Army football shut out at home by Troy, first time in 20 years
The Kimani Vidal show moves on.
The junior surpassed 100 rushing yards for the 11th time, and Troy has won 10 of those games. The latest was a 23-carry, 116-yard effort as the Trojans blanked Army 19-0 on a rainy Saturday at Michie Stadium. Troy piled up 449 yards of total offense.
While Vidal dominated in the backfield, it was kicker Scott Taylor Renfroe who set a career high with four field goals (on five tries) of 24, 35, 32 and 43 yards.
“Every time he runs for 50 or more we’re like 19-3,’’ said Troy head coach Jon Sumrall said of Vidal. “It’s pretty important to feed him. He’s a great player and a better person.’’
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It was the first time Army has been shut out at Michie since South Florida posted a 28-0 win on Sept. 27, 2003.
“I think we got our butts kicked in every phase,’’ said Army coach Jeff Monken. “It’s hard to win a football game playing poor fundamentally. When they can run the ball at will and we can’t run the ball, it’s hard to win. The turnovers hurt. There’s just so many things.’’
“Our guys … they care,’’ Monken said. “It matters to them. They just didn’t perform very well. Where I’m most disappointed is just the breakdown of the fundamentals. It’s still a game where you have to block, tackle and take care of the ball; we didn’t do that very good today.
Troy (5-2) has won four in a row, beating Western Kentucky, Georgia State and Arkansas State leading into this game.
“We played really good, clean football,’’ Sumrall said. “There were some opportunistic turnovers. We got some takeaways that were critical. Credit to our guys on defense.’’
Army (2-4) has dropped three in a row, following losses to Syracuse and Boston College. Looming is a game at Louisiana State next Saturday.
“We have to get the fundamental thing corrected,’’ Monken said. “We have to do those things better. It wouldn’t matter who we play - we wouldn’t beat anybody playing like the way we played today.
“Obviously, LSU is a talented, outstanding opponent but we’ve got other things to concern ourselves with right now and it’s in our locker room. Our guys have played really hard. I don’t know that we didn’t play the game hard today … that’s a good football team. Troy is a really good team.’’
In the shadow of Vidal, Army freshman Kanye Udoh had a breakout game with 124 yards on 18 carries, including a memorable bull rush that netted 18 yards in the third quarter as he got pulled and shoved from all directions.
As if three consecutive losses isn’t enough concern, Army lost junior quarterback Bryson Daily to a non-contact injury to his right leg in the second quarter. He limped off the field and was replaced by freshman Champ Harris.
“I thought he battled and tried really hard,’’ Monken said of Harris. “That’s a kid who was playing in high school this time a year ago. That’s a lot to put on a freshman. He’s very talented and I think he’s going to have a really good career. Hard to pass judgment on the time that he was in the game.’’
A likely heavy underdog at LSU next Saturday, Army (2-4) has put itself in a difficult position to qualify for the postseason.
kmcmillan@th-record.com
X / Twitter: @KenMcMillanTHR
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Army football falls at home to Troy
