The Black Knights traveled to Colorado Springs for the first of two games against their service academy rivals that will determine which team will win the Commander-in-Chief’s trophy. Air Force had already lost their chance to win the trophy earlier this year with a loss to Navy in October, but the Falcons were a heavy favorite to win the game against Army at home.

Four reserve offensive linemen, Noah Knapp, Jake Baumert, Luke McCleery, and Dean Powell, started in place of the regular linemen and Jabari Laws started the game at quarterback.

Army got a bad break on the opening drive when the officials ruled that Law came up short on a half yard attempt for a touchdown.

In the end, though, it was a missed PAT attempt in the first quarter that forced Army to go for a touchdown on their final drive. The Black Knights came up 5 yards short after Kelvin Hopkins came in to replace an injured Laws and Army failed to gain the 7 yards they needed for the win.

It was a see saw battle that featured two good defensive efforts. Here’s how it played out.

Air Force won the toss and deferred to the second half; so after letting the kickoff go through the end zone, Army started with the ball on their own 25. Spearheaded by 54 running yards from fullback Sandon McCoy, the Black Knights drove the ball to the AFA 3, where a holding call on Noah Knapp set Army back 10 yards to bring up a third down and goal from the 13. Laws attempted a pass into the end zone and Air Force was called for pass interference giving Army a first down on the AFA 6. Three running plays brought up a fourth and goal inside the one, and Laws kept the ball, but was ruled short of the goal line on a very close call; so Air Force took control at their own 1 after the officials gave them a very generous spot.

Isaiah Sanders started at QB for the Falcons and they picked up two first downs to the 39, but then safety Ryan Velez dropped Remsberg for a 3 yard loss on a pass to the flats to bring up a third and 13. The Falcons came up well short and were forced to punt the ball away.

Akyah Miranda fielded the punt on the Army 14, where the Black Knights started their second possession of the game. Laws completed a pass to speedy slotback Artice Hobbs for a quick first down to the 27 to end the first quarter.

Three running plays gained just 5 yards, and Zach Harding came in to kick a 47 yard punt to the AF 21, where the Falcons started their second possession of the game.

Donald Hammond entered the game at QB for the Falcons, and the Falcons picked up a quick first down to the 35. Remsberg gained 22 yards to the Army 37 and two plays later, Timothy Jackson broke loose for a 32 yard gain to the Army five yard line, The Black Knights defense held AFA to no gain in two plays and then a false start set the Falcons back to the 10. Jackson was stopped two yards short of the goal line on 3d down, and Calhoun opted for a field goal to give Air Force an early 3-0 lead.

A short gain by Laws and a 5 yard completion to Hobbs brought up a third and 4. The only remaining regular OL starters, Jack Sides was injured on the next play, further testing the depth of offensive line. Two short runs brought up a third down before Laws completed a 9 yard pass to Hobbs for a first down at the 44. On the next play Laws completed another pass to Malek Hancock to the AF 6. Jaxson Deaton, who replaced Sides in the OL, was called for a false start to set Army back to the 11, and 3 running plays got them to the two where Monken called a timeout to decide whether to go for a touchdown and the lead or settle for a field goal and a tie game. Monken opted to go for the TD and Laws carried the ball in untouched to give Army their first lead of the game at 6-3 when Cole Talley missed his PAT attempt, which turned out to be sorely missed point at the end of the game.

AF let the kickoff go through the end zone to start on their own 25 with 1:17 left in the half. The Falcons stayed on the ground their first two plays, but then Hammond completed a pass to the Army 44 with 10 seconds left in the half. A delay of game penalty set AF back to the 49, and Hammond dropped back for a pass attempt that was broken up by cornerback Jahvari Bourdeau. With 4 seconds left, Hammond attempted a Hailmary that Elijah Riley intercepted and returned to the AF territory as time ran out in the half.

Air Force received the opening kickoff to start their first possession of the second half on their own 25. AF gained just 7 yards in three plays and were forced to punt it away. Miranda fielded the ball on the 13 but got nowhere on the return attempt.

Two short running plays gained 5 yards, and Monken had to call a timeout to avoid a delay of game call on third down. Laws dropped back to pass, but his receivers were covered so he scrambled for two bringing up another punting situation and Zach Harding came in to boot a 51 yard kick to the AF 31.

Birdow gained 6 yards for AF on first down, but Hammond’s pass on second fell incomplete and Cole Christiansen and Donovan Lynch dropped Remsberg for a 1 yard loss to force another punt by the Falcons.

Two plays gained 5 yards, and Deaton was called for his second false start to bring up third and 10. Laws got 3 back on a draw play, and Harding came in to punt it 39 yards to the AF 36 where the Falcons took over with 6:55 left in the quarter.

Jackson broke two tackles to gain 40 yards to the Army 24, and three Falcon running plays picked up a first down on the Army 13. Three more running plays came up a yard short, but Calhoun went for it on 4th and 1 and made it by inches. On the next play Jackson scored from 3 yards out to put AF back in the lead at 10-6 with 2:35 left in the quarter.

Cole Barnard was called for unnecessary roughness on the kickoff; so Army started on their own 13. Laws dropped back to pass on first down and found Cam Harrison wide open in the middle of the field for an 87 yard touchdown to regain the lead at 13-7.

AF started their next drive from their own 25 with 2:16 left. Hammond found a hole and scampered to the Army 36. Riley tore the ball loose, but the officials ruled that Hammond’s knee was down and AF kept control of the ball. Two more plays got to the Army 20 before time ran out in the quarter.

AF started the final quarter with second and 4 on the Army 20, but a false start penalty set them back to the 25. Hammond ran the ball left and Army dropped him for a loss, but on the next play Joshuah Stoner found a big hole on the right side for a first down at the Army 10 and two plays later, Stoner took a pitch and ran it in for a touchdown to give AF the lead again.

Army called a fair catch to launch their first drive of the quarter from the 25. Laws was called for intentional grounding on first down for a loss of 7 to bring up a second and 17, and two plays later, Harding came in to boot the ball 78 yards into the AF end zone, where the touchback brought it back out to the AF 20.

Two short runs and an incomplete pass forced AF to punt it again. MIranda fielded the ball on the Army 33 but then lost 8 yards on his return attempt to start the next drive on the Army 25. Three running plays gained just 6 yards and Army punted it back to AF at their own 17.

AF picked up 3 first downs to the Army 48, but the Black Knight defense stiffened and forced AF to punt it away again. The ball went through the end zone for a touchback and Army had the ball back on their 20 with 2:53 left in the game.

After a short run and a missed pass brought up third and long, Laws connected with Hobbs for a first down and followed it up with consecutive completions to Kjetl Cline and Brandon Walton to reach the AF 13. Jordan Jackson was called for targeting Laws on the play, which moved the ball halfway to the goal line and brought Kelvin Hopkins in to replace Laws.

Hopkins ran for 2 yards and then failed to complete on 3 straight pass attempts to turn th ball over to AF on downs with 33 seconds left on the clock.

- Air Force gained 328 yards rushing to Army’s 129.

- Army passed for 214 yards to AFA’s 16

- Army had 343 Total Yards to AFA’s 344

- Army ran 52 plays to AFA’s 63 and AF controlled the ball 32:17 to Army’s 27:43

- Army had 7 penalties for 47 yards to AFA’s 5 penalties for 28 yards

- There was only 1 turnover in the game, but it was a meaningless interception by Army to end the first half.

More to Come in our Monday Morning Quarterback Analysis

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