the game not only with a winning record (6-5) but is also ranked 10th nationally in rushing at 260.3 yards per game. The defense is ranked 26th, yielding 332.6 yards per game behind Anderson and senior defensive end Josh McNary, who has 9½ sacks and 12 tackles for a loss this season. McNary is Army's all-time leader in both categories.

"This is my last chance to have an academy victory," said Anderson, a native of Ijamsville who played high school football at Damascus. "I've been 0-fer my three years here, another loss against Air Force this season, so I've never experienced an academy victory. As much as it would have been nice to beat Air Force, you can't do anything about that now. You've got this chance against Navy. You've got an opportunity, and you've got to seize an opportunity that's given to you."

Well-rested Navy Ready for Army

By Bill Wagner, Annapolis Capital

Inside linebacker Tyler Simmons went home to Oklahoma and said he basically slept for two days.

Punter Kyle Delahooke could not get a flight back to California so he just hung around Annapolis, relaxing and having Thanksgiving dinner at his sponsor's house.

After taking four days off for the long holiday weekend, the Navy football team was back to work yesterday to begin preparations for the season-ending showdown with archrival Army. Head coach Ken Niumatalolo put the Midshipmen through a short, crisp workout and was pleased with what he saw.

"We took some time off and our guys feel rejuvenated. We had a very energetic practice today. I'm excited about how we looked today," Niumatalolo said.

With the Army-Navy game being pushed back one weekend, the coaching staff was confronted with an unusually long break. The Midshipmen will wind up having 21 days between games, an unprecedented gap during the regular season.

"Besides a bowl game, it's not even close. We've had two weeks off before, but never three weeks. It's really weird," Niumatalolo said. "It was a tough decision to give them four days off for Thanksgiving. We've never had this situation before. We've never had this formula. I just felt the best thing for (the players) was to get away, to get home and see their families and just enjoy their time off. I like that they seem to have come back rejuvenated."

Navy had a two-week break before last year's game against Army, having played at Hawaii on Nov. 28. Niumatalolo said that was a difficult situation since the players were tired from the long flight and were still on Pacific Standard Time as they began preparing for Army.

"I'm just grateful that we are home and rested. I'm really happy with where we're at right now from a physical standpoint," Niumatalolo said. "Hopefully, come Dec. 11, we'll be ready from a mental standpoint."

Navy's players were thankful for the opportunity to go home and visit with relatives, but admitted that having two consecutive bye weekends was not ideal.

"It's kind of frustrating to go this long without a game, but that's the situation and we have to make the best of it," Simmons said. "If it were any other game I might be worried, but this is Army and we will be ready and excited to play."

Army and Navy will meet for the 111th time on Dec. 11 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. Both teams will enter the contest bowl eligible for the first time since 1996.

Army (6-5) is vastly improved under second-year head coach Rich Ellerson and appears headed to the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas. Meantime, Navy will cap its eighth straight winning season by appearing in the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego.

"This is always the biggest game of the year regardless of the records, but it is nice that both teams are having success this season," Navy offensive tackle Jeff Battipaglia said.

Navy has won a series record eight consecutive contests against Army. The Midshipmen have outscored the Black Knights 89-6 over the last three meetings. Both service academies played Duke this season with Army registering a 35-21 victory and Navy suffering a 34-31 defeat.

"We know they're a good football team and Coach Ellerson is a very good coach. We've seen them on tape and know how well they're playing. We're going up against a good team so we better be ready to go," Niumatalolo said.

Tickets Still Available

With just 19 days left until the 111th Army Navy game, fans can still purchase tickets via Ticketmaster using the link below:

Army Navy via Ticketmaster

Navy Receives Votes in Polls

ANNAPOLIS, Md.—The Navy football team (8-3) received votes in both the Associated Press and USA Today/Coaches Poll.

The Mids received seven voting points in the Associated Press poll, which puts the Mids tied for 30th with Miami (Fla.) and Hawai’i.  Cecil Hurt of the Tuscaloosa News and Travis Haney of the Charleston Post and Courier have the Mids ranked 24th, while Brett McMurphy of AOL Fanhouse, Dave Foster of WZTV in Nashville, Tenn. and Keith Sargeant of the Gannett Newspapers in New Jersey ranked the Mids 25th.

Navy also received seven voting points in the coaches poll, which puts the Mids 33rd overall.

Source: NavySports.com

Navy Beats Arkansas State on Senior Day

                                                   Source: AP

By Gene Wang, Washington Post

Quarterback Ricky Dobbs has directed Navy to new heights over his four seasons in Annapolis, so it was only fitting that the senior finished his playing career at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium with a flourish, accounting for four touchdowns in a 35-19 victory over Arkansas State on Saturday.

Dobbs finished with 154 yards rushing, and his third and final rushing touchdown from three yards punctuated a record-setting afternoon for the Midshipmen's main attraction the past two seasons. Dobbs also scored on a pair of one-yard runs and completed an 85-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Greg Jones to finish with a career-high 318 yards of offense.

"That game to me epitomizes Ricky just from the standpoint I'm upset with him because he missed some reads and things he could have done better, but then you look at the overall deal at the end," Navy Coach Ken Niumatalolo said. "Sometimes I don't appreciate him, but when you really step back and think of the things that guy has done in this game, in his career, it's really remarkable."

Among those accomplishments: Dobbs became the NCAA's all-time leader in rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in consecutive seasons. He broke the previous mark of 38 with his one-yard run with 12 minutes 31 seconds left in the third quarter before extending the record to ensure Navy's eighth straight season of at least eight wins, the longest such streak in school history.

Dobbs also completed 8 of 9 passes - four of which went to Jones for 129 yards - after missing last Saturday's 38-37 win against Central Michigan as he recovered from a minor blow to the helmet suffered in the first half against East Carolina the previous week.

"I almost didn't make it here," said Dobbs, referring to some trying times at Naval Academy Prep School, where he was asked to play fullback. "It took a good talking to from my uncle, and just to look back and reflect on that and carry that emotion into today and play the way we did, it meant a whole lot not only for me, but for my family here on the football team, the brotherhood."

Included in that group is senior safety Wyatt Middleton, who along with Dobbs is a co-captain. Middleton recovered a fumble in the first quarter that set up Navy's second touchdown and factored in significantly to a unit that limited the Red Wolves to six points in the second half.

The defense was on the field for a bizarre sequence in the fourth quarter after Arkansas State scored a touchdown to get within 28-19. Instead of going for the extra point, Coach Steve Roberts elected to try for two, but a pass interference penalty pushed the Red Wolves back 15 yards. That prompted an attempt to kick, but Navy nose guard Chase Burge got his hand on the ball, and it fluttered to the ground short of the mark.

Navy took over at its 35 with 8:34 to play, looking to bleed valuable seconds off the clock. Faced with third and five at the 40, Dobbs dropped back as if to pass but took off running for a nine-yard gain that demoralized Arkansas State. From there, the Midshipmen ran seven more plays before Dobbs scored on second and goal from the 3.

"Today reminded me of our season," Niumatalolo said. "The highs were highs and the lows were lows. Fortunately we were able to finish on top. I thought we started out great but kind of lost focus offensively in the second quarter. We picked it up in the second half. I thought our defense played well the whole game. It was a great win."

The opening stages of the game featured no indications Navy would need to fret about the score. The Midshipmen took the opening drive 76 yards on 11 plays, with slotback John Howell taking a pitch around the right side into the end zone, and then they got the ball right back when defensive end Jabaree Tuani forced a fumble that Middleton recovered.

Navy began that drive on the Arkansas State 12 and concluded with a one-yard touchdown run by Dobbs for a 14-0 lead with 7:34 to play in the first quarter.

Matters at that point seemed well under control in the Midshipmen's best start at home this season. In its previous three games at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Navy trailed at the half and had to scramble down the stretch.

But Arkansas State stayed in the game by converting a Navy turnover into a 31-yard field goal from place kicker Brian Davis, getting a seven-yard touchdown run by quarterback Ryan Aplin and then adding Davis's 20-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to cut the deficit to 21-13.

But a rousing second half carried Navy's senior class to its 34th win, two short of the program record.

"It's very bittersweet," senior left tackle Jeff Battipaglia said. "It's very sad leaving Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, being in front of the guys. We just took a picture with all the 24 seniors and everything, so it's a great win for us, and we're all excited about it. A couple weeks off now, and I think everyone is looking forward to Army."