Army-Navy Game 2014: Breaking Down Top Performers from Saturday's Rivalry Game
The 115th encounter between Army and Navy was a continuance of the Midshipmen's dominance in the series. Navy defeated its longtime rival Saturday 17-10.
Make it 13 in a row for Ken Niumatalolo's team. In the process, he became the winningest coach in program history and took down the Black Knights for the seventh time.
The latest iteration of one of the sporting world's most important traditions played out as advertised. There were just 15 attempted passes on the day while a war of wills unfolded on the ground.
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The top performers, including a few seniors playing in their final chapter, put on quite the memorable show.
Top Performers
Xavier Moss and Army Defense
The Army defense does not usually receive much praise.
After all, the team has four wins on the year, and one of the bigger issues is the fact the defensive unit ranks 104th in the nation in points allowed (32.9).
As the numbers show, though, the Black Knights defense stiffened in the face of a potent Navy offense. Xavier Moss is a major reason for that, and his play was why Army was able to stay in the game throughout the day.
Bill Wagner of Capital Gazette Communications paints the scene:
In a brutal encounter between two teams that want nothing more than to keep things on the ground, that sort of game-changing play can mean everything.
As a result, Army jumped out to an early lead it held until right before halftime. In fact, that single play was important since the Army offense never found the end zone.
Larry Dixon, Army
One of the greatest rushers in Army history put on a show Saturday even in defeat.
Larry Dixon entered the day with 1,028 yards and nine touchdowns and added 90 more yards on just 14 carries. In the process, he lived up to what first-year coach Jeff Monken said of him before the game.
“He knocks tacklers in the other direction to gain that extra yard,” said Monken, per Tom Pedulla of The New York Times. “He’s not gifted with great speed, but he’s powerful enough to get through there, and when he gets into the secondary, he’s been able to give us some pretty good runs.”
Indeed, Dixon terrorized Navy for most of the contest, as illustrated by Sal Interdonato of the Times Herald-Record:
The senior did not get the win he so desired, but it was yet another epic performance from a player who will not be soon forgotten in the lore of this historic rivalry.
Keenan Reynolds, Navy
Of course, Keenan Reynolds was the star of the show Saturday.
One of the most notable dual-threat quarterbacks in the country, he entered Saturday with 1,082 yards and 20 touchdowns on 205 carries. The junior came up big through the air when asked, though, such as a two-touchdown performance back in November against Notre Dame.
Reynolds did it all Saturday.
He tied things up in the second quarter with a touchdown pass to Jamir Tillman on his way to a six-of-eight line for 77 yards and the score. Reynolds also extended his team's lead in the fourth quarter with a touchdown rush to go with his 100 yards on 26 carries.
Kevin McGuire of CollegeFootballTalk put it into perspective:
Reynolds is no stranger to the rivalry. His calm and cool demeanor Saturday while acting as the most important player on the field can attest to that.
The scary part, at least for Army, is that Reynolds only continues to develop in a positive manner by the year.
For now, though, he and the Midshipmen can celebrate yet another successful outcome over their rivals before getting ready for their bowl game.
Statistics and info courtesy of ESPN unless otherwise specified.
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