Navy QB Malcolm Perry rushed for more than 300 yards on Saturday as the Midshipmen blew out their rivals 31-7.
Players from both Army and Navy will tell you that wins and losses in the famed rivalry don’t come down to one man. But in the 120th meeting between the service academies, it would be hard not to give senior quarterback Malcolm Perry a particular badge of honor.
The QB from Clarksville, Tennessee didn’t throw a single pass on Saturday afternoon, but in the eventual 31–7 blowout, Perry’s play proved to be too dynamic for any opposing player to stop.
He carved up the Army defense on the ground, finding countless holes through a plethora of offensive wrinkles. The Midshipmen’s triple-option attack pounded the Black Knights, as Perry himself ran for 304 yards—the most ever by any player in the series’ history—and two touchdowns.
The Black Knights scored first on Saturday afternoon, but other than a 78-yard first quarter drive, they failed to move the ball with any consistency and were blanked throughout the final three quarters.
Heading into the season Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo had to reassure Perry that he wanted the senior to be his quarterback.
“We’re putting all our chips on you,” the coach
said prior to the year. And on Saturday afternoon, the QB delivered, gouging the Navy defense no matter how many defenders followed.In all, the Midshipmen ran for nearly 400 yards and their lone pass—an homage to the Eagles’ “Philly Special”—accounted for one of the team’s four touchdowns.
Navy had lost its last three appearances in the famed rivalry—a fact Perry acknowledged following his stellar performance.
This time, the senior made sure that the Midshipmen would leave Philadelphia having won 10 games for the first time since 2015, picking up a victory over their rivals in the process.
"If I could win one," Perry told the CBS' Jamie Erdahl after the game, "this is the one I wanted to win."
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