Sprint Football Defeats Caldwell, 4-2 in Longest Game in Team History

Friday, October 29

Caldwell, NJ

7 PM

Army West Point

5-1 , 3-0

Caldwell

4-2 , 2-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Army

Caldwell

Photo by: Virginia Shea

Sprint Football Defeats Caldwell, 4-2 in Longest Game in Team History

October 29, 2021 | Sprint Football

Box Score

By: Phil Tor

CALDWELL, N.J. – Army West Point sprint football claimed another CSFL North title in historic fashion on Friday night after defeating the Caldwell Cougars, 4-2, in five overtimes. The contest was the longest in program history, and gave Army it's fourth consecutive North division title.

Senior captain, Alex Sobeski, led the defensive effort with a sack, four solo tackles and three tackles for a loss. Fellow captain, JC Watson punched in the final score to lift Army to the win.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Coming into the biggest game of the year, Army knew it would have to have a solid performance to defeat the Caldwell Cougars, who entered the contest 2-0 in the CSFL North. The weather ended up being both teams biggest enemy, as the rain poured down on Bonnell Field, making it hard for both teams to find a rhythm offensively.

The weather made its presence known in the first four drives of the game, as the teams traded punts on the opening three drives that were followed by a Caldwell missed field goal.

On the next Caldwell possession, Alex Sobeski scooped up the first of two Caldwell fumbles and returned it 18 yards. The Cadets were forced to punt on its next possession and finished up the first quarter scoreless.

More of the same happened in the second quarter, as Army's defense stepped up to hold off two Caldwell drives to keep the game scoreless going into the half.

Caldwell threatened on the opening drive, but David Dickerson and James Bieler split a sack to push the Cougars back and force a punt. Army was forced to punt on its next possession and was ready to give the ball back to the Cougars until James Windsor knocked the ball out of the returner's hands, jumped on it and gave it back to his offense. Caldwell held off the ensuing Army drive once again as the third quarter ended in the same 0-0 score.

Despite all the back and forth, Army had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation. Ben Abercrombie's walk-off field goal attempt was blocked, and the two teams would head into overtime.

Caldwell got the ball to start the first OT but were knocked back by Luke Gigliotti and company and forced to punt. Army made its way into striking position once again but had another game winning field goal attempt blocked as Caldwell forced another OT.

Army's drive was cut short in the second overtime, but Brendan Windsor came up clutch on the other end of the field, forcing and recovering a fumble to force another overtime.

Per the new conference overtime rules, if the game reaches a third overtime, teams run alternating 2-point plays, instead of starting another drive at the opponent's 25-yard line. Both teams failed to convert on their first attempts and the game would go into a fourth OT period.

The Black Knights were finally able to break into the end zone in the fourth OT thanks to Landry Songer. Unfortunately for the Black Knights, Caldwell was able to match their effort and the game would advance into a record fifth overtime.

The defense started off the fifth OT period by stopping the Cougars and giving Army a chance to walk off with a win. JC Watson broke the plane to put two points on the board and give Army the 4-2 win. The Black Knights survived in the longest contest in program history and captured its fourth straight CSFL North title in the process.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

The 5-OT thriller was the longest game in Army sprint football history
Scorigami: Army's 4-2 result has never happened before in program history
Alex Sobeski led the defensive effort with a sack, fumble recovery, three tackles for a loss and four solo tackles
Landry Songer led the Cadets with 81 rush yards on 21 attempts
JC Watson was not far behind with his ground total of 69 yards
Army outrushed the Cougars 121-10 and outgained them 182-125
Luke Gigliotti and Mason Goulet also added solo sacks in the contest
Gigliotti also led the team with 7 total tackles and 2 tackles for a loss

QUOTABLE
"It was like the Mansfield game all over again except the weather conditions were even worse. Hats off the Caldwell, they played one heck of a game. I'm proud of our team for hanging tough and earning the W. We live to fight another day." Coach Mark West

Senior captain Alex Sobeski shouted out the Army defense exclaiming "we bent some, but never broke."

Landry Songer praised the efforts of his offensive line saying "They kept opening holes for us and wore down their defense helping us punch in the final score."

UP NEXT
Army has one more contest next weekend against the Cornell Big Red before the CSFL Championship game on Nov. 13. Army will face off against the CSFL South champion, Navy in the contest.