It was a cold sunny and windy day at Michie as the Black Knights took the field to take on the visiting Keydets of Virginia Military Institute (VMI).

This was supposed to be another easy win against the second FCS opponent of the season, but as was the case against Morgan State, the Keydets did not show up to roll over and play dead. Led by the passing of Reece Udinski, VMI turned a successful onside kick into an early 3 point lead and kept the game close for two quarters before Army broke the game open in the third quarter.

It was Senior Day at Michie Stadium and the 31 seniors on the roster were honored before the start of the game. Twenty-six seniors played in the game, and the seniors had a major impact on the outcome. Seniors scored 5 of Army’s 7 touchdowns and gained 366 of Army’s rushing yards. Seniors accounted for 34 of the 60 Army tackles, 3 of the 5 TFLs and 2.5 of 3.0 Sacks.

VMI started the game by recovering an onside kick to take possession on their 48. The Keydets picked up two quick first downs to the Army 35 but Army held them to 7 yards on the next three downs, and Clemmons was sent in to kick a field goal that gave VMI an early 3 point lead.

Jabari Laws started the game at QB for the Black Knights and opened up the first drive with a 7 yard gain. Sandon McCoy gained 4 for the first down, and he followed with 2 carries for another first down. Laws ran for 3 and Connor Slomka broke loose for a 14 yard gain to the VMI 37. Laws continued with a 27 yard run to the 10, Slomka ran for 6 and Laws finished off with 4 yard run to give Army a 7-3 lead.

The VMI return man temporarily bobbled the ball on the ensuing kickoff and the Army kick return team stopped him on the VMI 14. Malkem Morrison was called for targeting on the first play, but the targeting call was overturned on review. Nonetheless Army was assessed a 15 yard penalty to the 29. The Keydets picked up a first down to their 47, but a holding penalty and two short gains forced them to punt from their 49 to the Army 7 where Army started their second possession of the game.

Slomka picked up 3 to the 10 and Laws gained a short 2 to bring up a third and 5. Laws ran a quarterback draw that picked up 9 yards and a first down at the 21. Laws continued with two long gains of 11 and 26 yards to the VMI 42. Slomka gained another 7 and then Artice Hobbs, took a pitch for 9 yards and a first down at the VMI 26. Laws ran for another 9 yards to the 17 but was injured on the play and Kelvin Hopkins came in to take over at QB as time ran out in the quarter.

Hopkins picked up a first down at the 13, but VMI dropped Kelvin Walker for a 1 yard loss to bring up a second and 11. Malik Hancock ran for 4 yards and on third down, Hopkins tossed a shovel pass to Walker that VMI held to a 1 yard gain to bring up a 4th and 6 on the VMI 9. Cole Talley was sent in to attempt the field goal but missed from 26 yards out, and VMI took over on the 20.

VMI converted three straight third down attempts to reach the Army 39. Two straight completions gave VMI on the Army 22, but Malkelm Morrison and Edriece Patterson combined for an 11 yard sack to the 33. A 13 yard pass completion put VMI back in FG range and Clemmons came in for his second FG to close the gap to 7-6.

Hobbs returned the kickoff to the Army 36, and Hopkins ran the ball three times for a first down at the 50. A pass attempt to Cam Harrison was incomplete but then Hopkins broke loose for a 42 yard gain to the VMI 8. Slomka carried five yards to the three and then scored from 3 yards out to open Army’s lead to 14-6 with 3:08 left in the half.

Korey Brady broke through two Army tacklers to return the ball to the 41, and Udinski led VMI to the Army 32, but on the next play Kwabena Bonsu sacked Udinski for a 7 yard loss and followed it up with another sack for a 9 yard loss to take VMI out of field goal range forcing VMI to punt.

Army had the ball on their 11 with 90 seconds left in the half. Hopkins led the team to the VMI 21, but a false start penalty set Army back to the 26. A pass to Harrison gained 7 yards to the 19, but on the next play, Hopkins was pressured and threw a bad pass thet VMI intercepted on the 17. A 15 yard face mask penalty added 15 yards to the 32.

Udinski completed two short passed to reach their 31 and then completed a 30 yard pass to the Army 29, but time ran out on the play and Army took a 14-6 lead at the half.

VMI returned the second half kickoff to the 24, and Udinkski started their possession with a 21 yard completion to the 45. The defense held VMI to 3 yards on the next three plays and Reed King came in to punt the ball 51 yards to the Army 1, where the Black Knights started their first possession of the half.

With Army starting deep in its own territory, McCoy gave them some breathing room with 3 straight runs to the 12. Hopkins carried twice for 9 yards to the 21, but VMI stopped McCoy for no gain to bring up a 4th and 1. Monken opted to go for the conversion and Hopkins surged forward for 2 yards and the first down at the 23. Walker picked up 9 yards on a pitch, and Hopkins picked up another 9 yards to the 41. On the next play, Walker took a pitch and raced 59 yards for Army’s third touchdown of the game to extend their lead to 21-6.

VMI called a fair catch to start their second possession of the half from their own 25. Three plays later, VMI sent in their punt team for a fake punt play, but Army sniffed out the fake play and the Black Knights had the ball with a short field at the VMI 27,

Slomka rushed for 7, Hopkins added 16 to the VMI 3 yard line, and Slomka carried it in for Army’s 4th touchdown of the day, but the PAT missed and Army led 27-7.

Udinski passed the Keydets to the Army 37 in 8 plays where VMI faced a 4th and 7 and VMI went for the conversion attempt. Udinski’s pass was wide of his target and Army took over on their own 37.

After Slomka picked up a short 3, Hopkins found an opening to run 63 yards for another touchdown to open the lead to to 33-7 as Army missed their second PAT attempt of the day.

Landon Salyers kicked off to VMI and then dislodged the ball from the return mans grip and recovered it for an Army turnover at the VMI 24.

Hopkins kept three straight times for 22 yards to the VMI 17 befoore time ran out in the quarter

The fourth quarter began where the third quarter left off with Hopkins keeping the ball for 9 yards to the VMI 10 and then finishing it off with a 10 yard run for Army’s 7th touchdown of the day as they extended their lead to 40-6.

VMI ran the kickoff out to the 24, and Udinski completed a 29 yard pass to the VMI 48. Two short gains brought up a third and 4. An incomplete pass brought up a 4th down and after calling a timeout to think it over, VMI punted the ball away to the Army.

With a 36 point lead, Monken sent in his reserves, and third string QB Christian Andersen wasted no time making his mark with a 48 yard run to the VMI 42. Senior Rashaad Bolton entered the game at FG and picked up 11 yards on two carries for another first down on the VMI 31, Andersen and Bolton alternated carries for another first down at the 20. Andersen ran for 8 and Bolton carried twice for a first and goal at the 8. Bolton picked up another 3 and then Andersen ran it in for Army’s 9th touchdown and a 47-6 lead.

VMI brought in a new quarterback to finish the game, and the Black Knight defense held VMI to 7 yards on their first three plays. VMI let the play clock run down to zero and then called a timeout before bringing in their punt team.

Christiansen came back out with 3:10 left on the clock and the reserves ran out the clock.

- Army rushed for a season high 595 yards while holding VMI to 40 net yards rushing

- Army average 9.1 yards per rushing attempt while holding VMI to an average of 1.9 per attempt

- Army QBs combined for 4 completions in 7 attempts with 1 interception, while VMI completed 23 or 37 pass attempts with no no interceptions

- Each side had one turnover in the game

- Army controlled Time of Possession with 36:35 to VMI’s 23:25

- Army had 3 penalties for 35 yards to VMI’s 3 penalties for 24 yards

More to Come in our GBK Monday Morning Quarterback Analysis

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