College football: Army trounces UMass, boosted for Navy
In a season that has often felt like it was slipping away, Army has forged some momentum headed into its most important game of the season.
The Black Knights have responded to excruciating one-score losses to Air Force and Troy with a pair of dominant victories over teams they were heavily favored to beat. In a late-November sweep of New England’s largest public schools, Army knocked off 10-point underdog Connecticut by 17 last week and routed 20-point underdog Massachusetts 44-7 on Saturday in Amherst.
“I thought our guys played hard and certainly at times played very well,’’ said Army head coach Jeff Monken, who posted his 101st career win.
That sets up the always big clash with Navy (4-7) on Dec. 10 in Philadelphia, with Army (5-6) needing a win to salvage a .500 regular season and keep its faintest hopes of a bowl game alive. Only the right combination of losses by near bowl eligible teams and an exception by the NCAA (for having only five of the six required FBS wins) could leave the postseason door open for the scant few spots still open. Army is contracted for the Dec. 23 Independence Bowl, if eligible.
The Black Knights surrendered an opening-drive touchdown to Massachusetts and ran the table, with four Minutemen turnovers resulting in 24 Army points. Fabrice Voyne and Cam Jones scooped up a pair of UMass fumbles and interceptions were had by freshman Jayden Mayes and senior D’Andre Tobias, his second in two weeks. Army’s close-quarters defense posted its third goal line stand in two weeks, holding firm while up 28-7.
“It felt great,’’ said Mayes, who successfully defended the fourth-down pass at the goal line. “We really pushed ‘Last of the hard’ and I feel like we proved that in the last couple of weeks.
“This momentum is going to carry over,’’ Mayes added. “We are all feeding off each other’s energy. This is definitely going to (help) next week’s preparation.’’
It was back to good times as senior quarterback Tyhier Tyler rushed for 101 yards, scoring three touchdowns in the second quarter alone before being pulled at halftime. Junior fullback Jakobi Buchanan looked as good as he has in weeks, blocking effectively and posting 46 rushing yards, scoring from 10 yards and 1 yard.
“If we take care of the ball in two weeks (time), we're going to win the game,’’ Tyler said, firing the first salvo at Navy. “If I finish my runs, run hard and make people miss, we're going to win the game.’’
Tyler has 12 rushing touchdowns this season and 24 for his career, tying him for 10th all-time at West Point with Kelvin Hopkins (2016-19) and Gil Stephenson (1948-50). Buchanan has six rushing TDs in 2022 and 24 for his career.
It looked like UMass running back Ellis Merriweather was on his way to another big game against Army (he had 110 rushing yards in 2021). He looked spectacular on the opening drive, netting 36 yards on four carries and gaining 27 yards on a swing pass. That set up Gino Campiotti’s 2-yard keeper up the middle – the backup quarterback was brought in for short-yardage plays – as UMass seized the early 7-0 lead.
However, on the UMass second series, Merriweather ran off the left side and Army safety Marquel Broughton jarred the ball loose – the Minutemen recovered that fumble but lost Merriweather to injury. He returned to the sidelines in street clothes, shouldering a sling and brace on his right wrist. Merriweather has 1,779 rushing yards and eight touchdowns from 2020-present. UMass gained only 143 total yards after he left.
Tyler was 2-for-2 passing. His first completion was worthy of an ESPN “SportsCenter” highlight. Sprinting down the left sideline, Isaiah Alston had his left hand tugged by defensive back Jordan Mahoney but still managed to jump and retrieve Tyler’s toss with only his right hand for a 23-yard grab. “If you just get the ball into Isaiah’s vicinity, he's going to catch it,’’ Tyler said. Two snaps later, Buchanan ran over one defender and dragged two more for a 10-yard tying score.
Markel Johnson filled in nicely at fullback for Tyson Riley, who only saw some blocking action. Johnson rushed for 67 yards on 10 carries, the highlight a season-best 32-yard carry as he broke two tackles, kept his balance and dragged another defender. Tyler closed the first quarter with a hard 14-yard carry and opened the second by running 27 yards untouched through a big hole on the left side to put Army on top – Tyler agreed it was his prettiest run of the season.
A three-and-out by UMass set up Army at midfield. Again, Tyler busted off runs of 27 yards to the left and 12 yards to the right. “It’s always good to get out in open space and just opening up the style a little bit,’’ he said. Tyler scored to the right from 4 yards, making a nifty leap over an ankle tackle attempt.
Following a Jones’ fumble recovery, Tyler’s other beauty was a 44-yard connection down the middle with tight end Joshua Lingenfelter, to the UMass 27. The Minutemen defense stiffened but Tyler finally beat it by following Buchanan and Riley from a yard out 1:57 before half for a 28-7 lead.
As a means to keep Tyler healthy for the Navy matchup, Army turned to Jemel Jones, though he proved ineffective in moving the offense on three series. That’s when Mayes picked off Brady Olson near midfield and returned the ball 19 yards.
Cade Ballard took three snaps early in the fourth but left with an apparent injury to his right arm. Buchanan converted Army’s lone fourth-down conversion attempt of the day and scored seven snaps later on a 1-yard run to the right side.
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Sophomore Bryson Daily ran the final two series, setting up a 20-yard field goal by Quinn Maretzki and scoring untouched from 54 yards – on the same play call utilized by Tyler on his long score – with 1:20 left.
“We were glad to get two wins,’’ Monken said. “Just the confidence and the excitement of being in a locker room after a victory and going into this game in two weeks … there's not a bigger game on our schedule, ever, any season, than the one coming up. … This game looms for 365 days. It is part of the DNA of this program, this institution, is to beat Navy. … Our kids are excited. I'm excited, but we got a lot of work to do in the next couple of weeks.’’
Notes
Army lineman Chris Frey posted his first career sack (for a loss of 9 yards) in the first quarter. … Max DiDomenico led Army with six tackles and Isaiah Morris added five; four players tied with four. Jalen Mackie had 19 stops for UMass. … Army is 5-0 all-time against UMass. This was Army’s first trip to Amherst. The teams meet for the sixth time on Oct. 28, 2023, at Michie Stadium. … Tyler has three career games with three-plus touchdowns. … UMass, losers of nine in a row, wraps up at 1-11 in coach Don Brown’s return season following his stint from 2004-08.
Twitter: @KenMcMillanTHR
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: College football: Army trounces UMass, ready for Navy clash
