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Army Rolls Arkansas State for Fourth Straight Win, 38-10

West Point, NY - A spirited Army team (4-6) won its fourth straight game of the season to defeat the Arkansas State Indians (5-5), 38-10.  Army RB Carlton Jones rushed for 187 yards and the game's first 2 TDs to spot the Black Knights to a 14-0 lead from which they never looked back.  RB Antonio Warren was ASU's workhorse with 128 rushing yards, but Army's 3-1 advantage in turnovers made a difference. Army looks primed to take on 6-4 Navy in two weeks at Philadelphia in one of the sports world's greatest rivalries, and Collegefootballfan.com is glad to be going to what should be a classic!  The Black Knights are a completely different team from what we saw early in the season against Baylor and Iowa State.  With a busload of friends from North Jersey, CFF tailgated early for the noon time start to record Arkansas State as the 104th team on the way to The Goal!  It was an entertaining game for the many kids that came with us on a beautiful, sunny, fall afternoon in the Hudson Valley. The Corps put on a spirited show, and the adults made the most of tailgating in the parking lot before and after the game.  It was great to be at West Point for our annual Big Tailgate Party!

     Army forced the Indians to punt deep from within their own territory.  A face mask call against the visitors on the punt helped put Army on the ASU 29. Carlton Jones sprinted around left end from the 24-yard line to get the Cadets the early lead, 7-0.  PK Justin Koenig converted the extra point for Army.  DB Randy Chasten intercepted Indian QB Mike Noce's pass on the next series. To this point, the ASU QB was consistently off the mark.  Guest game analyst, Roy McDonald, one of many this day, commented that it looked like the Indians could use another QB. However, Army wasn't able to capitalize.  The ensuing punt was returned for a seemingly long TD by Arkansas State as we watched a large seam right up the middle from our vantage point in the north end zone.  But a flag and an injured Army player lie in the wake, and the play was called back.  Roy mentioned, " No wonder why there was such a big hole!"  Noce's ineptitude continued, but when he finally seemed to connect with his receivers, they consistently dropped his passes.  Army's next possession started in good field position after a short ASU punt and an 8-yard return by Scott Wesley to put them on the Arkansas State 41.  Jones carried several times to get the ball to the four-yard line before he took it in from there to give the Cadets a 14-0 lead before the end of Q1.

     Arkansas State finally put a drive together on its next series starting from their own 17 to get to the Black Knight 16.  PK Eric Niehaus banged the ball off the left upright and angled it through for ASU's first points of the day to trail Army, 14-3.  If Niehaus's kick had missed the upright, the ball was dropping into the CFF seating area.  We sat in rows E and F behind the goal post in the north end zone.  Arkansas State forced Army to punt on its next possession, but James Johnson fumbled the ball away and Army's Nick Lopes recovered to set up Army at the Indians' 37.  Jones carried the ball several times to get to the ASU 15, but from there, Army went through the air as QB Zac Dahman picked up 15 of his 77 passing yards on the day with a 15 -yard scoring strike to WR Corey Anderson.  Army's lead widened to 21-3, and between their ferocity and Arkansas State's ineptitude, they seemed to be in command.  Next time Army had the ball, they started from their own 37.  Jones not only carried for significant yardage on this series, but he added another 26 yards on a reception from Dahman to get to the ASU 21.  From there, RB Scott Wesley did the honors on a sweep to the left which gave Army a 28-3 lead with 2:11 remaining in the first half.  ASU would drive to the Army 24 before the half, but they turned the ball over on downs to trail by the same score when the half ended.

    The CFF contingent was disappointed in the official Army halftime show where young girls danced to tunes played by the Army dance band.  "Where's the marching music?" demanded Amy Koreivo.  We had convinced her earlier to have her picture taken with shirtless, young boys each with letters to spell out "ARMY" on their chests. We had he picture taken with the three without the "R" to spell "AMY." However, Frank Lorito (our Fresno connection) discovered that the phone camera used was already full.  We lost a cherished memory.  The boys started to experiment later and found that they could also spell "MARY", but we didn't have any with us.  The real halftime entertainment started when the kickers from both sides returned to warm up.  Michie Stadium is one of the few that has no nets behind the goal posts, so it's a free-for-all to catch any balls kicked into the stands.  Roy McDonald came up with one that he thought was going out over his head, but he caught it right in his chest.  It was a CFF highlight.

    Army's initial drive in the third period ended with a fumble recovered by ASU on the Army 41.   They took advantage of the lone Army turnover as Antonio Warren scored on a 3-yard run to make the score 28-10.  Army's next two series resulted in quick punts.  GGA Les Di Vite, who moved from the colder, sun-shaded south end zone to seats directly behind the Army bench ( 25,692 in attendance), said around this point, he saw Head Coach Bobby Ross launch into a tirade at his offense as he still wanted them to focus on putting the game away.  Les said it paid off because the next time Army had the ball, they scored.  DB Caleb Campbell started Army in the right direction with an interception return to the Army 31 with minutes left in Q3. 

    Jones added more rushing yards to his total on this drive and Scott Wesley (10 runs for 59 yards and 2 TDs), capped the drive with a 1-yard TD plunge in the fourth period.   At 35-10, Army captured its season high scoring total with the extra point at 35.  They topped the previous mark from last week's 34-27 triumph over UMass.  Arkansas State, desperate for points, fell short on fourth down again and turned the ball over to Army on downs at the Army 49.  Army's second team went to work with Senior QB Connor Crehan and Senior RB Seth Gulsby as the primary runner.  They drove the length of the field for another TD, but Gulsby's four-yard run was nullified by a holding call.  Army settled for Koenig's 21-yard FG to finish the scoring for the game at 38-10 with over seven minutes remaining.  CFF hung around to watch the celebration.  The Army Cadets, dressed in camouflage fatigues, ran on to the field to take down the goal post directly in front of us.  It took a while before they could muster enough weight for the goal to crack before it fell.  "Is it supposed to crack that way?" inquired GGA Roy McDonald.  The fans, the team and the Corps, all waited for the goal post to come crashing down to finish up with the Army Alma Mater.  After that, the sections of goal posts were dispensed of in the lake adjacent to the stadium.  Quite a celebration for a team with only four wins, but  four consecutive is the most for Army since 1996, and the streak has them confident and gearing up for the grand finale against Navy in two weeks.  Arkansas State travels to North Texas next week to finish its season  against its Sun Belt foe and will try to end up with a winning record of 6-5.  Next year, Army will travel to Jonesboro to play Arkansas State on September 2nd in the opener for both teams.

Extra Points:  The tailgating couldn't have been better.  We packed 53 adults and kids on to our Lakeland Bus along with all kinds of coolers and extra clothes.  Our driver Jason, who's a pretty big sports fan himself, got us there in good time and we got a prime spot for tailgating in the big bus lot right outside the gate near the ski slope.  We set up tables and chairs for the array of food and drinks brought. The Bloody Marys were perfect, and everyone who tried the hot-buttered rum loved it except for Kristen Bonnefond, who's a light weight when it comes to cocktail parties any way! The kids had a wide open lot to put together their own football games. Laurie Koreivo, more dedicated to tailgating than to watching football, stayed in the parking lot so we didn't have to put everything away when we went to the game (thanks, Honey).  Jason joined us at the game.  He drove the bus several times this year for the Blair Academy football team.  The weather was clear and sunny in the 40's - perfect football weather.  Most made it into the stadium via the Blue Route bus service and got to see the march-on and and the paratroopers land with the game balls. The bus trip on the way back was an encompassing tour of the campus which many first time visitors were very impressed by.   We sold our only remaining ticket for $5 ($11 value) before entering the stadium.  It was interesting.  It was the first time we saw someone holding up a $5 bill to buy instead of an extra ticket to sell.  I may try that at Connecticut next week (but offer a little more).

     The Army spirit was in positive form.  You can tell the wins have The Corps churned up now in time for Navy.  GGA Greg Walker stated who else can appropriately chant "Fix bayonets!" as they approach the goal line.  As much as Amy Koreivo was disappointed not to have marching music at halftime, GGA Frank Rafferty said that he liked the Army bands.  A former Music Appreciation major at Lebanon Valley College, Frank was probably disappointed that Arkansas State didn't bring their band as well!

    Most of our younger GGAs stood along the end zone wall near the miniature tank Cadets ride on to the field with.  The only times the Kids came into the stands was when the kicking teams set up for extra points and field goals.  They high-fived the Army Mule (several times), talked to the cadets on the tank, and even went to take a closer look at the Army female cheerleaders. Greg Walker even questioned if the girls were actually cadets.  We think that they are, but he was surprised by the pulchritude of our future Army officers if they are.  GGA Megan Ward's son , Colin, met a friend of a friend who attends West Point, and sat among the Cadets in the stands.  She said that that's the closest he'll get to being "in" the Army.   One young fan, Kenny Costa, was told that the Cadets nearby told them that they could run on to the field after the game. but when the Cadets swarmed the goal posts afterwards, Kenny and the others were smart enough to stay out of the way.

    Army-Navy should be a great game this year.  Army's surprising resurgence makes this special.  At 4-6, this is their "bowl" game and a win would mean a great jump-start into 2006.  For Navy, at 6-4 and already bow eligible, a 7-4 mark with a win gives them a shot at a potentially more attractive bowl.  Both defeated Air Force this year by the same identical 27-24 score.  The Commander-in-Chief's Trophy is on the line as if there wasn't enough incentive already.  As hard as they normally play each other every year, there hasn't been this much on the line since 1996 when we saw Army defeat Navy 28-24 in a game decided within the last minute of play.  Army finished that season at 10-2, ranked 25th and went to the Independence Bowl where they lost to Auburn.  Navy finished at 9-3 and conquered Cal in the Aloha Bowl.  The difference between these two teams and their recent predecessors?  Coaching!  Army and Navy, we believe, have two of the best in the right places at the right times, Bobby Ross and Paul Johnson, respectively.

     We look forward to attending more games at West Point next year even if it's not to see new teams to add to Our Goal!  The schedule isn't final yet, but you know where Bobby Ross's recruiting focus will be.  Four foes come from Texas, a hotbed of Army recruiting.  TCU, Texas A&M, and Rice will all visit the Hudson Valley.  The Black Knights reciprocate Baylor's visit this year.  ASU is a road game, Air Force comes east , and Navy is in Philly again.  When the Cadets are competitive, Michie Stadium is a happening place to be!