Army lost backup quarterback Jabari Laws to an injury on a targeting penalty at the end of the first quarter, and third string junior quarterback, Christian Anderson, came in to play the final three quarters of the game as the Black Knights ground out 6 touchdowns on the ground, completed one long pass for an 80 yard touchdown, and added a field goal to increase their home winning streak to 15 straight games.

The game was marred by injuries and penalties for both teams with Morgan State racking up 11 penalties for 72 yards and Army West Point picking up 7 penalties for 50 yards.

Army turned the ball over twice on fumbles but the defense countered with 4 turnovers on 3 interceptions and a fumble to win the turnover battle.

We saw a lot of new players on the field today, and by our unofficial count 64 Army players saw action in the game.

Despite the final score, the over 400 yards rushing and multiple players seeing action for the first time, Head Coach Jeff Monken was not a happy camper and candidly expressed his displeasure with team and coaching performance, starting with himself.

Here’s How The Game Unfolded:

Morgan State took the opening kickoff to their own 19. A false start penalty and good defense forced them to punt the ball away from their own end zone, but the punt bounced off the helmet of an Army player and the Bears recovered on their own 36 for a second chance. The defense came back out and forced MSU to punt again three plays later.

Army started its first possession on their own 23 and proceeded to march down the field in typical Army fashion. Led by the running of fullbacks Connor Slomka, Sandon McCoy, and Cade Barnard, the Black Knights reached the MSU 9 yard line in 8 plays, and slotback Artice Hobbs finished the drive with a 9 yard carry around left end to give Army an early 7-0 lead.

After the defense held MSU to a negative four yards on their first two downs, Manasseh Bailey got a two step lead on Army CB Jabari Moore and Deandre Harris threw a perfect pass into his arms for a 69 yard reception to tie the score at 7-7.

Army started their second possession on their own 26. Slomka picked up a quick first down on a 14 yard carry but, on the next play, a miscommunication between Laws and Slomka resulted in a 3 yard loss. With a 2d and 13, Laws ran to the outside and pitched the ball out for what appeared to be a first down, but the play was reviewed and Laws was called for an illegal forward pass, bringing up a 3d and 18. Laws dropped back to pass the ball and MSU forced a fumble that was recovered on the Army 25 to set up the Bears’s second score.

Jabriel Johnson found a hole in the Army defense and scampered 25 yards for a touchdown to take a 14-7 lead.

Army started their third possession on their own 26 and reached the MSU 11 yard line in 8 plays before time ran out in the first quarter. Jordan Johnson was called for targeting on the last play of the quarter, but Laws had to leave the game with an injury from the hit.

The second quarter started off with an 11 yard run by McCoy to top off the 75 yard drive and tie the game back up at 14 all.

The Bears started on their 25, and were held to negative yardage on their first two downs; so on third down Harris dropped back to pass but was hurried into making a bad throw by middle linebacker Arik Smith, and cornerback Elijah Riley intercepted the ball on the 42 and returned it to the MSU 31.

A false start penalty set Army back 5 yards and 3 plays later, they had a 4th and 1 on the MSU 22. Monken went for the conversion that Barnard picked up with a 5 yard carry for the first down at the 17. Barnard gained another 5 yards to the 12, but slotback Kell Walker was dropped for a loss of 6 to bring up a third and 11 at the 18. Christian Anderson failed to complete a pass attempt, and David Cooper was sent in to kick a 35 yard field goal to regain the lead for Army at 17-14.

MSU started on their own 25 again and picked up a first down to the Army 36, but a false start penalty set them back to the 41, and Army held them to 2 yards in their next 3 plays to force another punt. Akyah Miranda, fielded the punt on the 14 and returned it to the 20, where Army launched their second drive of the quarter.

Offensive coordinator Brent Davis saw that MSU was overplaying the run and called a pass play. Anderson found Hobbs wide open for an 80 yard touchdown pass to increase Army’s lead to 24-14.

MSU started their next possession on their 25 and got as far as their 48 before Cam Jones intercepted a Harris pass on the Army 42 and returned it to the 48.

Anderson threw two incomplete passes and Slomka gained a short two yards to force Army’s only punt of the game, and Zach Potter kicked it out of bounds on the MSU 13 where the Bears started their next possession.

The Bears earned 1 first down before Army forced them to punt from their own 33. Army let it roll dead on their own 33 with 3 minutes left on the clock. Army marched to the MSU 27, but a holding penalty gave them a first down and 20 on the 37 and Anderson threw two incomplete passes before picking up 10 yards running the ball as the clock ran out in the half.

Artice Hobbs received the second half kickoff on the 15 and returned it 20 yards to the Army 35. Army took 10 plays and 4:17 on the game clock to march the 65 yards for the touchdown to open the lead to 31-14. Anderson gained 21 yards in 2 carries and Malik Hancock picked up 14 yards on a reverse to set up a 3 yard plunge by Slomka for the score.

Morgan State called a fair catch to start their first possession of the half on their 25 and drove 75 yards in 15 plays for their third score to close the gap to 31-21. Cam Jones was injured on the possession and had to leave the game.

Army returned the ensuing kickoff to the 29 and Slomka, McCoy and Anderson took turns picking up big yardage, as the Black Knights ran the ball to the MSU 4 before time ran out in the quarter.

The fourth quarter started with a 3 yard plunge by Cade Barnard to cap off the 71 yard drive as Army increased their lead to 38-21.

The Bears took the fair catch to start at their own 25 and the defense held them to no yardage on the first two plays, but on third down, Johnson scrambled for a 9 yard pickup and then converted on fourth and 1 to the 35. The defense held MSU to 8 yards on the next three plays, but the Bears went for another 4th down conversion, and back-up cornerback Ryan Velez picked off the pass attempt for the third interception of the game, and ran it back to the MSU 4 yard line. Two plays later seldom used senior fullback Rashaad Bolton plunged into the end zone to increase Army’s lead to 45-21.

The Bears started on the 25 yard line again, and Harris completed a 25 yard pass for a first down at mid field. The next pass attempt fell incomplete, and on 2d down, Harris completed another pass to Andrew Howell for 11 yards, where Elijah Riley forced a fumble that was recovered by Nolan Cockrill for the fourth defensive turnover of the game.

Monken send in his reserves for the next possession, and the offense continued to grind it out on the ground as former Rivals 3-star/freshman fullback Anthony Adkins and sophomore Kaeilin Byrd saw their first college action as the 5th and 6th fullbacks in the game. Byrd carried the ball 2 times for 14 yards and Adkins had 8 carries for 28 yards and the final touchdown to increase Army’s lead to 52-21.

The game came to an end after Army committed their 7th penalty when they sent out 12 players for a Bears punt. The clock ran out as the second Bears punt bounced into Army territory.

- Army ran the ball 78 times for 403 net yards with 11 running backs getting carries in the game, including 6 different fullbacks who combined for 280 yards and 5 of the 6 rushing touchdowns.

- Christian Anderson completed just 1 of his 7 pass attempts, but it was good for an 80 yard score by Artice Hobbs.

- The Bears were held to 78 yards rushing in 31 attempts for a 2.5 yards per carry average, but Harris completed 15 of his 29 pass attempts for 230 yards and 2 touchdowns.

- Army won the turnover battle with 3 interceptions and a fumble recovery to offset two fumbles lost by the Black Knights.

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