Army 28, Morgan State 12
WEST POINT, N.Y. -- In just his second start as Army's quarterback, junior Angel Santiago rushed for 116 yards, passed for 101 yards and accounted for all four touchdowns in the Black Knights' 28-12 win over Morgan State Friday night before 24,245 at Michie Stadium.
Santiago, a prep star from San Bernadino, Calif., rushed for three touchdowns and passed for another.
The 5-11, 188-pound signal-caller was the third-string quarterback in 2011 and 2012, carrying the ball just 53 times in two seasons. A.J. Schurr was in line to replace four-year starter Trent Steelman as the next quarterback for the Black Knights, but a good spring campaign vaulted Santiago ahead of him.
While Steelman was the focus of Army's intricate triple offense that paced the county in rushing yardage in 2011 and 2012, Santiago provides coach Rich Ellerson with a pocket passer capable of throwing the long ball.
Only twice did Army pass for over 100 yards in a game in 2012.
Against Morgan State, Santiago was able to blend the run with the pass. He had plenty of support in the Army backfield in the form of Larry Dixon, Raymond Maples and Hayden Tippett, who combined for 18 carries for 130 yards on the ground, mainly between the tackles.
Morgan State, an FCS school, had a difficult time moving the ball against an Army defense that returned seven starters from a unit that allowed 35 points a game last season. Junior running back Lamont Brown paced the Bears with 75 rushing yards on 19 carries.
Geoffery Bacon, who led the Black Knights in tackles last season, moved from linebacker to free safety in the spring and was a disruptive force in the secondary. The 6-0, 207-pound junior led his team with 16 tackles.
Army held just one opponent under 20 points in its 2-10 season in 2012.
Quarterback Robert Council, who replaced starter Morgan State Seth Higgins in the second quarter, scored a touchdown and hit wide receiver Chris Flowers with a 22-yard TD pass down the left sideline in the third quarter for the final score of the game.
Santiago scored his third TD of the humid evening by sprinting in from the 3-yard-line, ending a five-play, 65 yard drive early in the third quarter, providing Army with a 28-6 cushion.
Army scored on its first three possessions of the game and led 21-6 at the half.
Santiago rushed for 97 first-half yards and passed for 101.
Santiago accounted for 69 of the Black Knights' 95 yards on Army's first scoring drive. Santiago rushed for 37 yards on two carries, including a 33-yard TD scamper, and passed for 32.
He directed a quick seven-play, 88-yard drive after Morgan State went three-and-out. On that drive, Santiago rushed for 63 yards, ending the march with a one-yard dive with 3:11 left
Army opened the second quarter with a quick scoring strike when Santiago connected with wide receiver Chevaughn Lawrence on an 18-yard TD pass.
Morgan State went 82 yards in 18 plays for its only touchdown of the first half. Council bolted in from the one with 2:50 remaining in the second quarter. The extra-point attempt failed.
NOTES: This was the first meeting between Army and Morgan State. ... Morgan State was picked to finish 10th in the preseason Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference poll. ... Army returned six of its top eight rushers from 2012's squad that led the nation with 369.8 yards rushing per game. ... Santiago received the starting quarterback nod over sophomore A.J. Schurr who was Trent Steelman's understudy in 2012. Steelman graduated as Army's third-all time rushing leader with 3,320 yards.
