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Army Black Knights dominate UMass Minutemen 63-7 to snap losing streak

Army - UMass
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final

UMass

7

0

0

0

7

Army

14

21

14

14

63

Senior Slotback Kell Walker in action
Senior Slotback Kell Walker in action (Danny Wild - USA TODAY Sports)
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In 1879, the University of Massachusetts was known as the Massachusetts Agricultural College when the school played its first football game. That was 11 years before Army West Point played its first ever football game against Navy. Despite the relative proximity of the two schools, their equally long histories in eastern football, and the fact that the two schools are both Independents, they met for just the third time in history this Saturday. The first meeting was in 1977, and UMass was a Division 1AA school. Army won that game 34-10. The two teams met again in 2005, 6 years before UMass moved up to Division 1A, and the Black Knights scored in the final quarter to win that game 34-27.

Fast forward to 2019, and the Minutemen made their ever third trip to West Point to take on the Black Knights of the Hudson. The temperature was in the high 30s, a good day for football as the two teams took the field.

The Black Knights were playing the game without the services of defensive co-captain Cole Christiansen and leading receiver Cam Harrison, but the loss of those two key players had little effect on the game.

The Black Knights started fast and suffered just one major lapse in the first quarter before dominating the remainder of the game to win going away at 63-7.

Here’s how the story unfolded:

First Quarter - Army jumps out to an early 14-7 lead

The Minutemen elected to return the opening kick and were stopped on the 22. A holding call set them back to the 12. Two running plays went nowhere, and the third down pass attempt fell incomplete forcing UMass to punt it away after 3 downs. Akayah Miranda fielded the ball on the Army 43, and was dropped immediately.

Army fans who were concerned about the lack of rushing attempts by slotback Kell Walker against Air Force had to be pleased when Walker started the offense with consecutive carries of 12 and 24 yards before fullback Sandon McCoy took over the running duties to reach the end zone on consecutive runs of 2, 10, and 4 yards to give Army an early 7-0 lead.

UMass ran the second kickoff out to their own 32 to start their second possession. After picking up a first down to the 44, the Minutemen ran a tricky reverse flea flicker play that caught Army defenders napping and left their tight end wide open for a 56 yard touchdown to tie the game.

QB Jabari Laws had a very productive day running the Army offense
QB Jabari Laws had a very productive day running the Army offense (Danny Wild - USA TODAY Sports)

Army called a fair catch of the kickoff to start their second possession on the 25. Walker was stopped for a 1 yard gain, but quarterback Jabari Laws picked up a first down to the 36. A pitch to slotback Artice Hobbs picked up another first down and a horse collar added 15 more yards to the UMass 39. McCoy ran for 3, Laws completed a pass to slotback Brandon Walters for another 3, and then Laws followed up with a 9 yard run to the 24. A 15 yard completion to wide receiver Michael Roberts gave Army a first and goal on the UMass 8 and after fullback Connor Slomka carried for 4 yards, McCoy finished the drive with his second touchdown of the game to recapture the lead for good at 14-7.

Isaiah Rodgers returned the kickoff to the UMass 40 but three plays went nowhere, and UMass punted the ball away to the Army 27, where the Black Knights started their third possession of the game.

Three running plays came up a yard short, but, true to form, Monken elected to go for the conversion on 4th down and McCoy picked up 4 for the first down. Laws gained another 15 yards to the UMass 45 before time ran out in the quarter.

Second Quarter - Two short-field touchdowns increase Army’s lead to 35-7 at the half

Defensive lineman Nolan Cockrill applies the pass rush pressure
Defensive lineman Nolan Cockrill applies the pass rush pressure (Danny Wild - USA TODAY Sports)

The second quarter offense started just like the first, with a pitch to Walker for a 15 yard gain to the UMass 31. Slomka picked up another first down with runs of 8 and 3 yards to the 20. Laws gained another 9 to the 11 and thee plays later, McCoy scored his third touchdown of the game to increase the lead to 21-7.

The kickoff team stopped the UMass return attempt at the 19, and the Minutemen came out for their 4th possession of the game. After a 3 yard gain by Roberson, defensive lineman Kwabena Bonsu tracked down Johnson from behind for a 1 yard loss to bring up a third and 9. Brito dropped back to pass and Bonsu chased him out of the pocket forcing Brito to throw a bad pass that safety Ryan Velez picked off on the 28 and returned to the UMass 12.

Slomka came in at fullback and scored in two plays on consecutive runs of 9 and 3 yards to increase Army’s lead to 28-7.

Rodgers made another good return to the 32 and the UMass offense took the field with 9:22 left in the half, trying to get something going. Two running plays gained 3 yards, but on third and 7, Ally found a hole in the Army defense for a 22 yard gain to the Army 43. Malek Morrison dropped Wiley for a two yard loss and a false start penalty set UMass back to the 50. An incomplete pass and a 1 yard completion brought up a 4th down and UMass punted it away to the Army 20 where the Black Knights started their next possession with 6:22 left on the clock.

A targeting call on UMass was reversed by the review official, but Laws came out of the game replaced by Kelvin Hopkins at QB. Hopkins led the Black Knights to a first down on the 42 before Laws returned to the game. UMass held Hobbs to no gain, and two incomplete passes by Laws brought up a 4th and 10; so Zach Harding came in to kick a 41 yard punt that Rodgers fielded on the 17.

A false start penalty on UMass was followed by a 1 yard gain and Army called a timeout with 2:31 left in the half. An incomplete pass stopped the clock and brought up a 3d and 14. Inside linebacker Ryan Parker, playing for the injured Christiansen dropped Ally for a 4 yard loss, and UMass sent in their punt team for a fake punt play. A UMass receiver was wide open, but the pass was overthrown and Army took possession on the UMass 9 with 2:19 left in the half.

Army tried to take time off the clock, but on third down, Hobbs scored from 3 yards out to increase the score to 35-7.

UMass returned the kickoff to the 32 and moved the ball out to their own 48 before time ran out in the half.

Game Statistics
Army UMass

Total Yards


546

121

Passing Yards


99

48

Rushing Yards

498

26

Penalty Yards


2-20

5-44

1st Downs


34

7

3rd Down Conversions


7-11

2-12

4th Down Conversions


2-2

1-3

Time of Possession


41:13

18:47

Third Quarter - Army scores 14 unanswered to lead 49-7

Having deferred on the coin toss, Army received the second half kickoff, letting it roll through the end zone to start on the 25. On the first play of the half, Artice Hobbs showed great concentration in hauling in a Laws pass at the UMass 45. After Laws ran for 9 to the UMass 36, Cade Barnard came in at fullback and carried for a first down to the 32, but on the next play, Barnard fumbled the ball and UMass recovered to take over on their own 27.

A pass interference call on Elijah Riley gave UMass for first down on their 42, but the defense stopped them cold the next three plays forcing a punt to the Army 17.

Laws found a big hole and followed the downfield blocking by WRs Michael Roberts and Kjetl Cline to score an 83 yard touchdown and increase the lead to 42-7.

Rodgers ran the ball out to the 36, and UMass picked up 9 yards on three plays to bring up a 4th and 1 on the 45, but Ryan Parker broke through to stop the fourth down conversion and Army took over ion the UMass 40.

Army picked up 1 first down to the UMass 34, but Walters was dropped for a 5 yard loss on second down and Hopkins was stopped for no gain to force Army’s second punt of the game. Zach Potter made a short field kick to the UMass 15 yard line where the Minutemen started their next possession.

Robeson was held to a one-yard gain and Morrison dropped Johnson for a two-yard loss to bring up third and 12 on the 13. Edriece Patterson sacked Brito for a 5 yard loss and UMass was forced to punt again. Miranda fielded the punt on the Army 47 but lost 7 yards on his return attempt; so Army started their next possession on their own 40 with 5:30 left in the quarter.

AJ Howard took a handoff from Hopkins and burst for a 20 yard gain to the UMass 40. McCoy and Hopkins combined for another first down at the 28. Walters was held to a 1 yard gain, but Malik Hancock took a pitch for a 9 yard gain and a first down at the 18. Play was stopped to review a possible targeting call on UMass, and Army got another 15 yards to the 9 yard line. Hopkins kept for a touchdown on the next play and Army had a 49-7 lead with 2:33 left in the quarter.

An offside call on the kickoff gave UMass the ball on their own 34. Senior Randall West came in at quarterback for UMass and picked up a first down to the Army 38, but Elijah Riley picked off West’s next pass on the Army 28 and returned it to the 40 where Army started their final possession of the quarter.

Freshman FB Jakobi Buchanan entered the game at FB and picked up 6 yards to the 46 before time ran out in the quarter.

Fourth Quarter - Army continues to dominate outscoring UMass 14-0

Christian Andersen came in as the third quarterback for Army in the game as Monken sent in his reserves to finish the game.

Buchanan, Barnard, and freshman Anthony Adkins rotated at the FB position as Army pounded the middle for 58 yards and Barnard carried the final two yards for Army’s 8th rushing touchdown of the game to widen their lead to 56-7.

Despite a host of fresh jerseys in the game for the Army defense, UMass was unable to move the ball and had to punt it away to the Army 30.

Jemel Jones made his college debut as the fourth quarterback in the game for Army as Monken emptied the bench to get some young players a little experience. With Jones and Buchanan doing most of the running behind what was largely a freshmen offensive line, the Black Knights took 13 plays to drive 70 yards, capped off by a 4 yard run by Jones for the 9th touchdown of the game with less than a minute left on the game clock, and UMass offense came back in to end the game.

Black Knights celebrate Saturday's win over UMass
Black Knights celebrate Saturday's win over UMass (Danny Wild - USA TODAY Sports)

Quick Stats


- Army ran for 498 yards and passed for an additional 48, for a total of 546 yards, while holding UMass to 26 yards rushing and 99 yards passing for 125 yards.

- Army had 34 first downs to the Minutemen’s 7.

- Army converted 7 of its 11 third downs and both of its fourth down conversion attempts.

- Army held the ball for 41:13 compared to 18:47 for UMass

- 14 different players carried the ball for Army and 8 different runners scored

- Army won the turnover battle with 2 interceptions while turning the ball over once on a fumble.

**To chat with other Army fans about this article and more, please visit The 12th Knight message board**

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