MD Native, Patriots Coach Bill Belichick Gets Key To Annapolis

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley gave New England Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick the key to the city Saturday. The symbolic ceremony took place at halftime of an Army-Navy men's lacrosse game. Belichick grew up in the city and graduated from Annapolis High School in 1970.

Annapolis Roots

"I grew up about a mile away from the stadium," Belichick said, according to New England. "The Naval Academy has been a big, big part of my life."

Belichick's dad, Steve, served in the Navy during the 1940s, Patriots.com explained. His father continued as a scout for Navy football from 1956 to 1989, New England added.

The Patriots mentioned that Belichick spoke to the Midshipmen before the game.

"When you grew up in Maryland, there's two things [that] really stand out," Belichick noted in New England's story. "One is lacrosse, and the other is hard crabs ... Those two things are our way of life."

(Story continues below tweet)

Game Recap

No. 16 Navy beat No. 10 Army by a score of 9-4. The win bumped the Mids to 5-2 on the season. Their victory also clinched third place in the southern division of the Patriot League.

A crowd of 5,285 enjoyed the game. Gov. Larry Hogan also attended the rivalry.

"We saw how the brigade leads our community," Buckley said in a newsletter. "We saw them keeping their distance, but still having a good time. You could hear the crowd, especially as we were able to watch a wonderful win against Army."

What's Next

Navy will head to Lafayette this Saturday to take on the Leopards at 2:30 p.m. The regular-season finale will air on CBS Sports Network.

The Midshipmen will then travel to Loyola on May 4. They will face the Greyhounds in the quarterfinals of the Patriot League Tournament. That contest will air on ESPN+ at an undetermined time.

Navy will find out if they make the NCAA tournament on May 9. The first-round games are on May 15 and 16.

To learn more about Belichick's Annapolis roots, check out the full Patriots article. Click here to read a recap of the Army-Navy matchup.

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