Malcolm Perry’s Dominance Leads Navy to Blowout Win vs. Army

Matt Slocum/Associated Press

Malcolm Perry's phenomenal record-breaking day and a successful Philly Special in the home of the NFL team that made the trick play famous catapulted No. 23 Navy to a 31-7 win over Army West Point on Saturday in Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field.

The Midshipmen broke a streak of three straight Black Knight wins in the Army-Navy game. Navy leads the all-time series 61-52-7.

Among other records, Perry broke the series' single-game Army-Navy mark for rushing yards with 304 on just 29 carries. He also added two touchdowns, including one from 55 yards in the second quarter.

Perry's rushing yard total was more than twice the amount of Army's 148 scrimmage yards. Navy also committed just one penalty en route to a 396-yard day.

The Midshipmen reached the 10-win mark for the fifth time in school history and can tie a school record with 11 victories if they win their bowl game.

Notable Performances

Army QB Christian Anderson: 21 carries, 56 yards, 1 TD

Navy QB Malcolm Perry: 29 carries, 304 yards, 2 TD

Navy FB Jamale Carothers: 22 carries, 75 yards, 1 TD; 1 reception, 1 yard, 1 TD

Perry, Philly Special the Differences in Navy's Win

Army entered the storied rivalry game as a significant 11.5-point underdog to Navy, but the Black Knights didn't care as they engineered an 18-play, 78-yard drive capped by a five-yard Christian Anderson touchdown run to take an early 6-0 lead.

CBS Sports @CBSSports

ARMY
STRIKES
FIRST https://t.co/6DP8y066XJ

An upset in the making potentially brewed after that effort.

However, Perry had other ideas.

The senior quarterback quickly accounted for all 75 rushing yards in a four-play drive that ended with a 55-yard touchdown run:

CBS Sports @CBSSports

The Black Knights thought they had Malcolm Perry…but he had other ideas.

WHAT A MOVE. TOUCHDOWN NAVY. https://t.co/PlpjbpfV3G

Perry's side steps and jukes put Army defenders in a tough spot en route to the touchdown gallop, and Navy suddenly tied the game at seven in a 1:53 drive.

The senior quarterback's moves were on full display throughout his dominant outing:

CBS Sports @CBSSports

This Malcolm Perry juke is a thing of beauty. https://t.co/otsEnnFbuv

Perry may have been the game's star, but other Midshipmen excelled, namely on the execution of their trick play for a score.

The Midshipmen faced a 1st-and-goal from the Army 1-yard line with 13 seconds remaining in the half and the game tied at seven.

Perry then took the snap and tossed the ball to a cutting Chance Warren, who found Jamale Carothers in the end zone on Navy's only pass of the day.

CBS Sports @CBSSports

THE NAVY SPECIAL IN PHILLY! https://t.co/t63s7hpy6V

The Philadelphia Eagles' use of the play in Super Bowl LII acts as its most popular rendition, with quarterback Nick Foles' touchdown catch giving his team a 21-12 lead en route to a 41-33 win over the favored New England Patriots.

The Navy touchdown capped a 12-play, 91-yard drive to help give the Midshipmen a 14-7 halftime edge, and that momentum carried over into the second half.

Navy gained 63 yards on its opening drive before a blocked field goal forced the Midshipmen to come away empty-handed.

CBS Sports @CBSSports

BLOCKED!
No easy points against Army. https://t.co/fmWpUsLe5Z

But the Top 25 team forced an Army three-and-out and then trekked down the field for a five-yard Carothers touchdown run.

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Navy showing off some more power. https://t.co/e3H7c5CdSE

The Midshipmen defense then stonewalled the Army offense to the point where the Black Knights never crossed the Navy 38-yard line.

Navy tacked on a late field goal before Perry went to work once again on a 15-yard touchdown run to cross the 300-yard mark:

CBS Sports @CBSSports

OVER 300 RUSHING YARDS.

The 120th Army-Navy Game will be remembered for Malcolm Perry's brilliance. https://t.co/rXO0Fei76d

The story here was Perry's dominant outing, and Cole Cubelic of SEC Network outlined the handful of school and rivalry series records broken or tied during the game:

Cole Cubelic @colecubelic

Navy QB Malcolm Perry:

-single season rushing leader
-single season total yards leader
-career Army series rushing leader
-most 100yd rush games in a season
-T-most 200yd rush games in career
-most 200yd rush games in a single season (3)
-most consecutive 100yd rush games (9)

ESPN Stats & Info also posted another eye-popping figure:

ESPN Stats & Info @ESPNStatsInfo

Malcolm Perry of @NavyFB now has 3 career games with at least 250 rushing yards.

That's the most by an FBS quarterback over the last 20 seasons. https://t.co/2ou9azkCy1

And those tweets were posted before Perry launched himself into first on the single-game Army-Navy rushing yards list and crossed the 300-yard barrier. He will enter the Liberty Bowl having rushed for 108 or more yards in all but two of his games this season.

Per tradition, the winning team sang second after the game:

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Navy sings second. https://t.co/lTVR7xyMBe

Perry spoke about how important this matchup was to him postgame:

CBS Sports @CBSSports

“If I was going to win one, this is the one I wanted to win.”

Malcolm Perry's final Army-Navy Game ends with a win…and a lot of yards. https://t.co/zKpFzPWtyV

Perry and the rest of Navy's seniors avoided losing to Army in all four of their seasons. Navy holds the series record for most consecutive wins with 14 (2002-2015).

Next year's Army-Navy game will head back to Philadelphia on Dec. 12.

What's Next?

Navy will face Kansas State in the Liberty Bowl on Dec. 31 at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee. ESPN will televise the game, with kickoff scheduled for 3:45 p.m. ET.

Army's season ends after a 5-8 campaign.

The Black Knights' results are a step back from their 11-2 season the year before, but Army football put forth one of college football's great efforts in 2019 when it almost pulled off a road upset of No. 7 Michigan before losing 24-21 in double overtime.