Offense Powers Black Knights Past Huskies

Saturday, September 18

West Point, N.Y.

12:00 p.m. ET

Army West Point

3-0

UConn

0-4

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

UCONN

Army

Photo by: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports

Offense Powers Black Knights Past Huskies

September 18, 2021 | Football

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point football team came out on the winning side of another Michie Stadium battle on Saturday afternoon, downing UConn 52-21 for its 12th-straight win at home.

The Black Knights (3-0) finished the day with 504 total yards, the team's most since a 538-yard effort against Hawaii on Nov. 30, 2019, and had a season-high six different players notch touchdowns.

Army's offense was clicking immediately out of the gate, as the Cadets opened up the game by reaching the end zone on three-straight possessions. The early slew of scoring was highlighted by a 55-yard career-long rush for Brandon Walters, Isaiah Alston's first career touchdown and Christian Anderson's 10th career strike.

On the other side of the ball, the Black Knights' defense did a great job of stifling the opposing offense early on. UConn (0-4) was limited to a total of 27 yards in its first three drives and was forced to punt the ball twice.

Up 21-0 in the second quarter, the Cadets continued to make plays. On the second snap of the team's fifth drive of the day, Tyrell Robinson made a career-long, 70-yard run into the end zone to extend the lead to 28-0. It marked the team's longest since an 83-yard effort against UMass (Nov. 9, 2019) and bested Robinson's previous career record by 20 yards.

The Huskies got the ball back but turned it over to the Black Knights quickly, as Marquel Broughton came up with his second interception in as many games. Army took over the over the ball at the 33-yard line and ended up scoring once again when Jakobi Buchanan punched in a two-yard rush to push the advantage to 35-0.

UConn attempted to gain back some of the momentum before heading into the locker room, stringing together a nine-play 37 yard drive, but the team's efforts were halted by Nolan Cockrill, who broke up a pass. Jemel Jones then came in under center for Army and, after being slightly detained by the Huskies' defense, handed the ball to Anthony Adkins, whose one-yard run into the end zone made it a 42-0 game at halftime.

Jones came back out to take snaps for the Cadets following the break but for the first time all day, the drive did not end in a touchdown. Following eight scoreless possessions, the Huskies got on the board with a 38-yard run and trimmed the score down to 42-7.

The teams then went on to trade scores, as Wilson Catoe notched his first career touchdown and UConn returned a kickoff for 96 yards to make it a 49-14 game in favor of Army.

With one quarter left of action, the Cadets ate up the clock before setting up Cole Talley with a 28-yard field goal. After possessing the ball for over 11 minutes, the Black Knights pushed their lead to 52-14.

UConn made one final push, stringing together a 10-play drive to get into the end zone and cement the final score at 52-21.

Saturday's victory over the Huskies marks Army's first time opening up a season with three-straight wins since 2016.

NOTES

With the win, head coach Jeff Monken now stands alone as the third-winningest coach in Army Football history (52-39). He needs six more to tie former coach Charles Daly (58-13-3; 1913-16, 1919-22) for second all-time.
For the second time this season, the Cadets limited the opposing team to 15-yards-or-less on its opening drive, holding the Huskies to just six. In its season-opener at Georgia State, the defense only gave up 15 yards to the Panthers to start the game.
This was the program's first time putting up 42 points in an opening half since a 70-14 Armed Forces Bowl victory over Houston (Dec. 22, 2018).
The last time Army held a 42-0 lead at halftime was on Oct. 29, 2011 against Fordham. The Cadets went on to win that contest 55-0.
This was the team's first time surpassing 50 points since putting up 55 in a triumph over Abilene Christian on Oct. 3, 2020.
Malkelm Morrison and Peyton Hampton led the team with four tackles apiece.
In total, the Black Knights broke up six of the Huskies' passes.
Anderson has thrown a touchdown pass of 39-yards-or-longer in each game this season.
Tyrell Robinson led the team on the ground, finishing the day with 84 yards on just three carries.
Three total quarterbacks made appearances for Army: Anderson, Jones and Jabari Laws.
The home team earned the advantage in time of possession at 40:36-19:24.

QUOTABLE
Coach Monken
[Ref. Preparing in the off-season, focusing on making big plays]
"It's a lot harder to score when you are doing it two, three, four yards at a time. If you can hit one for 30 or 40 yards, it's less plays you can mess up where you miss a block or you have a penalty. If we can hit a big play, it gives us that much better chance to turn the drive into points. We love a long drive where we take up a lot of time and keep their offense off the field. Looking at what will turn a drive into points, a big play really helps."

[Ref. Christian Anderson's development]
"I think that is exactly what happening, he is gaining more confidence as he plays. He is doing a great job distributing the ball, handling the ball when he needs too, taking care of it when he runs it. I've been really proud of him, I thought he played another really good game."

[Ref. Young players in the second half
"He [Shacori Williams] ran the ball hard, I was really impressed. He and Wilson [Catoe] both ran the ball hard. There were times they were wrapped with guys all over them and they still gained three or four extra yards. That is fun to see."

Nathaniel Smith
[Ref. The defensive efforts today]
"We have been preparing for them [UConn] all week, they are a really good team. Our coaches harped on having your eyes in the right place, having your hands and feet moving in the right direction so you know what to do when the time comes. I did my job. I saw the ball and went for it."

WHAT'S NEXT
The team will complete its three-game home stand with a game against Miami OH on Saturday, Sept. 25 at Michie Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. and the game will be carried on the CBS Sports Network.

FOLLOW ALONG
For complete coverage of Army West Point football, follow the Black Knights on Twitter and Instagram at @ArmyWP_Football and online at www.goarmywestpoint.com.