Army Relives Historic Season at Annual Banquet

Army Relives Historic Season at Annual Banquet

February 07, 2019 | Football

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point football team remembered its magical 2018 season and honored its seniors Friday night at the Black Knights' annual banquet held in Eisenhower Hall.

In total 36 seniors were honored throughout the event and 11 different awards were handed out. The coaching staff also acknowledged its letterwinners from this past season. Rich DeMarco served as master of ceremonies, while head coach Jeff Monken spoke about the 2018 season and the expectations for the upcoming year.

Following the team highlight video, the senior players, managers and student mentors were honored with varsity letters and framed jerseys.

After Coach Monken gave comments on each receiving senior, he and Director of Athletics Boo Corrigan handed out plaques acknowledging the 11 players who were named to the Phil Steele All-Independent Team.

Then it was on to the awards presentations.

Cole Christiansen, Bryce Holland and Darnell Woolfolk all shared the Creighton W. Abrams Memorial Award as team captains. Austin Schuffert accepted this award on behalf of his classmate, Holland, since the Chandler, Ariz., native wasn't able to be in attendance.

Kenneth Brinson was honored with the Maj. William C. Whitehead Jr. Memorial Award for his work in the classroom as he had the highest class standing among his classmates.

Holland then took home his second award of the night, the Lt. Gen. Garrison Davidson Award, for having the highest military grade and earning distinction in the areas of honor, country, sportsmanship and leadership.

Offensive coordinator Brent Davis and offensive line coach Pat Tresey then presented the Thomas West Hammond Memorial Award. The honor is given to the most outstanding lineman for the season and this year's winner was no surprise as Holland's name was called for the third time on the night. Schuffert was on hand to accept both the LTG Garrison Davidson and Thomas West Hammond Memorial Awards for Holland.

The Army Football Lifter of the Year, which was presented by head football strength and conditioning coach Conor Hughes, was awarded to Elijah Riley for his commitment to his personal development on and off the field.

John Abercrombie was named the Col. James B. Gillespie Memorial Award winner for his outstanding dedication, unfailing performance and contributions to the Army football team. Abercrombie joined the Black Knights from the sprint football team after his sophomore season. He then worked his way to become Army's starting kicker and finished his final season a perfect 46-for-46 on PAT attempts (second most all-time) and an impressive 8-for-9 on field goal chances for a .900 percentage.

One of the most rewarding honors is the Black Lion Award, which is presented to the football player who best exemplifies the character of Don Holleder, an All-America defensive end for Army who was killed in action. Holleder's daughter, Katie Fellows, presented the award to James Nachtigal.

Head officer representative Col. Mark Ray was on hand to give out the Col. Joel B. "Dopey" Stephens Memorial Award, which is given to the outstanding football players on the scout team. Jon King earned the honor for scouting for the offense and Tyhier Tyler was rewarded for scouting for the defense.

Andy Davidson was the winner of the 1st Lt. Chase Prasnicki Memorial Award. Davidson was honored for sharing the characteristics of Prasnicki who was killed in action. Prasnicki was always a team player, continually putting the needs of the team above his own personal goals and lived the values of loyalty, selfless service and teamwork. He remains a role model for all past, current and future Army football players.

The next honor was the Anthony Miller Coaching Staff Award, which is awarded to the most inspirational player on the team in the eyes of the coaching staff. This year the staff honored Calen Holt, who sustained a season-ending injury midway through his final year.

Kelvin Hopkins Jr. was awarded the last honor of the night after he heard his name called for the prestigious Col. Thruston Hughes Memorial Award. The honor, which was established in 1939 to honor the team MVP, will be presented officially during the Awards Convocation prior to graduation. Hopkins Jr. became the first player in Academy history to throw and rush for 1,000 yards in a single season. He was also a key factor as to why the Black Knights won the Commander In Chief's Trophy outright for the second-straight season and their third-straight bowl game. During that impressive bowl victory over Houston, Hopkins Jr. posted five rushing touchdowns to tie a single-game record. During that contest he also scampered for a 77-yard rush, which was the longest run in Army bowl history.

Varsity letters were also presented to: John Abercrombie, Jordan Asberry, Gavin Bassett, Rashaad Bolton, Zack Boobas, Javhari Bourdeau, Kenneth Brinson, Cole Christiansen, Kjetil Cline, Glen Coates, Jacob Covington, Cedrick Cunningham Jr., Andy Davidson, Cordarrell Davis, Jaxson Deaton, Donnell Diego, Jake Ellington, Scott Flanick, James Gibson, Malik Hancock, Camden Harrison, Christian Hayes, Alex Herndon, Artice Hobbs IV, Bryce Holland, Calen Holt, Kelvin Hopkins Jr., JB Hunter, Mike Johnson, Cameron Jones, Jack King, Luke Langdon, Jeremiah Lowery, Donavan Lynch, Luke McCleery, Jaylon McClinton, Sandon McCoy, Julian McDuffie, J.D. Mote, James Nachtigal, Kyle O'Connor, Wunmi Oyetuga, Jeff Panara, Quinten Parker, Ryan Parker, Edriece Patterson, Zach Potter, Dean Powell, Chandler Ramirez, Peyton Reeder, Max Regan, Mike Reynolds, Elijah Riley, Michael Roberts, Landon Salyers, Zach Saum, Nick Schrage, Austin Schuffert, Jalen Sharp, Jack Sides, Chris Skyers, Connor Slomka, Arik Smith, Joe Stephenson, Rod Stoddard, Cam Thomas, Noah Utley, Ryan Velez, Kell Walker, Amadeo West, Darnell Woolfolk, Raymond Wright