Last Second Army FG seals the win, 20-17 over Air Force
During his Weekly Press Conference, Army Head Coach Jeff Monken talked about the importance of Saturday’s contest against Air Force, when he share these thoughts.
“The Commander’s In Chief Trophy is certainly the most covenant and tangible goal we got … just trying to get that trophy and keep it here and it’s a challenge every year,” declared the Army West Point Football Mentor.
Well, not only is Coach Monken correct relative the importance of academy schools playing one another, but you can also say that academy contests are some of the most competitive and exciting in college football.
First Half Army Defense
The Black Knights overall defense was completely on display in the first half, as they basically shut down the Falcons offense. For example, the first four possessions of by the Falcons netted them just four points.
On Air Force’s first possession it was 6 plays for 28 yards and an eventual punt. On their next possession they were able to get 3 points from that 11 play 36 yard drive, which was stalled by the Army defense. On their possession, they were forced to punt and this was followed by a stellar diving interception by safety Casey Larkin on the Falcons next time having the ball … and this went on until the end of the 1st half, as the Falcons missed a closing half field goal attempt.
The Army ‘D’ were truly on display. You had the group upfront, the linebacker corp was in full force mode, especially the inside backer duo of Co-Captains Andon Thomas & Kalib Fortner, then you add in safeties Casey Larkin and Collin Matteson.
By the end of the 1st half, Army went into the locker room with a 10-3, we are sure that Air Force QB Liam Szarka was surprised how active the Army defense was.
First Half Army Offense
Callum Hellums was making his 4th career start for the Black Knights and he showed that when called upon, he can make clutch passed and that’s just what he did in the 1st quarter, whereby he hit slotback Noah Short in the end zone for a 40-yard TD and a 7-3 Army lead.
3rd Quarter
Once again, the Army defense answered the call, as Gavin Shields made a timely interception in the 3rd quarter to shut down an Air Force drive. However, the Falcons got the ball back and went on a 12 play, 65 yard drive, that took 7 minutes off the clock and saw the teams tied at 7-7. But not to be denied, Army Hellums scored on a 9-yard keeper and Army went up 17-10 with 7:00 minutes remaining in the contest. It appeared that the Falcons would answer the call themselves, but Cole Seawright made solid defensive hit, along with recovering the ball and it appeared that the Black Knights had sealed the win.
So on 4th & 3 on their own 28 and 2:22 remaining, Head Coach Jeff Monken decided to go for it and they were stopped short of the first down.
The resilience Air Force offense lead by Szarka, who on 1st & goal put 7 on the board and the game was tied.
With Army starting at their own 25 and 1:26 on the clock, the Black Knights made one of the biggest calls of the games, where Hellums hit WR Brady Anderson that put Army in easy field goal range with .02 remaining on the clock.
That’s where kicker Dawson Jones came to seal the game with a game winning 27 yard field goal and Army pulled off an exciting 20-17 win.
| Air Force | 1st/02:25 | Tubbs,Reagan 52 yd field goal 11 plays, 36 yards, TOP 06:18 | 3 | 0 |
| Army | 1st/00:05 | Short,Noah 40 yd pass from Hellums,Cale (Jones,Dawson kick) 4 plays, 75 yards, TOP 02:20 | 3 | 7 |
| Army | 2nd/00:35 | Jones,Dawson 44 yd field goal 7 plays, 14 yards, TOP 01:48 | 3 | 10 |
| Air Force | 3rd/00:00 | Szarka,Liam 3 yd run (Tubbs,Reagan kick), 12 plays, 65 yards, TOP 07:05 | 10 | 10 |
| Army | 4th/07:00 | Hellums,Cale 10 yd run (Jones,Dawson kick), 13 plays, 75 yards, TOP 08:00 | 10 | 17 |
| Air Force | 4th/01:26 | Szarka,Liam 2 yd run (Tubbs,Reagan kick), 3 plays, 26 yards, TOP 00:53 | 17 | 17 |
| Army | 4th/00:00 | Jones,Dawson 27 yd field goal 8 plays, 65 yards, TOP 01:26 | 17 | 20 |
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | |
| Army | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 20 |
| Air Force | 3 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 17 |
Post-Game (Army-Air Force) with Head Coach Jeff Monken (11/1/25)
Let’s turn the overall game analysis to GoBlackKnights.com Football Analyst, Joe Iacono along with special guest & former team captain/safety, Marquel Broughton
**To chat with other Army fans about this article and more, please visit The 12th Knight message board**
• WATCH the latest videos from GoBlackKnights.com and subscribe to our YouTube channel
