Army came to play Saturday.
When the Black Knights needed it most, they stepped up big time, using a solid defensive performance, controlling the offensive time of possession and converting key plays to knock off host UAB 31-13 at Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Ala.
This was classic Army football. The Black Knights rushed for 247 yards, had no turnovers, and simply played an aggressive game on both sides of the line of scrimmage to raise their record to 2-3 overall and earn their first victory in the American Conference in three games. UAB falls to 2-3 and is 0-2 in the American.
The pressure was on Army to come back from Alabama with a victory. After winning the American Conference in their first year in the league last year, Army has been plagued by turnovers and some poor and inconsistent play in its first four games of this season. The Black Knights also lost two overtime games this season, one to FCS-level Tarleton State, which is now 5-0 on the season in late August, and the other to 5-0 North Texas in a conference game at West Point two weeks ago.
Any hope of salvaging the season had to begin against UAB and the Black Knights looked like a different team than the one that lost to East Carolina nine days ago from the onset.
“Winning solves everything,” said Samari Howard, a junior slotback who had a key 41-yard reception midway in the third quarter to spur Army to a 17-7 lead over the Dragons. “Everyone was kind of down about losing two in a row. But what are we going to do about it? That was our attitude going into the week. Having that as an enabler, having that as motivation got us the ‘W’ today. I feel like that we wanted it more. It was very fun.”
After giving up 21 points in the first quarter in both of their last two games, the Black Knight defense was a lot more stingy against the Dragons. Most importantly, they held UAB senior quarterback Jalen Kitna, who was averaging more than 310 passing yards a game and completing 71 percent of his passes, to 259 yards on 24-for 42 passing (57 percent). He was also intercepted once, a key pick by senior outside linebacker Gavin Shields in the third quarter on the UAB 33-yard line and returned to the 12-yard line, that set up Army’s third touchdown to go up 21-7. Three other passes were nearly picked off by Army in the contest.
In fact, UAB scored only once in the first half, a late drive before halftime, and added a second touchdown in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter.
“I think it starts with the practices,” said Shields, who noted the team’s focus is now on winning each game, one at a time. “We really focused this week on just the fundamentals. Going back to day one and we know how to play football, so let’s focus on the fundamentals. When we have an offense to lean on (like today), we just come together as a team and that is what Army football is about.”
Offensively, the Black Knights returned to their fine play last seen in their victory against Kansas State in early September. After a slow start, the offensive line, particularly in the second half, started to open up holes the middle of the line for the Army running game and even supplied quarterbacks some extra time on the few times the Black Knights looked to throw the ball.
In addition, junior Cale Hellums came off the bench in the second quarter to relieve starter Dewayne Coleman and showed the same form he displayed against Kansas State. This time, he ran for 81 yards on 21 carries and three touchdowns. Seniors Hayden Reed, a fullback, who has been battling injuries in the early part of the season, and Noah Short, a slotback, each ran for 54 yards while junior running back Carson Smith gained 29 yards on six attempts. Reed scored the first Army touchdown midway through the first quarter.
“(The offensive line) is the engine of our machine,” said Hellums. “Those guys upfront played phenomenal today. Where they go, we are going to go. They set the tone early. It was awesome to see and awesome to run behind.”
The Black Knights took a 10-7 lead on kicker Dawson Jones’ 45-yard field goal right before halftime and scored three consecutive times in the third and fourth quarter to go ahead 31-7 with about four minutes left in the game.
Let’s be clear, UAB did not help its cause. The Dragons placekicker missed two mid-range field goals, kicking the first one on their first drive of the game low into the Army defense that was blocked by Jack Bousum and slipping on the second one that would have tied the game at 10-10 early in the third quarter. Besides Kitna’s interception, the Dragons lost one fumble and were called for 11 penalties (including a unique one for equipment issues when two players were on the field were wearing the same number on their uniforms) for 73 yards.
“I’m proud of our team and, obviously, happy to get a victory today,” said coach Jeff Monken. I’m happy for our players, they worked really hard. Today, it kind of came together for us. We did a good job of taking care of the ball. The defense got some turnovers, the special teams got a turnover.”
The Black Knights face Charlotte at Michie Stadium next Saturday, starting at noon and hoping to even their record at 3-3. The 49ers lost to South Florida, 54-26, to fall to 1-4 on the season.
“We were desperate for a win,” Monken added. “We put ourselves in that bind. There are two games that went to overtime, both of which we had three turnovers in, and it disappointing that we were not able to get one or both of those (victories).
“I thought the way are team approached practice this week, starting on Sunday, and how we went through the entire week, the energy they had, and the focus of trying to get better. I’m glad when that pays off when guys put so much into the week of practice and get a victory.
“We got to try to put another one together. It is hard to win a football game and today was a hard-fought victory, particularly before halftime.”
Army came to play on Saturday.
When the Black Knights needed it most, they stepped up big time, using a solid defensive performance, controlling the offensive time of possession and converting key plays to knock off host UAB, 31-13, at Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Ala.
This was classic Army football. The Black Knights rushed for 247 yards, had no turnovers, and simply played an aggressive game on both sides of the line of scrimmage to raise their record to 2-3 overall and earn their first victory in the American Conference in three games. UAB falls to 2-3 and is 0-2 in the American.
The pressure was on Army to come back from Alabama with a victory. After winning the American Conference in their first year in the league last year, Army has been plagued by turnovers and some poor and inconsistent play in its first four games of this season. The Black Knights also lost two overtime games this season, one to FCS-level Tarleton State, which is now 6-0 on the season in late August, and the other to 5-0 North Texas in a conference game at West Point two weeks ago.
Any hope of salvaging the season had to begin against UAB and the Black Knights looked like a different team than the one that lost to East Carolina nine days ago from the onset.
“Winning solves everything,” said Samari Howard, a junior slotback who had a key 41-yard reception midway in the third quarter to spur Army to a 17-7 lead over the Dragons. “Everyone was kind of down about losing two in a row. But what are we going to do about it? That was our attitude going into the week. Having that as an enabler, having that as motivation got us the W today. I feel like that we wanted it more. It was very fun.”
After giving up 21 points in the first quarter in both of their last two games, the Black Knight defense was a lot more stingy against the Dragons. Most importantly, they held UAB senior quarterback Jalen Kitna, who was averaging more than 310 passing yards a game and completing 71 percent of his passes, to 259 yards on 24-for 42 passing (57 percent). He was also intercepted once, a key pick by senior outside linebacker Gavin Shields in the third quarter on the UAB 33-yard line and returned it to the 12-yard line, that set up Army’s third touchdown to go up 21-7. Three other passes were nearly picked off by Army in the contest.
In fact, UAB scored only once in the first half, a late drive before halftime, and added a second touchdown in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter.
“I think it starts with the practices,” said Shields, who noted the team’s focus is now on winning each game, one at a time. “We really focused this week on just the fundamentals. Going back to day one and we know how to play football, so let’s focus on the fundamentals. When we have an offense to lean on (like today), we just come together as a team and that is what Army football is about.”
Offensively, the Black Knights returned to their fine play last seen in their victory against Kansas State in early September. After a slow start, the offensive line, particularly in the second half, started to open up holes the middle of the line for the Army running game and even supplied the Army quarterbacks some extra time on the few times the Black Knights looked to throw the ball.
In addition, junior Cale Hellums came off the bench in the second quarter to relieve starter Dewayne Coleman and showed the same form he displayed against Kansas State. This time, he ran for 81 yards on 21 carries and three touchdowns. Seniors Hayden Reed, a fullback, who has been battling injuries in the early part of the season, and Noah Short, a slotback, each ran for 54 yards while junior running back Carson Smith gained 29 yards on six attempts. Reed scored the first Army touchdown midway through the first quarter.
“(The offensive line) is the engine of our machine,” said Hellums. “Those guys upfront played phenomenal today. Where they go, we are going to go. They set the tone early. It was awesome to see and awesome to run behind.”
The Black Knights took a 10-7 lead on kicker Dawson Jones’ 45-yard field goal right before halftime and scored three consecutive times in the third and fourth quarter to go ahead 31-7 with about four minutes left in the game.
Let’s be clear, UAB did not help its cause. The Dragons placekicker missed two mid-range field goals, kicking the first one on their first drive of the game low into the Army defense and slipping on the second one that would have tied the game at 10-10 early in the third quarter. Besides Kitna’s interception, the Dragons lost one fumble and were called for 11 penalties (including a unique one for equipment issues when two players were on the field were wearing the same number on their uniforms) for 73 yards.
“I’m proud of our team and, obviously, happy to get a victory today,” said coach Jeff Monken. I’m happy for our player, they worked really hard. Today, it kind of came together for us. We did a good job of taking care of the ball. The defense got some turnovers, the special teams got a turnover.”
The Black Knights face Charlotte at Michie Stadium next Saturday, starting at noon and hoping to even their record at 3-3. The 49ers lost to South Florida, 54-26, to fall to 1-4 on the season. “We were desperate for a win,” Monken added. “We put ourselves in that bind. There are two games that went to overtime, both of which we had three turnovers in, and it disappointing that we were not able to get one or both of those (victories).
“I thought the way are team approached practice this week, starting on Sunday, and how we went through the entire week, the energy they had, and the focus of trying to get better. I’m glad when that pays off when guys put so much into the week of practice and get a victory.
“We got to try to put another one together. It is hard to win a football game and today was a hard-fought victory, particularly before halftime.”
