Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
2-6
Air Force
6-2
Air Force Smothers Football in 23-6 Final
November 01, 2014 | Football
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WEST POINT, N.Y. - Air Force's defense limited Army to 169 yards of total offense in a 23-6 victory over the Black Knights in front of a sold-out Michie Stadium crowd on Saturday afternoon. Kale Pearson threw two touchdowns to Garrett Griffin in the winning effort.
Air Force secured the Commander in Chief's Trophy and improved to 6-2 on the year, while Army fell to 2-6.
The Black Knights managed just eight first downs offensively and were led by Angel Santiago's 33 rushing yards. Santiago finished with 20 yards passing in a 2-for-11 effort. Pearson threw for 141 yards and was 8-for-12 on the day. Air Force ran for 244 yards, including 118 from leading rusher Jacobi Owens.
Army's defense was impressive for a majority of the day, led by Jeremy Timpf's career-high 17 tackles. Hayden Pierce was credited with nine tackles and Josh Jenkins recorded an interception to go along with four stops.
Air Force converted its first two third down opportunities of the opening drive, but on third-and-nine Jenkins stepped in front of Pearson's pass across the middle and corralled the tipped ball to secure his fourth interception of the year. Jenkins returned the pass 31 yards down to the Air Force 28-yard line to set up Army's first score.
Army's offense was unable to move the ball after the turnover and Daniel Grochowski drilled a 42-yard field goal to put the Black Knights in front.
The visiting Falcons moved the ball into Army territory on the ensuing drive before facing a fourth and short at the Army 46. The Falcons handed off up the middle to D.J. Johnson, where he was engulfed by Stephen Ricciardi and Mike Ugenyi as Army took over on downs.
A 32-yard cutback run by Santiago on second down put Army inside the Falcons' 25-yard line, but the drive stalled there and Grochowski was forced to attempt a 41-yard field goal from the left hash. His second attempt of the quarter was affected by the strong wind at Michie Stadium and the kick missed wide of the left upright.
Punts by each team, the second from Army into the wind, set Air Force up with its best field position of the day at the Black Knights' 40-yard line. Air Force moved the chains on fourth and two with a pitch to Johnson, but the Army defense held the Falcons to a 38-yard Will Conant field goal that tied the score at 3-3.
Another Army punt gave the ball back to Air Force and the Falcons took to the air on their next drive. Passes from Pearson to Colton Huntsman (17 yards) and Jalen Robinette (29 yards) allowed their offense to enter the red zone. The Army defense held firm again, and Conant kicked his second field goal, from 26 yards out, that sent the Falcons into the locker room with a 6-3 edge.
The Black Knights punted to start the second half and Air Force struck quickly with a 54-yard playaction pass from Pearson to Garrett Griffin that propelled the Falcons to a 13-3 lead. The Air Force tight end lined up in the slot to Pearson's left, and out of the shotgun Pearson hit him on the in-route and he went the distance.
On the first play of Air Force's next drive, Pearson kept the ball for a gain of 19 yards and a personal foul on the Army defense moved the Falcons to the Army 35. Conant would add a 50-yard field goal to extended the lead to 16-3.
Army was forced to bring out its punting unit on the next possession, when Kelvin White took the snap on the fake and ran right for 17 yards into Air Force territory. Two plays later, Raymond Maples caught a pass for 11 yards that gave Army a first down before Terry Baggett (8 yards) and Matt Giachinta (5 yards) combined on consecutive rushing plays to move the sticks again. Army was forced to settle for a Grochowski 46-yard field goal that trimmed the deficit to 16-6 late in the third quarter.
The Falcons extended their advantage to 23-6 midway through the fourth quarter when Pearson faked a handoff and took a bootleg right before tossing to Griffin for his second TD of the afternoon. The score made it a three-possession game and came on fourth-and-goal from the Army two-yard line.
Army's next game is Saturday Nov. 8 at 3:30 p.m. at Yankee Stadium against Connecticut. The game will be broadcast by CBS Sports Network.
Team Stats
AF 0, ARMY 3
ARMY - Grochowski, D. 42 yd field goal 4 plays, 4 yards, TOP 0:57
AF 3, ARMY 3
AF - CONANT, Will 38 yd field goal 8 plays, 19 yards, TOP 4:06
AF 6, ARMY 3
AF - CONANT, Will 26 yd field goal 9 plays, 59 yards, TOP 3:20
AF 13, ARMY 3
AF - GRIFFIN, Garret 54 yd pass from PEARSON, Kale (CONANT, Will kick) 3 plays, 65 yards, TOP 0:48
AF 16, ARMY 3
AF - CONANT, Will 50 yd field goal 5 plays, 37 yards, TOP 1:46
AF 16, ARMY 6
ARMY - Grochowski, D. 46 yd field goal 14 plays, 47 yards, TOP 6:35
AF 23, ARMY 6
AF - GRIFFIN, Garret 2 yd pass from PEARSON, Kale (CONANT, Will kick) 11 plays, 79 yards, TOP 6:26
