Army’s Comeback Bid Falls Short at Air Force

USAFA, CO – The Army West Point football team marched down the field in the final moments, but the Falcons got the stop in the red zone to hand Army a 17-13 loss on Saturday at Falcon Stadium.

Jabari Laws got the start at quarterback for Army and threw for 214 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 46 yards and a score. Laws became the first quarterback to throw for 200 or more yards since 2007. Cam Harrison finished with two receptions for 92 yards, including an 87-yard touchdown reception.

Timothy Jackson was the workhorse for the Falcons with 155 yards rushing and a touchdown. In all, the Falcons ran for 330 yards on the ground.

On defense for the Black Knights, Cole Christiansen finished with 16 tackles, while Elijah Riley recorded 11 and had an interception.

Army marched the ball down the field on its first possession with 15 plays, but couldn’t punch it in the end zone on fourth down and the game remained scoreless.

Air Force took the first lead as the Falcons were able to drive the ball down into the red zone but had to settle for a field goal thanks to a touchdown-saving tackle by Christiansen and the Falcons led 3-0 in the second quarter.

The Black Knights answered with an 11-play, 65-yard drive to take a 6-3 lead after Laws scored on 4th-and-goal, but the extra point was no good and the score was 6-3 at the break.

Air Force was able to regain the lead late in the third quarter with a 64-yard scoring drive with Timothy Jackson scoring from three yards out and the Falcons led 10-6.

After a penalty on the kickoff, Laws hit Harrison on an 87-yard touchdown strike to put Army up 13-10. He hit Harrison down the middle of the field and Kjetil Cline made a block down field to spring the receiver for the score.

The Falcons answered on their drive with a Joshua Stoner touchdown run from 5-yards out to make it 17-13. Stoner had a key run on 3rd-and-10 and scampered for 16 yards to put the Falcons to the 10.

Army had a chance to win the game at the end with multiple plays in the red zone, but Air Force held to earn the 17-13 victory.

The Black Knights are back in action Saturday against UMass at Michie Stadium. The game is set for 12 p.m.