ANNAPOLIS, Md. – For the second consecutive season, the Navy sprint football team (8-0) defeated rival Army (6-2) in the Collegiate Sprint Football League (CSFL) Championship to cap off an undefeated season and win the League title. The Midshipmen posted a 28-21 victory over the Black Knights on Sunday afternoon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
 
Tied 21-21 with two minutes remaining, senior offensive captain Alex Totta (Kansas City, Kan.) took a pitch on an option and scampered 41 yards into the end zone to give the Mids a lead that they would not relinquish.
 
"Wow," head coach Major Alfonso Meidus, USMC exclaimed after the game. "What an amazing game. What an amazing rivalry. You couldn't ask for a better game. Back and forth. They came out with two big scores on us, but we had no doubt. We were down two touchdowns, but to the men on this team, we had belief in each other. We came back and went ahead. This is an Army-Navy game!
 
"We stuck to our game plan," Meidus continued. "We are a run heavy team and sometimes it takes a while to get that going, but we believe in that. We have a phenomenal running back. We have phenomenal offensive linemen and an awesome quarterback who knows how to run the game. We kept pounding it and got a couple of big plays."
 
The two teams played nearly even offensively with Navy finishing with 320 total yards of offense compared to 321 by Army. The Midshipmen churned out 219 yards on the ground with 101 yards through the air, while the Black Knights finished with 171 yards on the ground and 150 through the air.
 
Totta finished the game with 193 yards rushing, giving the senior 1,113 for the season. Totta found the end zone twice on day, including the game-winning 41-yard touchdown rush.
 
Brandon Atwood (Gentry, Ark.) finished the game 13-for-23 for 101 yards and a touchdown. The junior protected the football, tucking and running for 17 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Andrew Margiotta (Vienna, Va.) was Atwood's primary target, finishing with six receptions for 56 yards and a touchdown. Jake Smith (Union, Ky.) and Totta rounded out Navy's top three receivers with 35 and 12 yards, respectively.
 
Defensively, Paul Kuehler (Roanoke, Va.) led the way with 10 total tackles. Jack Costigan (Middletown, N.J.) and Chris Whiteman (Lehighton, Pa.) added nine stops apiece. Defensive team captain Jordan Richard (Marietta, Ga.) added five tackles, including a sack for seven yards. Dante Carrasco (Germantown, Tenn.) intercepted a pass, while adding a pass breakup. Trent Parker (Washington, D.C.) and Grant Wilson (Knoxville, Tenn.) also added pass breakups, while Devyn Martin (Las Vegas, Nev.) forced a fumble.
 
Army jumped out to a 14-0 first-half lead. The Black Knights used a three-yard run by quarterback Mikal Willeke to take a 7-0 advantage in the first quarter. The visitors pushed the advantage to 14-0 as Traye Carson used a 24-yard run to find the end zone.
 
Navy chipped into the lead as Atwood found Margiotta for 28-yards to scratch the scoreboard. The point after try was no good leaving the score 14-6 with four minutes to play in the half. Carrasco intercepted a pass on the ensuing Army drive, returning the ball 14 yards to set up excellent field position for Navy. The Mids used a four-play drive to cover 35 yards with Atwood calling his own number to cap the drive with a one-yard plunge into the end zone. The extra point was true, cutting the deficit to one before halftime.
 
Neither team was able to find the end zone in the third quarter, but the two teams combined for 22 points in the final period. Navy used six minute of clock to traverse 54 yards to take its first lead of the game. Totta dove into the checkerboard end zone for his first score of the day. The Midshipmen used a pass from Atwood to Scott Lombardi (Brentwood, Calif.) on the two-point conversion to go ahead 21-14.
 
Army responded two and a half minutes later as the Black Knights used a four-yard rush across the goal line to knot the score at 21-21 with 3:46 remaining in regulation.
 
Margiotta returned the ensuing kickoff 31 yards to give Navy excellent field position on its own 41. Following a two-yard rush, Atwood found Smith for 17 yards to move into Army territory. On second down and 11, Totta took a pitch on an option and jaunted down the sideline 41 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.
 
Army took over possession at its own 27 yardline with under two minutes to play. A penalty by the Black Knights erased a 29-yard completion, but the visitors were able to pick up a pair of first downs. On one first-down reception, it looked as if Nadir Emlemdi (Cincinnati, Ohio) intercepted the ball, but it was ruled that Army's Donovan Mannion completed the reception. On second and 10 from the Navy 47, Army attempted a Hail Mary attempt that fell innocently to the ground, sealing the victory for the Midshipmen.
 
The CSFL Championship was the third for the Mids since the League split into divisions and added a title game in 2017. Army has played in all five championship games, claiming two titles, while Navy has played in four title tilts, claiming the crown three times (2018, '21, '22).