Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
1-3
Yale
2-0
Football Drops OT Game at Yale
September 27, 2014 | Football
Sept. 27, 2014
Final Stats | Final Stats (PDF) | Postgame Notes
Watch Highlights: Army at Yale
NEW HAVEN, CONN. - The Army football team took on Yale on a sunny afternoon at the Yale Bowl and went to overtime with the Bulldogs prevailing by a 49-43 score on Saturday.
Army (1-3) gained 384 yards on the ground with A.J. Schurr leading the way with a career best 135 yards, including a 43-yard touchdown rush. Angel Santiago entered the game in the second half and threw for 117 yards on six completions. Santiago also gained 88 yards on the ground, while Aaron Kemper had his best game in an Army uniform with 83 yards on seven carries.
Yale (2-0) was led by Tyler Varga, who ran for 185 yards on 28 carries and five touchdowns, including the overtime game-winning score. Morgan Roberts went 23-for-40 through the air for 290 yards. He had a touchdown passing and rushing.
After throwing throughout the first drive, the Black Knights went to their strength and ran the ball for 13 plays with Larry Dixon plunging into the end zone from three yards out. Schurr was the star of the drive with 30 yards on the ground, including three yards on a 4th-and-2 inside Yale's 10-yard line. The drive was 57 yards and lasted almost seven minutes.
The Bulldogs responded on its second drive as well with Roberts scoring on the quarterback keeper from 13 yards out to tie the game at 7-7 with seven seconds left in the first quarter. Yale went 65 yards on the drive in 11 plays. Army had Yale stopped at its 32-yard line, but the Black Knights committed pass interference on third down to keep the drive going.
The pass plays were back as part the Army arsenal on its second drive of the second quarter. Schurr first connected with Joe Walker on a 27-yard completion on 3rd-and-8 and then the Army signal caller connected with Tony Giovannelli for 12 yards down to the Yale 28 yard line. Two plays later Schurr floated one up to Edgar Poe, who out-jumped the Bulldog defender for a 22-yard touchdown pass and a 14-7 lead. The Black Knights threw for 61 yards on the scoring drive.
Just like it did in the opening quarter, Yale fired back on its next drive to knot the score at 14-14 with 2:14 left in the half. Varga ran it four times for 18 yards and a two-yard touchdown rush. He also picked up a fourth and short on the Yale 37-yard line. The highlight of the drive came after the fourth down pick up and it was a 26 yard pass from Roberts to tight end Stephen Buric.
Army took just 55 seconds to regain the lead toward the end of the half with a powerful run from Schurr up the middle for 43 yards. He weaved his way through the first two lines of defense and then broke free at the 20 and cruised into the end zone for the 21-14 advantage, which the Black Knights took into the locker room.
It was the Army defense getting on the score board early in the second half as Jeremy Timpf made it 28-14 with a 45-yard interception return for a touchdown. He dropped back in coverage and Roberts didn't see him. It was Timpf's second-straight game with an interception, after recording one late in the game against Wake Forest last week.
The scoring continued with Varga reaching pay dirt for the second time, this one from 15 yards out to cut the lead to 28-20. The Bulldogs caught the Black Knights off guard on the extra point and ran a trick play to earn the two-point conversion to make it a six-point game at 28-22.
Santiago came in for Schurr midway through the third quarter and he broke through the line for a career-long 53-yard scamper for his third touchdown of the season. He then hooked up with Kelvin White on the two-point conversion on a pop pass to the back of the end zone for a 36-22 advantage.
The passing attack for the Bulldogs got them back in the game. Roberts was 6-for-7 on the drive for 67 yards and connected with Ross Drwal on a 22-yard touchdown pass to get Yale to within seven points with five minutes left in the third quarter.
The teams then traded scores with Varga scoring from 18 yards out to tie the game, but a career-long run of 73 yards from Kemper on the first play from scrimmage put Army back in charge at the Yale two yard line. Santiago broke the goal line two plays later with a second effort to begin the fourth quarter to give Army a 42-36 lead.
Yale came back to tie the game at 43-43 on the back on Varga, who rushed in from 10 yards out, breaking multiple tackles. He rushed for 21 yards on the scoring drive that went for 45 yards.
The game was then settled in overtime and the Bulldogs got the win with a 3-yard touchdown plunge from Varga, which was his fifth of the game.
The Black Knights are back at Michie Stadium next Saturday as Army takes on Ball State at 12 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
Team Stats
ARMY 7, YALE 0
ARMY - Dixon, Larry 3 yd run (Grochowski, D. kick), 13 plays, 57 yards, TOP 6:59
ARMY 7, YALE 7
YALE - Roberts, Morgan 13 yd run (Cazzetta, Kyle kick), 11 plays, 65 yards, TOP 3:21
ARMY 14, YALE 7
ARMY - Poe, Edgar 22 yd pass from Schurr, A.J. (Grochowski, D. kick) 9 plays, 80 yards, TOP 4:20
ARMY 14, YALE 14
YALE - Varga, Tyler 2 yd run (Cazzetta, Kyle kick), 11 plays, 70 yards, TOP 3:47
ARMY 21, YALE 14
ARMY - Schurr, A.J. 43 yd run (Grochowski, D. kick), 5 plays, 70 yards, TOP 0:55
ARMY 28, YALE 14
ARMY - Timpf, Jeremy 45 yd interception (Grochowski, D. kick)
ARMY 28, YALE 22
YALE - Varga, Tyler 15 yd run (Buric, Stephen pass), 10 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:20
ARMY 36, YALE 22
ARMY - Santiago, Angel 53 yd run (White, Kelvin pass), 4 plays, 67 yards, TOP 1:33
ARMY 36, YALE 29
YALE - Drwal, Ross 22 yd pass from Roberts, Morgan (Cazzetta, Kyle kick) 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:24
ARMY 36, YALE 36
YALE - Varga, Tyler 18 yd run (Cazzetta, Kyle kick), 9 plays, 73 yards, TOP 3:07
ARMY 43, YALE 36
ARMY - Santiago, Angel 1 yd run (Grochowski, D. kick), 3 plays, 75 yards, TOP 0:24
ARMY 43, YALE 43
YALE - Varga, Tyler 10 yd run (Cazzetta, Kyle kick), 8 plays, 45 yards, TOP 2:53
ARMY 43, YALE 49
YALE - Varga, Tyler 3 yd run (), 6 plays, 25 yards, TOP 0:00
