Football Comes Up Short at Army

Box score.

WEST POINT, N.Y. — The Eastern Michigan University football team dropped a 17-13 decision to the United States Military Academy Saturday afternoon, Oct. 11, in non-conference action here at Blaik Field in Michie Stadium. The Black Knights used their triple-option attack to rack up 341 yards on the ground to overcome a 13-7 halftime deficit. The Eagles had a pair of late fourth quarter drives in an attempt to rally for the win, but the Army defense stood up to the challenge to claim the victory.

With the win Army ups its record to 2-4 on the year, while Eastern Michigan drops to 2-5.

Junior quarterback Andy Schmitt (St. Johns, Mich.-St. Johns) was 12-of-30 passing for a total of 138 yards. Junior wideout Jacory Stone (Cleveland, Ohio-Glenville) added four catches for 17 yards to give him 101 career catches and 996 career receiving yards. Sophomore tight end Josh LeDuc (Canton, Mich.-Plymouth) also caught two passes for 40.

On the ground, sophomore Dwayne Priest (Roanoke, Va./William Fleming-Fork Union Academy) totalled 118 yards on 17 carries on the afternoon. Senior Terrence Blevins (Detroit, Mich.-Denby) also tallied 17 yards and a touchdown on six attempts.

For Army, fullback Collin Mooney carried the ball 29 times for 299 yards while running back Wesley McMahand added three carries for 46 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Chip Bowden ran the ball 12 times for 32 yards and a score while going 0-for-3 via the air. Army had zero passing yards in the entire game.

Army jumped on the board first, as the Black Knights opened the game marching 61 yards in just two plays. The drive was capped with a 13-yard touchdown scamper by McMahand with 13:07 showing on the first quarter clock. Matthew Campbell's PAT was good to make it 7-0.

The triple-option attack of Army continued to rack up the yards on the ground, as Mooney sprinted 67 yards to set up a great scoring opportunity midway through the opening period. However, it would all be for naught as senior linebacker Daniel Holtzclaw (Enid, Okla.-Enid ), who had a game-high 12 tackles, stopped Bowden on fourth-and-inches to force a turnover on downs at the EMU 12-yard line with 4:08 left in the first quarter.

After a few stalled drives to start the contest, Eastern Michigan was able to get the offense in gear on its third possession. Schmitt would direct an 11-play, 63-yard drive from deep in its own territory, but the drive would stall at the Army 25-yard line. Sophomore placekicker Joe Carithers (Dacula, Ga.Dacula (Palomar J.C.) would knock through a career-long 43 yard field goal to cut the deficit to four, 7-3, with 13:26 left in the second period.

Following a quick three-and-out for the Black Knights, Priest would roll off a 20-yard dart into Army territory. Six plays later, Blevins would bounce off a few defenders before finding paydirt with 7:49 left before half. Carithers would tack on the point-after kick to make it 10-7.

Army would turn the ball over with 5:37 showing on the clock near midfield, when quarterback Bowden's option toss was off target and recovered by senior Dwayne Harrison (North Miami Beach, Fla.-North Miami Beach). EMU was unable to advance the ball into the red zone, as Carithers would have to chip through a 38-yard field goal to make it 13-7 with 3:04 left.

Following intermission, the Black Knights would once again crack into the scoring column. Mooney would break loose, scooting for a 54-yard gain down to the EMU four-yard line. But the EMU defense would stand up, stopping Mooney just short of the goal line to force a field-goal try. The 18-yard attempt for Campbell was true to make it 13-10 with 10:25 to play in the third period.

Eastern Michigan would answer with a long drive of its own, marching 68 yards in nine plays before the drive would falter at the Army five-yard line. The Eagles had back-to-back opportunities to scores, but two of Schmitt's passes were knocked away from their intended targets in the end zone. Carithers would come on for the chip shot 22-yard field goal attempt with 5:33 remaining but the try was blocked by Victor Ugenyi.

Army's rushing attack continued to move the chains on its next possession, calling for the run on 13-of-14 plays, capping the 80-yard drive with a nine-yard touchdown run by Bowden. Campbell added the PAT to give Army its final four-point margin, 17-13.

Army would ratchet up the defensive intensity on EMU's next possession to force the quick three-and-out. But the Black Knights would have trouble holding on to the football, turning the ball over with less than nine minutes of clock still showing.

However, head coach Jeff Genyk's crew count not cash in on the break, as Schmitt was sacked on third-and-six at midfield. Junior Zach Johnson (Springboro, Ohio-Springboro) punted the ball away with 6:58 as the Knights took over at their own 17-yard line.

Once again the defense would stand strong, forcing Army to give the ball back to the Eagles via a punt with 3:34 left.

Needing to go 83 yards to score, Schmitt found Blevins for a 14-yard pass reception up to the EMU 30-yard line. Two plays later Schmitt nearly found a streaking Stone down at the Army 30-yard line but the pass was just inches too long.

Then on third-and-five, the toss to LeDuc was broken up to force the Eagles' hand with 2:10 to go. Schmitt's pass was knocked down at the line of scrimmage to return the ball to Army with 2:04 showing.

Army continued to attack via the rush but came up just short on a critical fourth down at the EMU 26-yard line turning the ball back over to the Green and White with 1:40 on the clock.

Just as last week in the victory at Bowling Green, the Eagles would have to make a last ditch drive to pull out the win. But unfortunately the result would not be the same, as EMU was unable to convert on a fourth-and-13 with 59 seconds left at the EMU 23-yard line.

The Eagles return to Mid-American Conference action Saturday, Oct. 18, versus the University of Akron. Game time set set for 1 p.m. at Rynearson Stadium.

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Team Stats

Andy Schmitt

Tyler Jones

Players Mentioned

Terrence Blevins

Joe Carithers

Dwayne Harrison

Daniel Holtzclaw

Zach Johnson

Josh LeDuc

Dwayne Priest

Andy Schmitt

Jacory Stone

Players Mentioned

Terrence Blevins

Joe Carithers

Dwayne Harrison

Daniel Holtzclaw

Zach Johnson

Josh LeDuc

Dwayne Priest

Andy Schmitt

Jacory Stone

Eastern Michigan Athletics