A sailor’s salute to West Point’s Army football season. The Cadets went 11-2, defeated Navy and Air Force, and handed Houston a 70-12 whooping in the Armed Forces Bowl behind Kevin Hopkins

By Arnie Leshin 

Take it from a former sailor, the tide has changed.

For years we’ve praised the Navy Academy’s football teams, even gave some kudos to the teams from the Air Force Academy, but this was Army’s season, West Point Army, the Cadets, the Black Knights, and they dominated in such a manner, it splashed Navy blue with Army gray. If there was a color war, the colors worn at West Point stood out the most.

Yes, it was a remarkable season. They began with a renewed confidence. They won 11 times, the most in the storied history of the picturesque Academy by the Hudson in New York State.

There’s plenty more and I salute them. I salutethem for sinking the Navy for a third-straight season. Before this, the Midshipmen made a collection of the Commander-In-Chief Award, the one bestowed upon the school that comes out ahead each season in the football rivalry.

Don’t struggle for an answer on who it was presented to this year. Don’t even need a drum roll to announce it was Army that downed the fliers at the Air Force Academy in Colorado, and it didn’t stop there as it held off the late challenge of the Middies in Philadelphia.

It wasn’t a good season for the bell bottom boys, and this included a losing one and no bowl game for the first time in 10 years. Army, meanwhile, took its invitation to the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Tex., and marched over Houston in an embarrassing 70-14 romp. So far, it’s the most points scored all season, which was the fourth year since Jeff Monrid came aboard as head coach and recharged the program

Now the Cadets came into that game as the one-point favorite, and it was instead a laugher. Army’s most legendary quarterback was Heisman Trophy winner Peter Dawkins, but he will have to move over to give junior Kelvin Hopkins some space.

And how about scheduling 4th ranked Oklahoma in Norman? The Sooners barely came away with anovertime win. The Cadets had more first downs, more rushing yards, more passing yards, and more possessions. It was announced that there was 88,403 in the stands that day, and there were bigger crowds than that, but many felt that Army wasn’t give much of a chance, but they were wrong.

Hopkins had a big day in Norman. In the Saturday whopping of the Cougars, He broke off a 77-yard touchdown run on the last play of the first quarter for a 14-0 lead.

Take notes. He initially ran to the left, then threw a fake and ran the other way, alluding a would-be tackler and made a move that sent two other defenders sliding to the ground when he switched directions again back toward the middle of the field. Army stuck to the ground and Hopkins only threw the ball three times and connected each time. He also ran for two short TDs..

Houston, which arrived with an 8-4 record, lost for the fourth time in five starts since going 7-1 and being ranked. It was its most lopsided loss in 27 bowl games, and its biggest overall defeat since the 66-10 fall to UCLA in 1997.

When the lead mounted to 49-7 late in the thirdQuarter, Hopkins had completed the first 1,000-yard passing game for Army since 2007. The Cadets ran for 507 of their 592 yards, won their third-straight bowl game.

The Cadets will land in the top-25 ranking when it makes its final list. And beware, Hopkins is only a junior. And beware, the Cadets expect another run.

There will always be “Anchors Away”. There will always be“Into The Air Junior Flyboys”.  But for now, we celebrate ‘’On Brave Old Army Team.”