ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy sprint football team (2-0) is set to host Army (1-0) on Friday evening at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium as part of the Army-Navy Star Series presented by USAA. Kickoff is slated for 7:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live stats will be available throughout the game.
 
The Army-Navy Star Series
The two teams participate in 26 Army-Navy Star competitions played over the course of the academic year that determine the winner of the Army-Navy Star Series presented by USAA. The annual showdown between the two rivals in each sport is deemed the Star Game/Match/Meet with the athletes from the winning team receiving a Star for their letter sweaters. For those sports who face Army multiple times in a season, the Star Game is designated prior to the start of the year.
 
Sprint football will be the third Star of the 2024-25 academic year. This year's series is currently tied 1-1. Army claimed a 3-2 victory in volleyball for the first Star of the year, while Navy earned the Star in men's rugby with a 32-5 win.
 
In addition to sprint football's Star Game on Friday, men's golf begins play in its Star Match this weekend. The two-day competition is slated for Friday-Saturday, Oct. 4-5 in West Point.
 
Navy leads the all-time overall series against Army, 1181-895-45 (.567), including a 174-124-5 (.583) mark over the last 10 years. Additionally, the Mids own a 126-76-5 (.622) advantage in the Star Series over the last 10 years. In 2021-22, Navy had unprecedented success in both the Star and overall series, posting a 20-4 (.833) mark in Star competitions and a 27-9 record in overall contests against Army. Last year, Navy recorded a 14-11-1 record in Star competitions and a 19-17-1 overall mark against Army.
 
All-Time Series
Navy holds the all-time series record, 49-39-1 (.556). The Midshipmen are 21-16 (.568) against the Black Knights in Annapolis, while holding a 16-16-1 (.500) mark in West Point.
 
The Midshipmen have won five of the last six games against their rivals, including two Star victories and three Collegiate Sprint Football League Championships.
 
Last season, the two teams met twice. Army claimed the Star with a 10-3 victory in West Point with Navy winning the CSFL title with a 28-23 win over the Black Knights in West Point.
 
Navy Sports Magazine
Senior team captain Luke Wagner sat down with the Voice of Navy Athletics Pete Medhurst to discuss the upcoming Army-Navy Star Game, the sprint season so far, and more in this week's edition of the Navy Sports Magazine. VIDEO
 
Sprint Football Claims Pair of Conference Weekly Honors
The CSFL announced its weekly award winners and Navy student-athletes Broderick Freeman and Jacori Sutton were recognized as the Rookie and Special Teams Players of the Week, respectively. The duo helped lead Navy to a 49-0 victory over Cornell during the Midshipmen's home opener at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
 
Freeman finished the game with 124 rushing yards on 12 attempts with a touchdown. The freshman did not have a loss on any of his 12 carries, averaging 10.3 yards per rush. In the third quarter, he broke through the line for a 23-yard touchdown run for his first collegiate score. The 23-yard carry was also his longest of the season.
 
Sutton scored 13 points in the victory over Cornell. The freshman was a perfect 4-for-4 on PAT tries, while finishing with three field goals. He converted field goals of 22, 32, and 29 yards with the 32-yard field goal being Sutton's longest of the season. Additionally, Sutton punted once for 45 yards.
 
Last Time vs. Army (CSFL Championship) – Nov. 12, 2023
Navy sprint football avenged its only loss of the season with a 28-23 victory against Army in the Collegiate Sprint Football League (CSFL) Championship at Shea Stadium in West Point, N.Y. The win was the third consecutive title for the Midshipmen.
 
The Navy sprint football team has 40 Collegiate Sprint Football League championships (33 outright) in the program's 78-year history – the most among any school in league history. Since the League split into divisions in 2017, Navy has played in five CSFL Championship games (2018, '19, '21, '22, '23), winning four titles (2018, '21, '22, '23).
 
The two teams were fairly balanced with Army holding a slight 278 to 269 advantage in total yards. The Black Knights held the edge in passing yards, finishing with 236 compared to 96 by the Midshipmen. On the ground, the Mids exerted their dominance, rushing for 173 yards compared to 42 by the home team.
 
Quarterback Brandon Atwood led the team with 109 yards on the ground, while adding 96 yards through the air on 11-for-20 passing with a pair of touchdowns. Tyler Massena added 23 yards rushing, while Manny Walt contributed 16. Jobe Long made his one carry of the game count as the senior ran for 10 yards on a fake field goal for a first down to set up a touchdown.
 
Long added 19 yards receiving on a team-high four carries. Kai Sasaki had a pair of catches for 44 yards and a touchdown, while Hunter Gennicks added two receptions for 17 yards and a score. Chris Stumpf also caught two passes for 16 yards.
 
Dante Carrasco led the team with 11 tackles, while Jake Wolinski added double-digit stops (10). Tyler Cox and Devin Martin added nine tackles apiece. Martin had a team-high two tackles for loss with a sack, while Carrasco added a sack. Mitchell Waters blocked an Army punt that Cox returned 15 yards for a touchdown.
 
Last Time vs. Army (Star Game) – Oct. 6, 2023
Navy dropped a 10-3 decision to Army in the annual Star Game, which is part of the overall Army-Navy Star Series presented by USAA, at Michie Stadium in West Point, N.Y. The loss snapped a streak of four consecutive victories by the Midshipmen over the Black Knights.
 
The game pitted two of the CSFL's best defenses against one another. The two teams played nearly even. Navy tallied 229 total yards of offense, while Army finished with 225 total yards. The Midshipmen finished with 90 yards passing compared to 64 by the Black Knights, while Army outrushed Navy, 161-139.
 
Navy won the time of possession battle by nearly a 2-to-1 margin. The Midshipmen held the ball for 39:30, while the Black Knights had the ball for 20:30. The Midshipmen converted 10 of 17 third down conversions, while the Mids' defense held the Black Knights to just a 2-for-9 performance on third down.
 
Devyn Martin led the Navy defense with 12 tackles, including a team-best seven stops. Martin had one of the Mids three tackles for loss, while Jack Costigan and Angelo Labbe added TFLs. Mitchell Waters picked off a Black Knight pass, while David Niski was credited with a pass breakup. Additionally, Trent Parker blocked an Army field goal attempt.
 
Starting quarterback Brandon Atwood finished the game 10-for-21 for 90 yards with two interceptions. The senior added 41 yards rushing to finish second on the team in rushing behind Victor Otero, who posted a team-high 88 yards on the ground. Kai Sasaki led the team with four receptions for a team-high 33 yards, while Chris Stumpf and Jobe Long added 14 and 18 receiving yards, respectively.
 
Mychal Golden scored the only points of the night for the Midshipmen, nailing a 24-yard field goal in the second quarter. The senior placekicker attempted a 45-yard field goal just before halftime, but the ball was just off the mark.