COLORADO SPRINGS, C.O. — Fueled by three forced turnovers on defense and powered by junior quarterback Cale Hellums’ fourth quarter, Army came out victorious with a 20-17 win over Air Force in the second leg of the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy at Falcons Stadium in front of 39,441 spectators and millions more around the globe.
It was the first time since 2019 that Army football traveled up to Colorado Springs to take on the Air Force, but it was more of the same for the Black Knights against the Falcons.
For Army (4-4, 2-3 American), this win gets them back to .500, while also setting up the Army-Navy Game in December as a “winner takes all” game for the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy, the trophy Army lost to Navy (7-1, 5-1 American) last season.
On the stat sheet, it was Air Force (2-6, 1-4 Mountian West) that led in most offensive categories: total yards (335), passing (161), first downs (23), and time of possesion (34:04). But it was Cale Hellums hitting a 42 yard pass to sophomore Brady Anderson when Army needed him most to set up the game winning field goal from sophomore Dawson Jones to quiet Falcons Stadium.
With the victory, Army has now won three in a row and seven of its last nine games against the Falcons dating back to 2017.
Army Ends First Quarter Strong
The game didn’t start the way that Jeff Monken had hoped, with Army going three-and-out on its first two drives of the game.
On the other side of the ball, Air Force was able to move the ball at will, getting into Army’s half of the field on both of their two drives in the first quarter. Credit to Nate Woody’s defense, they were able to force a punt on the first drive and held the Falcons to a 52-yard field goal from Reagan Tubbs.
It was the third drive where Army started to find its groove with sophomore Briggs Bartosh hitting the left side for a 38-yard gain on 1st down. Two plays later, after it seemed they gained another first down, junior Parker Poloskey was called for an “illegal low block”, backing Army up 15 yards.
Behind the stick, Army had to put the ball in the air, and offensive coordinator Cody Worley called an exotic play, with two offensive linemen lined up wide left in a Deuce look. With the Air Force defense confused, senior Noah Short was able to get over the top of the defense, and Cale Hellums hit in the end zone to give Army a 7-3 lead as the clock hit triple zeros on the first quarter.
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Army’s Defense Made Plays All Game
In the second quarter, the Army defense stood its ground. Deep in Air Force’s half of the field, sophomore Liam Szarka threw an ill-advised pass down the right side that senior Casey Larkin was able to pick off.
The rest of the first half saw Army kick a 44-yard field goal, while Air Force missed a 40-yard field goal to send the Black Knights into the locker room up 10-3.
Army’s defense came back out of the half and made another instant impact. Eleven plays into the quarter and down to the Army 18-yard line, Szarka threw a pass into double coverage, with senior Gavin Sheilds making a play and getting the interception to send the Falcons off the field with zero points once again.
The Black Knights went three-and-out on their next drive, setting Air Force up to tie the game. Liam Szarka would lead his team on a 12-play, 65-yard drive, capped off with a three-yard run to the right for a touchdown by Szarka to tie this game at ten a piece.
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15 Minutes For All the Glory
With the score tied heading into the fourth quarter, it was like a whole new ball game in Colorado Springs.
Needing to answer with a score of their own, the Black Knights would do so. It was a critical drive for Jeff Monken, so he leaned heavily on quarterback Cale Hellums. The junior from Tomball, Texas, ran the ball seven times on the 13-play drive, ending with Hellums rushing it in from 10 yards out to help regain Army’s seven-point lead.
That Army drive chewed up over half of the fourth quarter. With Air Force looking for back-to-back scores, Liam Szarka and the Falcons were able to move the ball downfield with ease. But with Air Force knocking on the door of the endzone, Army defensive coordinator Nate Woody cooked up a blitz off the left side of the line, and sophomore Cole Searight was able to strip Szarka before he could throw it.
The Black Knights recovered the ball at their own 17-yard line, and with just 3:11 on the clock, Army just needed to get one first down to end the game. The Falcons were able to hold the line, and it was fourth and one for Army on their own 26-yard line.
With the ability to end the game with one play, Jeff Monken went for it with a Cale Hellums quarterback lead, but fifth-year season Payton Zdroik was able to trip up Hellums to force a turnover on downs.
Air Force had all the momentum, and the Falcons were able to re-tie the game up just three plays later with Luke Szarka rushing for his second touchdown of the game. But there was still 1:26 left on the clock for Army to drive the field.
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Cale Hellums in the Clutch
In their two-minute drill offense and three timeouts, Army didn’t rush things. Noah Short touched the ball twice to start the drive, gaining 13 yards and getting out of bounds both times. The next three plays saw Army grind out a first down on the ground before the play of the game.
With 32 seconds left, Army went for the home run ball, and it paid off. Wide receiver Brady Anderson beat freshman cornerback Max Mustell on a deep post and hauled in a 42-yard catch to set Army up for a game-winning field goal.
Two plays later, with time for just one more kick of the football, Dawson Jones had the weight of the entire United States Army on his back. The snap was a little inside, the hold was good, and Dawson Jones’ kick was straight and true to send the Army Black Knights to their third consecutive victory over the Air Force Falcons.
On Deck For the Black Knights: Temple
Army’s next test comes against Temple (5-4, 3-2 American) as the Owls make the trip up I-95 to West Point on Saturday, November 8, at 12:00 PM.
Temple is an improved team this year, but is coming off a disappointing 45-14 loss to East Carolina University at home. The Owls are led by senior quarterback Evan Simon, who has thrown for 1,690 yards with 21 touchdowns and just one interception. The Army defense will have to be on high alert the entire game.
The Black Knights will look to build on this momentum, knowing they still have a lot to accomplish in their last four games this season. Most notably, qualifying for a bowl game, and BEATING navy.
FINAL STATS
Category Air Force Army Total Yards 335 295 Rushing Yards 174 193 Passing Yards 161 102 First Downs 23 15 3rd Down Conv. 8-14 5-13 4th Down Conv. 2-2 2-3 Time of Poss. 34:04 25:56 Penalties 2-20 4-50 Turnovers 3 0 Stay ahead of the game with Bad Dawg Sports
🏈 Go Black Knights!
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