COLLEGE FOOTBALL RECAP

Navy holds off Army for 14th straight win in series

The Sports Xchange

December 13, 2014 at 3:28 pm.

Navy's Keenan Reynolds (19) ran wild in the win over Army. (Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports)

BALTIMORE — After the Corps of Cadets paraded onto the field more than two hours before the 115th playing of the Army and Navy game, the Brigade of Midshipmen, who paraded on first and had taken their seats in the stands, shouted “13 more years” in anticipation of extending the longest streak in the series’ storied history.

Navy can start thinking about making it 14 straight.

Keenan Reynolds ran for one touchdown and threw for another in leading Navy to a 17-10 victory over Army, the 13th straight win for the Midshipmen in the series, in front of 70,935 at M&T Bank Stadium.

Reynolds’ one-yard plunge for a touchdown, which was upheld by review, gave Navy a 17-7 lead with 12:07 remaining in the game. The score capped a 15-play, 69-yard drive that milked 7:49 off the clock.

After the teams traded turnovers, the Black Knights got a 52-yard field goal from Dan Grochowski to cut the deficit to 17-10 with 1:51 remaining.

The ensuing onside kick by Mitchell Howard bounced twice before it was corralled by Navy’s Thomas Wilson.

Austin Grebe drilled a career-long 45-yard field goal with 9:43 remaining in the third quarter give to Navy (7-5) its first lead of the game, 10-7.

Ryan Williams-Jenkins set up the score when he returned the second half kickoff 41 yards to the 50-yard line.

Army (4-8) had a chance to pull even on the ensuing possession, but Grochowski was wide left on a 49-yard field goal attempt with 4:56 remaining in the quarter.

For the first time since 2009, Army opened the scoring when Josh Jenkins blocked Pablo Beltran’s punt. Xavier Moss scooped up the loose ball and returned it seven yards for a touchdown with 9:36 remaining in the opening quarter.

That would be the only score of a first quarter that saw Navy go three-and-out on each of its three possessions while totaling only 15 yards.

Army chewed up a good part of the second quarter with a 10-play drive that took six minutes off the clock. The Black Knights stalled, though, at the Navy 30-yard line when quarterback Angel Santiago was stuffed by end Paul Quessenberry on fourth-and-1 with 2:11 remaining.

That stop by Navy proved critical.

On the ensuing possession the Midshipmen drove 70 yards on six plays and tied the game when Keenan Reynolds connected with Jamir Tillman for a nine-yard touchdown pass with 18 seconds remaining in the half.

NOTES: Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo passed George Welsh in becoming the Academy’s all-time winningest coach with 56 victories. … The blocked punt by Army’s Josh Jenkins marked consecutive games (Fordham, Nov. 22) in which he blocked a punt that resulted in a touchdown. Pablo Beltran, a senior, had gone the first 150 punt attempts of his Navy career without having one blocked. … The game was the fifth played in Baltimore and third at M&T Bank Stadium. … Army coach Jeff Monken is the sixth coach to suffer a loss during the current 13-game streak. … Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel performed the coin toss.