Army West Point Athletics
Feinstein's Findings: A Tale of 2-0
September 14, 2020 | Football
This one wasn't perfect—far from it in fact. But the result was equally gratifying: Army-37, Louisiana-Monroe-7.
In all, given the serious doubts about whether there would be a football season and—if so—what kind of season it would it be, the first two Saturdays inside Michie Stadium, were just about everything Coach Jeff Monken and his players could have hoped for when they first ran onto Earl Blaik Field eight days ago.
But, before sundown Saturday, the first black cloud of the season showed up when news broke that this coming Saturday's game against Brigham Young has been postponed because the Cougars have had, "a small number of positive tests within the BYU program," for Covid-19.
What happens next is anybody's guess. Both teams have an open date on November 28th. Army has another open date on October 31st and scheduling guru Bob Beretta has had potential replacement opponents in his pocket all summer case something like this happened.
Most schools are staying flexible. When Memphis informed Houston on Friday that it wouldn't be able to play this coming Friday night, Houston instantly added Baylor—which had an open date—as a replacement.
Welcome to college football 2020.
Meanwhile, Army's first two games could have been better—although it is difficult to see exactly how that would be the case. After the 42-0 rout of Middle Tennessee State, Monken said he and the staff found, "about 100 mistakes," when watching the game tape. They must have been looking VERY closely to find those errors.
The ease of that victory was a surprise. The Blue Raiders have been a solid program for a long time and they came to town with a returning quarterback—Asher O'Hara—who had produced more than 3,600 yards in total offense in 2019.
The Black Knights defense was so good it drove O'Hara to the bench in the third quarter while forcing four turnovers. The offense was equally good, scoring five touchdowns on the five drives in which the clock didn't run out.
All of which led to concern about Saturday's game for one very good reason: trap game.
With Brigham Young, a team that humiliated Navy 55-3 last Monday night, scheduled to come to Michie next week, there was reason to be concerned that Monken's players might be glancing in that direction, especially given what the Warhawks went through during the summer.
They had to stop practicing on August 20th because of positive tests for Covid-19. Then, while they were trying to decide when to begin practicing again, the campus was slammed by Hurricane Laura, leaving it without power for three days. It was August 31st before the team got back onto the field. Three days later, defensive coordinator Mike Collins announced he was stepping down. Earlier in the year, he had donated a kidney to his sister Kate and, even though he came back to work two months later, he never felt completely healthy.
In football terms, the Warhawks also had issues. Caleb Evans, their starting quarterback for three seasons, had graduated. Coach Matt Viator admitted prior to Saturday's game that he really hadn't seen enough of two-year backup Colby Suits or junior college transfer Jeremy Hunt to decide who should start. Suits got the start on the basis of having been in the program, but Viator said Hunt would also play.
Louisiana-Monroe does have two genuine offensive weapons, running back Josh Jones, who rushed for almost 1,300 yards a year ago and tight end Josh Pederson—son of Eagles quarterback Doug Pederson, who played quarterback at ULM when it was known as Northeast Louisiana.
There was also a tenuous connection between the two schools that neither really wanted to discuss very much: Todd Berry had gone 5-35 in three-seasons-plus as Army's coach, getting fired six games into what turned out to be an 0-13 season in 2003. Seven years later, he was hired at ULM, where he had a modicum of success, going 8-5 in his third season. Three years later, with the Warhawks 1-9 while en-route to a 2-11 season, he was fired, replaced—ironically—by John Mumford, the same man who took over when he was fired at Army.
It goes without saying that neither school has built a statue honoring Berry.
It was Viator who was tasked with rebuilding after Berry left and ULM has made slow, steady progress since then. The Warhawks were 5-7 a year ago, losing to Florida State in overtime—a missed extra point ending the game—and losing their finale to Louisiana 31-30 after another mixed extra point allowed the Ragin' Cajuns to kick a game-winning field goal with 1:21 left to play.
The game started out to be a repeat of the Middle Tennessee State joyride. Army quickly forced a three-and-out and then nearly blocked Jared Porter's punt. It only travelled 17 yards and the Black Knights then went 60 yards in 15-plays, chewing up 8:13 on the clock before quarterback Christian Anderson ran right, cut into the gap and scored from five-yards-out. It was a classic Army drive in that the Black Knights converted three third downs and a fourth down along the way.
Another ULM three-and-out was followed by a much faster drive, very un-Army-like. It only took four plays, plus a 15-yard personal foul penalty, to extend the lead to 14-0. The Warhawks were clearly focusing their defense on the edges, but this was the one drive of the day where the slotbacks found some space: Artice Hobbs IV ran for 11-yards on the first play and, after he was tackled by a horse-collar, plebe slotback Tyrell Robinson caught a pitch and ran 24-yards down the sideline to the 11.
Robinson, described by Monken as a 'lightning bolt,' after his eye-opening debut against Middle Tennessee, only touched the ball twice more in the game. That, however, opened up space for the fullbacks and the quarterbacks in the middle of the field. Senior captain Sandon McCoy scored the second touchdown of the day with 1:47 to go in the first quarter and one could almost hear Yogi Berra's voice coming down from the heavens saying, 'Deja-vu all over again.'
At that point, the offense was six-for-six in fulltime possessions and the defense was pitching a second shutout.
It changed, however, in the second quarter. ULM finally showed some life on offense, moving the ball to the Army eight. But Jon Rhattigan sacked Suits on a blitz up the middle for an 11-yard loss and Nolan Cockrill blocked Davis Hughes's 37-yard-field goal attempt.
All was well in Black Knights' world. Until Anderson fumbled with Army on the Warhawks 27-yard-line, the team's first turnover of the season. Even then, the defense held but on the next possession, Anderson missed a WIDE-open Isaiah Alston on a play-action post pattern and on fourth-and-four from the ULM 37, Robinson was stopped well short of the first down on a well-covered pitch.
From there, Suits got his team into the end zone, the drive culminated by a six-yard pass to Malik Jackson. That made it 14-7 with 2:12 left in the half and, just like that, it was a ballgame.
Things then got worse for Army. Anderson was crushed by blitzing linebacker Traveion Webster trying to throw a third down pass. Fortunately, the wounded duck pass found turf before anything else, while Anderson lay on the ground, looking as if he might be seriously hurt. As it turned out Webster's helmet (on a clean hit) had hit Anderson's wrist. It was painful, but not serious as it turned out.
Then, as in the Tennessee State game, poor clock management by the visitors helped Army. After Suits was sacked by Rhattigan and Kwabena Bonsu with 43 seconds to go, Suits tried a pass on third-and-14. It fell incomplete with 37 seconds left, allowing Army to save its last time out. A rushed punt (again) by Porter only went 27-yards.
Jemel Jones came in at quarterback and, after a false start penalty, completed a 29-yard pass to Alston at the ULM 23. To call it a circus catch is a vast understatement. The ball was woefully underthrown, but Alston somehow came back, dove and got his left hand under the ball, cradling it with his right. That set up a 40-yard Landon Salyers field goal with two seconds left that made it 17-7.
The offense then continued to sputter early in the third quarter, going three-and-out and three-and-out. But, after the second three-and-out, Army short-snapped the punt to up man Wilson Catoe, who raced 47-yards past the stunned ULM punt team to the Warhawks 18. To say that special teams coordinator Sean Saturnio and his units had a great day is putting it mildly.
From there, Anderson—after x-rays on his wrist were negative—scored three plays later to make it 24-7. After another three-and-out, Jacobi Buchanan, the 6-foot, 260-pound wrecking ball fullback went 25-yards on a fullback counter that left Buchanan with so much open space that offensive coordinator Brent Davis could have scored himself (well, maybe not) and it was 30-7. Buchanan scored again in the fourth quarter from 40-yards out to make the final 37-7.
Army is now officially beyond deep at fullback, led by McCoy, Buchanan (11 carries, 106 yards) and junior Cade Barnard (four carries 44 yards).
The defense continued to make plays Saturday, with sophomore DB Marquel Broughton recovering a fumble and making an interception. It held Johnson to 38-yards on 12 carries (25 on one play) and Pederson to five catches for 56 yards. Total offense for ULM: 200 yards.
There were a few mental errors—including two 12-men on the field penalties (one by the offense, one by the defense) and no one realizing that the band was at the north end of the stadium, not the south end as it had been a week ago, forcing an extra 100-yard run for both teams at game's end for the playing of the alma mater.
Talk about nit-picking!
This is supposed to be the part where I point out that next week's opponent is of a far higher caliber than the first two opponents. Now, however, this will be a bye week before a trip to Cincinnati in two weeks. THAT will be a higher caliber opponent. For the moment though, the Black Knights can rest—if Monken allows it--on their laurels.
In all, given the serious doubts about whether there would be a football season and—if so—what kind of season it would it be, the first two Saturdays inside Michie Stadium, were just about everything Coach Jeff Monken and his players could have hoped for when they first ran onto Earl Blaik Field eight days ago.
But, before sundown Saturday, the first black cloud of the season showed up when news broke that this coming Saturday's game against Brigham Young has been postponed because the Cougars have had, "a small number of positive tests within the BYU program," for Covid-19.
What happens next is anybody's guess. Both teams have an open date on November 28th. Army has another open date on October 31st and scheduling guru Bob Beretta has had potential replacement opponents in his pocket all summer case something like this happened.
Most schools are staying flexible. When Memphis informed Houston on Friday that it wouldn't be able to play this coming Friday night, Houston instantly added Baylor—which had an open date—as a replacement.
Welcome to college football 2020.
Meanwhile, Army's first two games could have been better—although it is difficult to see exactly how that would be the case. After the 42-0 rout of Middle Tennessee State, Monken said he and the staff found, "about 100 mistakes," when watching the game tape. They must have been looking VERY closely to find those errors.
The ease of that victory was a surprise. The Blue Raiders have been a solid program for a long time and they came to town with a returning quarterback—Asher O'Hara—who had produced more than 3,600 yards in total offense in 2019.
The Black Knights defense was so good it drove O'Hara to the bench in the third quarter while forcing four turnovers. The offense was equally good, scoring five touchdowns on the five drives in which the clock didn't run out.
All of which led to concern about Saturday's game for one very good reason: trap game.
With Brigham Young, a team that humiliated Navy 55-3 last Monday night, scheduled to come to Michie next week, there was reason to be concerned that Monken's players might be glancing in that direction, especially given what the Warhawks went through during the summer.
They had to stop practicing on August 20th because of positive tests for Covid-19. Then, while they were trying to decide when to begin practicing again, the campus was slammed by Hurricane Laura, leaving it without power for three days. It was August 31st before the team got back onto the field. Three days later, defensive coordinator Mike Collins announced he was stepping down. Earlier in the year, he had donated a kidney to his sister Kate and, even though he came back to work two months later, he never felt completely healthy.
In football terms, the Warhawks also had issues. Caleb Evans, their starting quarterback for three seasons, had graduated. Coach Matt Viator admitted prior to Saturday's game that he really hadn't seen enough of two-year backup Colby Suits or junior college transfer Jeremy Hunt to decide who should start. Suits got the start on the basis of having been in the program, but Viator said Hunt would also play.
Louisiana-Monroe does have two genuine offensive weapons, running back Josh Jones, who rushed for almost 1,300 yards a year ago and tight end Josh Pederson—son of Eagles quarterback Doug Pederson, who played quarterback at ULM when it was known as Northeast Louisiana.
There was also a tenuous connection between the two schools that neither really wanted to discuss very much: Todd Berry had gone 5-35 in three-seasons-plus as Army's coach, getting fired six games into what turned out to be an 0-13 season in 2003. Seven years later, he was hired at ULM, where he had a modicum of success, going 8-5 in his third season. Three years later, with the Warhawks 1-9 while en-route to a 2-11 season, he was fired, replaced—ironically—by John Mumford, the same man who took over when he was fired at Army.
It goes without saying that neither school has built a statue honoring Berry.
It was Viator who was tasked with rebuilding after Berry left and ULM has made slow, steady progress since then. The Warhawks were 5-7 a year ago, losing to Florida State in overtime—a missed extra point ending the game—and losing their finale to Louisiana 31-30 after another mixed extra point allowed the Ragin' Cajuns to kick a game-winning field goal with 1:21 left to play.
The game started out to be a repeat of the Middle Tennessee State joyride. Army quickly forced a three-and-out and then nearly blocked Jared Porter's punt. It only travelled 17 yards and the Black Knights then went 60 yards in 15-plays, chewing up 8:13 on the clock before quarterback Christian Anderson ran right, cut into the gap and scored from five-yards-out. It was a classic Army drive in that the Black Knights converted three third downs and a fourth down along the way.
Another ULM three-and-out was followed by a much faster drive, very un-Army-like. It only took four plays, plus a 15-yard personal foul penalty, to extend the lead to 14-0. The Warhawks were clearly focusing their defense on the edges, but this was the one drive of the day where the slotbacks found some space: Artice Hobbs IV ran for 11-yards on the first play and, after he was tackled by a horse-collar, plebe slotback Tyrell Robinson caught a pitch and ran 24-yards down the sideline to the 11.
Robinson, described by Monken as a 'lightning bolt,' after his eye-opening debut against Middle Tennessee, only touched the ball twice more in the game. That, however, opened up space for the fullbacks and the quarterbacks in the middle of the field. Senior captain Sandon McCoy scored the second touchdown of the day with 1:47 to go in the first quarter and one could almost hear Yogi Berra's voice coming down from the heavens saying, 'Deja-vu all over again.'
At that point, the offense was six-for-six in fulltime possessions and the defense was pitching a second shutout.
It changed, however, in the second quarter. ULM finally showed some life on offense, moving the ball to the Army eight. But Jon Rhattigan sacked Suits on a blitz up the middle for an 11-yard loss and Nolan Cockrill blocked Davis Hughes's 37-yard-field goal attempt.
All was well in Black Knights' world. Until Anderson fumbled with Army on the Warhawks 27-yard-line, the team's first turnover of the season. Even then, the defense held but on the next possession, Anderson missed a WIDE-open Isaiah Alston on a play-action post pattern and on fourth-and-four from the ULM 37, Robinson was stopped well short of the first down on a well-covered pitch.
From there, Suits got his team into the end zone, the drive culminated by a six-yard pass to Malik Jackson. That made it 14-7 with 2:12 left in the half and, just like that, it was a ballgame.
Things then got worse for Army. Anderson was crushed by blitzing linebacker Traveion Webster trying to throw a third down pass. Fortunately, the wounded duck pass found turf before anything else, while Anderson lay on the ground, looking as if he might be seriously hurt. As it turned out Webster's helmet (on a clean hit) had hit Anderson's wrist. It was painful, but not serious as it turned out.
Then, as in the Tennessee State game, poor clock management by the visitors helped Army. After Suits was sacked by Rhattigan and Kwabena Bonsu with 43 seconds to go, Suits tried a pass on third-and-14. It fell incomplete with 37 seconds left, allowing Army to save its last time out. A rushed punt (again) by Porter only went 27-yards.
Jemel Jones came in at quarterback and, after a false start penalty, completed a 29-yard pass to Alston at the ULM 23. To call it a circus catch is a vast understatement. The ball was woefully underthrown, but Alston somehow came back, dove and got his left hand under the ball, cradling it with his right. That set up a 40-yard Landon Salyers field goal with two seconds left that made it 17-7.
The offense then continued to sputter early in the third quarter, going three-and-out and three-and-out. But, after the second three-and-out, Army short-snapped the punt to up man Wilson Catoe, who raced 47-yards past the stunned ULM punt team to the Warhawks 18. To say that special teams coordinator Sean Saturnio and his units had a great day is putting it mildly.
From there, Anderson—after x-rays on his wrist were negative—scored three plays later to make it 24-7. After another three-and-out, Jacobi Buchanan, the 6-foot, 260-pound wrecking ball fullback went 25-yards on a fullback counter that left Buchanan with so much open space that offensive coordinator Brent Davis could have scored himself (well, maybe not) and it was 30-7. Buchanan scored again in the fourth quarter from 40-yards out to make the final 37-7.
Army is now officially beyond deep at fullback, led by McCoy, Buchanan (11 carries, 106 yards) and junior Cade Barnard (four carries 44 yards).
The defense continued to make plays Saturday, with sophomore DB Marquel Broughton recovering a fumble and making an interception. It held Johnson to 38-yards on 12 carries (25 on one play) and Pederson to five catches for 56 yards. Total offense for ULM: 200 yards.
There were a few mental errors—including two 12-men on the field penalties (one by the offense, one by the defense) and no one realizing that the band was at the north end of the stadium, not the south end as it had been a week ago, forcing an extra 100-yard run for both teams at game's end for the playing of the alma mater.
Talk about nit-picking!
This is supposed to be the part where I point out that next week's opponent is of a far higher caliber than the first two opponents. Now, however, this will be a bye week before a trip to Cincinnati in two weeks. THAT will be a higher caliber opponent. For the moment though, the Black Knights can rest—if Monken allows it--on their laurels.
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