Navy senior linebacker David Mahoney already has reason to rate his games against Air Force as special.
But if the Midshipmen win Saturday at Falcon Stadium, his rating system could go off the chart. A Navy victory would mean that for the first time in the series, which will reach 39 games, members of the Midshipmen’s senior class could say they didn’t lose to the Falcons.
“I know we have that opportunity and it would be a great feat to accomplish, but we don’t know that we’re going to win the game,” Mahoney said. “We’re going in with the confidence that we can win the game.”
For years, it was coach Fisher DeBerry and his Air Force players who could boast about the senior class dominance against Army and Navy, but there has been silence on the subject since Navy beat the Falcons 28-25 in 2003. Mahoney and his classmates have been part of three consecutive victories, including a 24-21 win at Falcon Stadium in 2004 and a 27-24 win last year in Annapolis, Md.
“We’ve been in that situation before, but I know how our senior class feels this year,” DeBerry said. “It’s just reversed for them; they haven’t beaten the Naval Academy. Navy should have a lot of confidence after an impressive victory last week over Connecticut (41-17), and it has played in a bowl game each of the last three years.”
Along with the streak against the Falcons, Navy has taken ownership of the Commander-in- Chief’s Trophy that goes to the winner of the Army-Navy-Air Force round robin.
“Navy feels as if it owns the trophy right now,” DeBerry said. “But winning the trophy is the No. 1 goal of our program. It’s a very meaningful trophy to us, as it is to the other academies.”
Mahoney’s first start for Navy was against Air Force in 2003 as a freshman. He moved into the starting lineup because of an injury to an upperclassman.
“There was a lot of excitement and nervousness,” said Mahoney, a 5-foot-9, 219-pounder from Fort Myers, Fla. “I think I had 11 tackles in the game. I was even smaller then than I am now.”
He played what he called a steady game against the Falcons in 2004, and last year sacked Shaun Carney twice.
Before Navy started its run, Air Force won 48-7 in 2002. Mahoney credits coach Paul Johnson for the turnaround.
“It’s a matter of confidence,” Mahoney said. “The coaching staff came here the year before I did, and with the attitude they were going to do big things.”
DeBerry and Mahoney say execution and mistake-free play are keys to the first leg of the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy race.
“Navy has a lot of momentum and a senior-dominated team,” DeBerry said. “They’re one point away from being undefeated. Emotions run extremely high in these games.”
Navy’s only loss in five games was 24-23 in overtime to Tulsa on Sept. 23. After Saturday, Air Force and Navy still have to play Army. Air Force plays at Army on Nov. 3 and the Army-Navy game is Dec. 2 in Philadelphia.
“There’s a lot of tradition involved in the Army-Navy game,” Mahoney said. “But Air Force is just as big a game for us as Army.”
Irv Moss can be reached at 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
