Air Force Downs Navy, 14-9, In Service Academy Battle

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Navy	0	3	6	0	9
Air Force	0	14	0	0	14

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Navy

Air Force

U.S Air Force Academy, Colo. – Air Force football (3-1) defeated Navy (1-3), 14-9, to win the first game of the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy series. Junior quarterback Liam Szarka led the Air Force offense, scoring both Falcon rushing touchdowns, marking the eighth multi-touchdown game of his career.

The Falcon defense dominated storylines early, limiting Navy's offense to 46 total yards in the first quarter. The Midshipmen were threatening the first score of the game after forcing an early turnover, but Air Force's defense rallied to force a field goal attempt. Navy kicker Nolan Bartley missed the 50-yard attempt and the game stayed knotted at zeros.

The Falcon offense responded by opening the second quarter with three-straight third-and-long conversions to set up a one-yard rushing touchdown from Szarka, giving Air Force a 7-0 lead with 9:21 remaining in the half. Szarka passed for 37 yards on the drive, all of which came on third downs.

The Air Force defense stood tall on Navy's first redzone trip of the game, forcing a 30-yard field goal attempt that Barley knocked home to make the score 7-3 Falcons at 2:21 in the second quarter.

Szarka continued to dazzle with his arm in big moments, finding senior TE Simon Kibbee in the middle of the field to convert on 4^th and 4 in the dying minutes of the first half. The 23-yard gain set up Szarka's second rushing touchdown of the game to extend Air Force's lead 14-3 going into halftime.

Out of the half, Navy managed their first explosive play of the game, finding Truman Brasfield for a 68-yard receiving touchdown to cut the Falcon lead in half. The Midshipmen tried going for two, but the attempt was no good, making the score 14-9 Air Force with 6:59 remaining in the third quarter.

Air Force stifled a promising Navy drive, forcing a momentum shifting fumble late in the third quarter forced by senior DL Jayden Oquendo. The teams then traded three and outs and the Falcons went into the fourth quarter leading 14-9.

Junior punter Will Duncan stuffed a punt within the Navy 5-yard line, winning Air Force the field position battle with 10:25 to go in the game, which the Falcon defense used to force another Navy punt.

Following a well-executed late game drive that took 3:27 off the clock, the Air Force defense stepped up yet again, forcing Navy's third punt of the quarter with 2:02 remaining in the game. Sophomore safety Max Mustell put the Midshipmen significantly behind the chains, screaming off the right edge for an impactful 10-yard sack on 1^st and 10 prior to the punt.

All Air Force needed was one first down to put the game on ice and that's exactly what they got on the back of tough running on second down from junior fullback Gage LaDue. Szarka picked up the final first down of the game with a one-yard rush, securing a 14-9 Air Force victory.

With the win, the Falcons are also now 67-42 all-time in Commander-in-Chief's Trophy games dating back to 1972. Air Force also moves to 35-24 all-time vs. Navy, including a 21-8 mark at home, snapping a two-game losing streak in the series.

The 14-9 final is the lowest scoring win vs. Navy since their 17-6 win over the Midshipmen on October 21, 2023.

Air Force is back in action next Saturday, Oct. 10, when they take on Northern Illinois in DeKalb, Illinois at 5:30pm MT.

Footer

The appearance of hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the u.s air force of non-u.s. government sites or the information, products, or services contained therein. Although the u.s. air force may or may not use these sites as additional distribution channels for department of defense information, it does not exercise editorial control over all of the information that you may find at these locations. Such links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this website.