ARMY WINS!
8 in a row at home!#GoArmy pic.twitter.com/78b9pp0IXU
— Army WP Football (@ArmyWP_Football) September 8, 2018
“ARMY FOOTBALL IS BACK”, that’s an actual tweet I saw last night. They never left people, just had an off week against a good Duke team.
I said that Army needed to get the fullback dive going in order for the offense to start humming again, that’s exactly what happened. The four Army fullbacks combined for 259 rushing yards with Darnell Woolfolk leading the group with 98 yards and two touchdowns.
The Army defense gave up some chunk yards on the Flames first drive but DB Jaylon McClinton punched a ball out to force a fumble.
The Army offense had to punt due to the new cut block rule, but Darnell Woolfolk got into a rhythm(4 carries, 25 yards) that would set him up to dominate the rest of the game.
After the defense forced another punt, Kelvin Hopkins and co. came out and drove down the field for a touchdown to go up 7-0.
Fighting for EVERY yard. @ArmyWP_Football punches this one in to strike first. pic.twitter.com/v5CfNQvtKA
— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) September 8, 2018
The next Liberty drive saw something I have never seen before, Liberty’s punter got ejected for targeting… yes you read that right, Liberty’s punter got ejected for targeting.
Being a punter is “the best job in all of sports.”@jasonfitz explains all the benefits of the position despite Liberty’s punter being ejected for targeting Saturday. pic.twitter.com/Kc8MWmjIZS
— ESPN (@espn) September 9, 2018
That penalty gave Army the ball at the Liberty 31-yard line. The Black Knights punched the ball into the endzone two plays later.
That was a SHORT march down the field. Darnell Woolfolk takes this one to the house.@ArmyWP_Football leads by 14. pic.twitter.com/fIohzYjTuS
— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) September 8, 2018
That touchdown was followed by a lot of punting and then on the last drive of the half Army hit a field goal to take a 17-0 lead into the locker room.
Salyers’ first career FG sends us to the locker room up by 17.#GoArmy pic.twitter.com/Rv6m6ScLxk
— Army WP Football (@ArmyWP_Football) September 8, 2018
The second half began with a passing touchdown from Army, Hopkins hit WR Christian Hayes for a 44-yard touchdown.
BIG TIME CONNECTION.
Kelvin Hopkins delivers a 44-yard pass to give @ArmyWP_Football the first score of the 2nd Half. pic.twitter.com/6ncC1N2P17
— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) September 8, 2018
But the Flames offense would wake up and they responded really fast; two plays, 78 yards, 28 seconds and a touchdown.
Army would be forced to punt on the ensuing drive and Liberty would strike again. This time it was on a beautiful catch by BJ Farrow.
What a DART.
Buckshot Calvert makes the most of the play action there and @LibertyFootball is surging. pic.twitter.com/btedSMyncT
— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) September 8, 2018
After back to back punts Army got the ball knowing they needed to score points in order to kill the momentum that Liberty had. The Black Knights went on a 10 play, 80-yard drive that was capped off with a two-yard score by Darnell Woolfolk.
The very next play from scrimmage, Jaylon McClinton struck again, picking off a pass from Liberty QB Calvert.
That pick would lead to a touchdown and Army would win 38-14.
Important Notes:
- Army DB Elijah Riley quieted Liberty WR Antonio Gandy-Golden(three receptions for 33 yards)
- Army DB Javhari Bourdeau looked much improved, even covered Gandy-Golden at times
- Army had seven penalties for 100 yards, most of them coming from the new cut block rule
- ZERO FUMBLES after putting the ball on the ground five times last week Army practiced ball security a lot in practice and it showed
Next up: Army stays at home and gets Hawaii at who looks extremely good this season, starting 3-0.
