Joe Iacono, is enjoying a sunny weekend in Orlando, so I’ll be providing the post-game comments for GBK this week.
The Black Knights were a 9-point underdog going into Saturday’s game against the Troy Trojans. Army jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the first half, but Troy shut out the Black Knights in the second half and scored 10 points to escape with the win.
Here’s how it transpired.
First Quarter - A Fumbled Snap Cost Army an Early Touchdown
Second Quarter - Army Scored 9 Unanswered Points on a Touchdown and a Field Goal
The second quarter started with Army in possession of the ball on the Troy 3 yard line, and it took just one play for Tyler to run the ball into the end zone for a 6-0 lead. Quinn Maretski came in for the PAT attempt but missed for the first time in 31 tries. That failed PAT turned out to be the eventual margin of loss for Army.
The Army defense held Troy to 16 yards in 5 plays to force another punt and got the ball back on their own 10. Army picked up 1 first down but was held to 6 yards on the next three plays to force an Army punt from the Troy 46. Billy Boehlke got off a poor 16-yard punt to the Troy 30 where the Trojans started their third possession.
On the first play of that possession, defensive back Quindrellan Hammonds forced a fumble that linebacker Jimmy Ciarlo recovered to give Army the ball on the Troy 22. Unfortunately, Army was unable to capitalize on the turnover when Tyler lost control of the ball as he was going to the ground and Troy got the ball right back on their own 16. The Army defense held Troy to another three-and-out and got the ball back on their own 25.
The Black Knights launched its third long drive of the game, reaching a first down at the Troy 11-yard line in 13 plays. Army picked up 2 yards for a second and eight at the 9. Tyler lost his helmet on the play and had to come out of the game; so Jemel Jones came in to attempt a pass to wide receiver Isaiah Alston in the end zone. It looked as though Alston had control of the ball with one foot in bounds, but the officials ruled him out of bounds for an incompletion. Jones tried to connect with Alston again but the pass was well defended, and Army had to settle for a 26-yard field goal to take a 9-0 lead at the half.
Third Quarter - Defense held Troy to a Field Goal to Cling to a 9-3 Lead
Troy attempted to return the second-half kickoff, but Army’s kick coverage team stopped them at the 20-yard line. The Trojans went to their aerial game with greater success than they’d had running the ball, and drove the ball to the Army 4, where the defense held forcing Troy to settle for a field goal to close Army’s lead to 9-3.
Army started on their own 25 and got as far as the Troy 45 before the Trojans forced them to punt. Boehlke’s short punt attempt bounded into the end zone for a touchback and Troy had the ball back on their own 20. The Trojans picked up 1 first down to the 30, but a 16-yard sack by Kwabena Bonsu forced Troy to punt it away again.
Army fielded the ball on their 42 and drove the ball to the Troy 45, but a questionable illegal block call on slotback Brahaem Murphy brought the ball back 15 yards into Army territory and two plays later Boehlke came back in to punt the ball. He kicked his second poor punt of the afternoon, a 13-yarder that gave Troy the ball on their own 46 as time ran out in the quarter.
Fourth Quarter - Troy Scored on a 4th Down Play and Maretski Missed from 41 Yards to give Troy the Win
Troy started the 4th quarter in good field position and reached as far as the Army 7, but Jimmy Ciarlo rushed a Trojan pass attempt that Cam Jones intercepted in the end zone to give Army the ball on their own 20. An intentional grounding call on Tyler forced Army to punt the ball again, and Troy took over on their own 43.
The Trojans launched their best drive of the day, marching 54 yards to a first down on the Army 5-yard line. Max DiDomenico hurried a first down pass attempt which fell incomplete, and the Army defense held a second down rushing attempt to 2 yards bringing up a third and goal. A pass to the corner was ruled out of bounds, but the Trojans went for the successful touchdown on fourth down and the PAT give them a one-point lead at 10-9 with 8:04 left in the game.
Army picked up a first down on a 28-yard run by Ay’ Juan Marshall, but Troy held forcing another Army punt. Troy picked up 2 first downs before the Army defense forced them to punt it away again.
With 2:10 left on the clock, Tyler and Jones combined to move the ball to the Troy 25-yard line and with a 4th down and 1-yard to go, Maretski was sent in to attempt a 41-yard field goal. He pushed it wide right to give Troy the game.
Post-Game Press Conference: Head Coach Jeff Monken
Final Statistics
• Army controlled the ball 37:07 to Troy’s 22:53
• Army had 357 yards of Total Offense compared to 264 yards for Troy.
• Army rushed for 275 yards to Troy’s 78
• Army quarterbacks completed 4 of their 9 pass attempts for 82 yards, while Troy’s completed 15 of 31 attempts for 192 yards.
• Army had 3 penalties for 20 yards compared to Troy’s 3 penalties for 40 yards.
GBK will provide additional analysis and comments on the unit and individual performances in our Monday Morning Quarterback feature.
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