The US Naval Academy Men’s Team is in Colorado Springs this Friday to take on Air Force in a Military Academy rivalry game. This is an important event in part because this year something is happened that should happen every season, as all three academies are playing each other. Navy plays Army every season, and while a date hasn’t been set, it’s expected to happen. And Air Force already has a game penned in at West Point. So this is the opening salvo in a three-team rivalry. Air Force has looked very strong in convincing defeats of New Mexico and Colorado State. Calvin Johnson has caused defenses all sorts of problems in midfield, while their forward pack is good one through eight. Navy has not had a lot of games, as Head Coach Mike Flanagan has them on basically a one-game-a-month schedule in the fall. They beat Ohio State, and then look at Air Force, Maryland, and Clemson before Winter Break. “We’ve been doing a lot of teaching,” said Flanagan, who will rely on a pretty good midfield himself, with Dakota Raymond and John Ruck. Jack McAuliffe returns at flyhalf, while AJ Johnson at wing might be their biggest danger man. “It will be an exciting game,” said Flanagan. “They have some strong players up front and want to move the ball, and we are physical and tough up front and we like to move the ball. We don’t know the level of competition they’ve played, so we really don’t know what to expect, but it will be a good game.” Navy and Air Force also play on the women’s side Friday. The men's game was not played last year due to the government shutdown. Normally the Navy v Air Force game is an annual event. The two teams play for the Lt. Col. Kevin M. Shea Memorial Cup, named for Shea, who graduated from the Air Force Academy, but cross-commissioned into the US Marine Corps. He played rugby at Air Force and later coached at the Naval Academy. He was killed in action in Iraq in September, 2004.