Army-Navy Game Ball Carried Through Bucks County On Way To Philly

NEW HOPE BOROUGH, PA — Residents cheered on Army Friday morning as the West Point Marathon Team ran a game ball through Bucks County on its way to Philadelphia for the big Army-Navy Game on Saturday, Dec. 10.

In New Hope Borough, Mayor Larry Keller waved a huge American flag at the intersection of Bridge and Main as a small group of runners crossed into the borough from the New Hope-Lambertville Bridge and made the turn onto South Main Street.

At the Logan Inn, the game ball passed below a giant American flag hoisted above the street by the Lambertville Fire Department. Below, members of the New Hope Borough Police Department cheered on the marathon team, with shouts of "Go Army" emanating from the ranks.

Game balls are being run from Maryland and New York to Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia where the Army Black Knights are scheduled to take on the Navy Midshipmen in one of college football’s greatest rivalries.

The Navy runners cover approximately 135 miles from Annapolis, M.D., to Philadelphia while the Army runners will clock in at 160 miles from West Point, N.Y., to the City of Brotherly Love.

Both teams will then run onto the field prior to the start of the game to present each game ball.

The West Point Team stepped off on Thursday, Dec. 8 on its journey south from West Point, New York to Philadelphia. On Friday, just after 10 a.m., the team crossed into Pennsylvania and Bucks County over the New Hope-Lambertville free bridge decorated with a giant "Go Army" banner.

With game ball in hand and escorted by the New Hope Borough Police Department, they ran south on South Main Street before handing it off to the Solebury Township Police which escorted the runners down Route 232.

From New Hope-Solebury, the marathon team carried the ball through Upper Makefield, Wrightstown and Northampton Township on its way to the City of Brotherly Love.