Army Continues Hot Start With 23-10 Win Over Miami

WEST POINT – For the first time since 1996, the Army West Point football team has started off its season 4-0 after defeating Miami (OH) by a score of 23-10 on Saturday at Michie Stadium.

With the result, the Black Knights have extended their winning streak at Michie Stadium to 13 games. The contest was highlighted by a career day from QB Christian Anderson who rushed for 236 yards, which stands as the sixth-most all-time in a single game. The feat falls 29 yards short of the Academy’s quarterback rushing record, held by QB Ahmad Bradshaw (265 yds, 2017).

Anderson opened the game attacking the rushing record with a 72-yard touchdown statement on the team’s third snap of the game.

The RedHawks (1-3) got off to a slower start, as the Black Knights’ defensive unit forced the opposing team to punt on their first two possessions. Following an exchange of punts, including Army’s first punt since the third quarter of the season-opener at Georgia State (Sept. 4), the Cadets responded on the following drive by coming up with their fourth takeaway of 2021 on a key CB Cameron Jones interception. Jones’ snare was the third of his career.

Miami (OH) aimed to string a few plays together, but their efforts were slightly stunted by OLB Andre Carter II’s recording his fifth solo sack of the year, to regain position as the nation’s sack leader with 5.5 total sacks in 2021. Despite the sack, the RedHawks put together a 13-play, 69-yard drive that ended in a field goal and trimmed Army’s lead down to 7-3.

Anderson responded immediately by finding a gap on another 70-plus touchdown run, where the career-setting 75-yard rush was his 13th rushing TD as a Black Knight and extended the lead to 14-3.

After an exchange of stalled drives on both sidelines, WR Reikan Donaldson broke up the back-and-forth action with a blocked punt. S Quindrelin Hammonds made the recovery, allowing the Black Knights to take over at Miami’s 14-yard line. Tailing off a goal-line push at the two yard-line, K Cole Talley delivered a 21-yard field goal to push the score to 17-3.

Miami (OH) tried to gain some momentum on its next drive, but the tandem of DL Nolan Cockrill and LB Jaylen Jacobs took the wind out of their sails with another Black Knight sack. For the fourth-straight game, the Black Knights went into the halftime break with the lead.

After punting to open up the second half, the defense stayed strong and came up with a huge stop at fourth-and-one thanks to the duo of S Cedrick Cunningham Jr. and S Marquel Broughton, who stopped an attempted run on the ensuing third down.

Army took over the ball at its own one-yard line and began to charge down the field. The drive was nearly thwarted when the RedHawks came up with a sack, but Anderson broke free from three defenders on the next play to record another explosive play with a 42-yard run near the quarter’s end. At the top of the fourth quarter, the Black Knights picked right back up where they left off when RB Anthony Adkins made a four-yard strike. The touchdown capped off a 99-yard drive for Army that took nearly 11 minutes to complete and moved the advantage to 23-3.

The RedHawks responded by logging their first touchdown of the day on an 80-yard pass down the sideline. With the lead trimmed down to 23-10, the teams traded possessions before Army was able to run the clock down and secure its fourth win of the season.

The Black Knights will leave the friendly confines of Michie Stadium and hit the road for a contest at Ball State on Saturday, Oct. 2. Kick-off against the Cardinals is slated for a 5 p.m. start.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email