Air Force finally made it to West Point after cancelling their initial trip scheduled in November. With the Corps of Cadets off for holiday leave, only the JV team and a few other fans were in the stands to watch the game at Michie Stadium.
Air Force beat Navy 40-3 in their first game of the season back in October, and Army’s 15-0 shutout of Navy last weekend set the stage for the final round of the CiC Trophy race.
As expected it was a defensive battle that remained in doubt until the final minutes of the game.
Here’s how it unfolded:
First Quarter - Army and Air Force exchanged turnovers in a scoreless quarter
Army won the toss and deferred to the second half; so Air Force got the ball on their own 25 to start the game. AF picked up a first down to the 37, but on the next play, quarterback Haaziq Daniels attempted a long pass to Brandon Lewis, who was well covered by safety Cedrick Cunningham and cornerback Cam Jones. Cunningham tipped the football and Jones hauled in the tip for an interception to give Army the ball on their own 14.
Army picked up 2 first downs to the 40, but on third and four, Tyhier Tyler fumbled the ball and Air Force recovered to return the ball to AF on the Army 37.
Brad Roberts carried 16 yards for a quick first down and then ran the ball three times for 9 yards to bring up a 4th and 1. Calhoun elected to go for the field goal, but Schuettpelz-Rohl missed from 32 yards out, and Army had the ball back on their own 20.
Tyler ran for a first down to the 31, and continued with three more carries for another first down at the 43. Two plays gained just two yards before Tyler picked up another first down on a 10 yard carry to the AF 45, but Tyler was injured on the play, and Christian Anderson came in to replace him at QB. Anderson and fullback Jakobi Buchanan combined for another first down at the AF 35, and Sandon McCoy picked up 4 yards to the AF 31 as time ran out in the first quarter.
Second Quarter - Maretzki kicked a field goal and Air Force missed its 2nd attempt to give Army a 3-0 lead at the half
A.J. Howard started the quarter with a 5 yard run to the AF 26, and McCoy converted on third down with a 2 yard gain to the 23. Tyler picked up another 2 yards, but McCoy was injured on the play and had to come out of the game. Tyler gained 7 yards to bring up a third and one, and Buchanan bulled his way for a first down at the AF 10 yard line. Tyler was held to 3 yards in two carries and attempted a third down pass to Chris Cameron that was thrown a little behind, who was unable to haul it in; so Quinn Maretzki was sent in to kick a 24 yard field goal that gave Army an early 3-0 lead:
Air Force started their next possession from the 25, and picked up a first down to the 40 on three running plays. Daniels found a hole for a 17 yard gain and another first down at the Army 45. The defense held AF to 4 yards on the next two plays to bring up a third and six and Daniels threw incomplete; forcing Calhoun to send in his punting unit.
Speedster Tyrell Robinson made a fair catch on the Army 9, where the Black Knights began their next possession. Buchanan bulled his way for a 16 yard gain for a quick first down at the 25. In an incident that evoked memories of the 2019 game, Tyler was hit after the handoff, and had to leave the game. A targeting review absolved the AF defender, and Anderson came back in at QB.
Anderson carried twice for 13 yards and another first down at the 38. Buchanan ran for 6 and Robinson picked up another 7 for a first down at the AF 49. Three running plays gained 8 yards to bring up a 4th and 2 at the AF 41, and Anderson was dropped for no gain on fourth down to turn the ball over to AF with 2:53 left in the half.
Daniels went to the air and overthrew Lewis on first down. Roberts found a hole on the left side for a big 30 yard gain to the Army 28, but the defense held on the next three plays to bring up a 4th and 2 at the 20. Calhoun called a time out to let the clock run down to 9 seconds before sending in his field goal unit for a 37 yard attempt. The field goal attempt failed again, and Army went into the locker room with a 3-0 lead.
First Half Statistics
• Total Offense: Army 146 yards; AFA 109 yards
• Rushing Offense: Army 37 attempts for 146 yards; AFA 16 attempts for 109 yards
• Passing Offense: Army no completions in one attempt; AFA no completions in 3 attempts with 1 INT.
• Penalties: No penalties for either team
• Turnovers: One turnover each
• Time of Possession: Army 19:00; AFA 11:00
Third Quarter - AF went to the air for a touchdown to take the lead at 7-3.
Robinson took the kickoff out to the 27 and Anderson came out to start the half at QB. Anderson and Buchanan combined for a first down at the 38. On the next play, Anderson rolled out to pass and then followed Buchanan for a 13 yard gain to the AF 49. Anderson and Buchanan then combined for another first down at the AF 39, but McCoy was held to two yards and Anderson lost two yards in two attempts, and Zach Harding came in to punt the ball to the AF 8.
Remsberg rushed for 6 yards on first down but on second down, defensive back Daryan McDonald forced Remsberg to reverse field into the arms of Nolan Cockrill for a 4 yard loss to make it third and 10. Daniels got 4 back on third down, but AF was forced to punt and Army had the ball back on their own 36.
Army gained just 6 yards in three plays and had to punt it back to AF. Harding got off another good punt to the AF 8.
Daniels fumbled on first down but recovered it for no gain and then Daniels went to the air with a completion to Morris for a 9 yard gain. After Daniels picked up a first down at the 25, he attempted a deep pass that was broken up by Cunningham. Daniels completed his next attempt to Patterson at the 41, and then hit Lewis 11 yards and a first down at the Army 48 and followed with a 39 yard completion to Patterson at the Army 9, A false start set them back to the 14, but Remsberg got it back on the next play. An incomplete pass brought up a third down and goal at the 10, but Daniels found his TE Patterson open for a touchdown on the next play to give AF their first lead of the game at 7-3. Army got off one play for a two yard gain before time ran out in the quarter.
Fourth Quarter - Second Interception led to Army’s only touchdown and a 10-7 win
Anderson started the final quarter with a 10 yard gain for a first down at the 48. Buchanan ran for 3 on first down, but Anderson was dropped for no gain on second, and a sideline pass completion to Robinson was covered for no gain, forcing Harding to punt again to the AF 15.
Roberts was held to 2 yards on first down, but Daniels scrambled for a 20 yard gain to the 37 on second. Back to back false starts set them back to the 27 where the Falcons had first and 20. Daniels ran for a 2 yard gain and threw incomplete on second down bringing up a third and 18; but Daniels completed a 22 yard pass to Peterson for the first down conversion into Army territory. Daniels tried to go for the home run throw on the next play, but Jabari Moore picked it off in the end zone for Army’s second interception of the game, and Army started its longest drive of the game.
Buchanan carried three times for a first down at the 30, and Robinson broke a couple of tackles for a 16 yard gain to the 46. An illegal motion penalty negated a 7 yard gain to make it first and 15, but Anderson rolled out for a 16 yard gain and a first down at the AF 43. Buchanan followed up with a 14 yard carry to the AF 29. Two short funs by Anderson and a 3 yard carry brought up a fourth down and 4, but to no one’s surprise Monken went for the conversion and Anderson rolled out again for 6 yards and a first down at the AF 16.
Anderson ran for 6 yards and Buchanan followed with a 5 yard run for a first and goal at the AF 5. Tyson Riley came in for a two yard gain to the 3, and AF called a timeout to stop the clock at 1:25. Buchanan came in for a one yard gain to the 2 and AF called their second timeout to stop the clock with third and goal. Another 1 yard run brought up a 4th and goal at the one and AF called their last timeout. Buchanan bulled his way into the end zone on 4th down to give Army a 10-7 lead with 1:13 left on the clock with no timeouts remaining for AF.
Landon Salyers booted it into the end zone to give AF the ball on their own 25. The Black Knight defenders were expecting Daniels to pass, and Kwabena Bonsu reached up to tip the pass into the hands of middle linebacker Arik Smith for Army’s third interception of the game. All that was left was for Anderson to take a couple of knees in the victory formation before singing second and carrying the CiC trophy to the locker room.
Final Statistics
• Total Offense: Army 290 yards vs Air Force 261 yards
• Rushing Offense: Army 290 yards on 73 attempts; Air Force 154 yards on 26 attempts.
• Passing Offense: Army 1 completion in 2 attempts for 0 yards; Air Force 6 completions in 14 attempts for 105 yards, 1 TD and 3 INTs.
• Penalties: Army 2 penalties for 15 yards; Air Force 3 penalties for 15 yards
• Turnovers: Army won the turnover battle 3-1
• Time of Possession: Army 37:26; Air Force 22:34
GBK will provide additional statistics and analysis in our Monday Morning QB article.
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