Army and Louisiana Tech to face off in Independence Bowl

At the 2023 Independence Bowl, Texas Tech defeated
California by the score of 34-14.

Story and photo by Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved

SHREVEPORT, LOUISIANA (December 23, 2024) The Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl will feature Army and Louisiana Tech in a Saturday night, December 28 showdown at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. Kickoff is set for 8:15 p.m. C T, with action being broadcast on ESPN and on the American Forces Network.

This game marks Army’s first return to the Independence Bowl since 1996, while Louisiana Tech has the home-field advantage, with Shreveport only a short 69-mile drive from its campus. Army leads the all-time series between these two teams 2-0, with their last matchup in 2013 ending in a 35-16 victory for the Black Knights.

Army (11-2) is aiming to secure one of its best seasons ever. With 12 wins on the line, the Black Knights are motivated to end on a high note. However, they’ll be missing running back Kanye Udoh, who transferred to Arizona State after their recent loss to Navy. The team will need to find someone to step up alongside senior quarterback Bryson Daily.

Head coach Jeff Monken has done a remarkable job leading Army, posting a solid 81-57 record during his tenure. While his name often comes up for other coaching jobs, he remains a strong presence at West Point.

Louisiana Tech (5-7) is making the most of an unexpected chance to play in the Independence Bowl. The Bulldogs weren’t bowl-eligible this year but got the call after Marshall pulled out of the game. For head coach Sonny Cumbie, now in his third season, this game provides valuable extra time to develop his program.

The Bulldogs are coming off a dominant 33-0 win over Kennesaw State and hope to carry that momentum into Saturday. While Louisiana Tech’s rebuilding process has been slow, the team is showing signs of progress after two straight three-win seasons.

Army’s disciplined, run-heavy offense will clash with Louisiana Tech’s eager underdogs. For both teams, this game is about more than just winning. For Army, it’s a chance to make history. For Louisiana Tech, it’s an opportunity to take another step forward.

2017 marks 118th editon of classic football rivalry: Army vs. Navy

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2017 All Rights Reserved

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA (December 9, 2017) Today marks the 118th edition of one of the most classic and historic match-ups in college football; Army vs Navy. The Black Knights (8-3) of Army will be facing the Midshipmen of Navy (6-5) at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. Navy has won the past 14 of the past games, dating back to 2002. Last season, Army broke Navy's 14 years streak, downing the Midshipmen 21-17 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

Navy hold the all-time record; 60-50-7. The 14-year win streak, from 2002 to 2015 is the longest in the series. Navy won the initial game in 1890 by the score of 24-0 at "The Plain" at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. In 1891, Army won their first game 32-16 at Worden Field on the campus of 
the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland.

Navy will be led by quarterback Zach Abey with 1322 yard rushing and 805 yard passing, while Army will counter with quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw. The 5-11, 205-pound senior from Chicago, Illinois  rushed for 1472 yards for the Black Knights. Both teams rely heavily on their ground game, but both teams can also pass if the need arises. Both teams average over 30 points a game (Army: 31.2, Navy: 30.4) with Navy giving up more points per game (29.2 - 21.6).

No matter the outcome today, both team are headed to a bowl game. Navy is headed to the Military Bowl on Thursday, December 28 against Virginia, while Army will face-off against San Diego State on Saturday, December 23 in the Armed Forces Bowl.

Armed Forces Bowl 2010: Army Tops SMU 16-14 in Dallas

(Photo by Darla Tamulitis, La Vita Loco Photography, Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved)

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2010 TexSport Publications

DALLAS, TEXAS (December 30, 2010) With the weather cloudy and the game time temperature in the mid 60s, the Army Black Knights (7-6 Overall, Independent) downed the SMU Mustangs (7-7, 6-2 C-USA) 16-14 in the 2010 Armed Forces Bowl played at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas.

The Black Knights wasted no time getting on the scoreboard early in the first quarter when Chad Littlejohn sacked SMU quarterback Kyle Padron, causing a fumble.

The ball was picked up by linebacker Josh McNary and returned 55 yards for the touchdown.

With Alex Carlton kicking the extra point, Army took the lead 7-0 at the 13:33 mark.

They came back eight minutes later to score their first offensive touchdown on a 13-yard run by running back Malcolm Brown. Carlton’s kick was blocked to take the score to 13-0 in favor of Army.

Army increased their lead to 16-0 late in the second quarter with Carlton’s attempt of a 44-yard field goal was good.

SMU finally found pay dirt at the 2:56 mark in the third quarter. Pardon found wide receiver Aldrick Robinson open over the middle and connected on an eight yard pass for the score.

Matt Szymanski kicked the extra point to cut Army’s lead to nine.

SMU again found the end zone with 9:20 left in the game. Pardon hit Darius Johnson on a 28-yard pass and combined with another Szymanski PAT, cut the score to 16-14.

Szymanski tried to give SMU the lead at the 4:10 mark in the game with a 47-yard field goal attempt. The kick was wide left, giving Army a 1st in 10 on their 30-yard line.

Army spent the last minutes of the game running out the clock to preserve their first bowl victory since 1985.

In that game, the Black Knights defeated Illinois 31-29 in the Peach Bowl.

The Most Valuable Players of the Game were Army linebacker Stephen Anderson and SMU wide receiver Jeremy Johnson.

Anderson had 14 tackles, with 10 of them being solo, combined with Josh McNary for a sack, and tallied one interception.

Johnson caught nine passes for 152 yards and one touchdown, averaging 16.9 yards a catch.

Army had 229 yards of total offense compared to 413 yards for SMU. The difference was in rushing yards, where Army led (199 to 111) and passing yards, where SMU held the advantage (302-30).

The loss was SMU’s first in a bowl game since 1983 when they went down to Alabama 28-7 in the Sun Bowl.

SMU is now 5-7-1 in bowl games, dating back to January 1, 1925 when they lost the Dixie Classic Bowl, 9-7 to West Virginia Wesleyan at Fair Park in Dallas.

The bowl was phased out after the 1934 game, with only three games played (1922, 1925, and 1934) in favor of the Cotton Bowl

With the win, Army goes to 3-2 in bowl games, going back 26 years to their win, 10-6 over Michigan State in the Cherry Bowl in the Pontiac Silverdome.

The bowl was only played for two years (1984 and 1985) due to a lack of financially viability.

Aggies versus Army: Fourth Quarter Report

By Robert H. Kelly

Copyright 2008 TexSport Publications

COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS (September 27, 2008) The Black Knights found the end zone with 8:46 left in the fourth quarter to take the final score to Texas A&M 21 Army 17.

They began their final scoring drive at 14:55 left in the game. Patrick mealy capped off a 10 play, 39-yard scoring drive with a 4-yard rush on third and goal. DeMarco tagged the conversion to close out scoring for the game.

Final score: Texas A&M 21 Army 17.

Aggies versus Army: Third Quarter Report

By Robert H. Kelly
Copyright 2008 TexSport Publications

COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS (September 27, 2008) The Black Knights of Army traded a field goal for touchdown at the Texas A&M Aggies pushed the score and their lead to 21-10 at the end of three quarters.

The Aggies found the end zone again at 13:44 in the quarter when sophomore quarterback Jerrod Johnson completed a pass to McCoy for 11 yards and the touchdown. Bean again concerted the kick to take the score to 21-7 in favor of the Aggies.
Army mounted a drive on the next possession, which entailed 71 yards on 17 plays, but could not find the end zone due to a tenacious Aggie defense, settling for a Matthew Campbell field goal to close out scoring for the quarter.

The Aggies drove 39 yards in 10 plays running 5:28 off the clock to end the quarter.

Aggies versus Army: Halftime Report

By Robert H. Kelly
Copyright 2008 TexSport Publications

COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS (September 27, 2008) The second quarter of the Texas A&M-Army game saw the Aggies explode for two touchdowns and the Black Knights found the end zone on a 9-yard run by Tony Dace.

The Aggies drew first blood in the second quarter on a 42-yard pass from quarterback Stephen McGee to wide receiver Jeff Fuller. The first and ten play from the Army 42-yard line occurred at 7:12 in the quarter. The conversion by Rickie Bean was good to make the score 7-0 in favor of the Aggies.

Army came right back on a 9-yard run by running back Tony Dace at 3:09 in the quarter, who, along with Adam DeMarco’s kick tied the score at 7 all.

In a fluke of all flukes, Army quarterback Chip Bowden rushed for 1-yard on a third and two play and promptly fumbled the ball at the Aggie 36-yard line. It was recovered by Aggie defensive lineman Paul Freeney; and surrounded by a bevy of maroon jerseys, ran 58-yard for the score. Rickie Bean again converted the kick to make the score 14-7 at the half.

Aggies versus Army: First Quarter Update

By Robert H. Kelly
Copyright 2008 TexSport Publications

COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS (September 27, 2008) After a 1st quarter that saw neither team reach the end zone, The Black Knights of Army is showing they intend to avenge their loss to the Texas A&M Aggies from 2 years ago. Virtually leading in every statistic, they were ahead of the Aggies in first downs (3-0), net rushing yards (51-4) total offensive plays (16-9) and total offensive yards (55-20). The Aggies held the edge in net passing yards (24-4).

Neither team can seem to find the offense drive to advance the ball pass the midfield, as the defense shuts down each offensive set of plays before they can get started. The Aggies failed to get any third down conversions, while the Black Knights were able to find success twice on five third-down conversions.

Army Football Travels To Texas A&M

(Photo courtesy of Army Athletic Communications)

WEST POINT, NEW YORK (September 26, 2008) For the first time this season, the Army football team will don the white jerseys.

After opening the season with three home games and a bye week, the Black Knights will play at Texas A&M Saturday afternoon at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas. The game will be carried live by Versus and the Army Radio Network. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:38 ET.

Army, 0-3, is expected to play in front of a large crowd that could top 80,000 as Texas A&M tries to even its mark at 2-2.

The game will mark a homecoming of sorts for the 22 players on the Black Knights roster who hail from the talent-rich state of Texas.

The Black Knights will look to get on track offensively and post their first win of the season following setbacks to Temple, New Hampshire and Akron.

“They are a very good football team,” said Army head coach Stan Brock of Texas A&M. “I know that they lost to Arkansas State and then they lost last week to Miami, but they are a very big, powerful, pro-style team and they love to run the ball with their big fullback. They had a quarterback who started last week for the first time and is very mobile. We’re not sure which quarterback we will see. Defensively, they are very good. They’re big, strong, and fast with good linebackers, and they have really good cover guys. It’ll be a big challenge for us going down there to Kyle Field, but we are getting on the plane for one reason, and that’s to go down there and win.”

The Aggies, under former Green Bay Packers coach Mike Sherman, opened the season with an 18-14 loss to Arkansas State and then beat New Mexico, 28-22. A loss to Miami, 41-23, dropped their mark to 1-2.

“Our number one objective is to win the game,” said Sherman. “We go in expecting to win the football game and are disappointed that we didn’t. I told them that it’s okay to be upset and mad that we didn’t win the game. I want you to be upset that we didn’t win, but you’ve got to flush it out of your system when we come back to work on Tuesday. That’s important. We should expect to win. There’s so many areas that I think we made an improvement on that aren’t actually visible to you all. And there are areas we still have to get better, a lot of areas, that’s evident.”

A look at the matchups:

QUARTERBACKS
Army has utilized three quarterbacks this season, all who have had some success. Junior Carson Williams (6-3, 212) has started all three games. He has completed 19 of 32 passes for 221 yards with a touchdown and pair of interceptions. Sophomore Chip Bowden (6-0, 218) has connected on one pass but has rushed 35 times for 104 yards. Senior Carlo Sandiego (5-6, 176) is a third option and has carried six times in three games.

Texas A&M has not listed a starting quarterback and both Stephen McGee and Jerrod Johnson are expected to play, if healthy. McGee, a 6-3, 207-pound senior, has played in two games and connected on 22 of 32 passes for 190 yards. He has two interceptions. A junior, Johnson (6-5, 229) has played in all three games and completed 29 of 51 passes for 399 yards and six touchdowns.

IN THE BACKFIELD
Army fullback Collin Mooney (5-10, 247) grew up about 90 minutes from College Station and will return to his home state as the team’s leading rusher with 52 carries for 174 yards. Wesley McMahand (5-5, 177) has 64 rushing yards while Tony Dace (5-6, 187) has 40. Robert McClary (5-11, 247), Bryson Carl (6-0, 256), Patrick Mealy (5-8, 203), Justin Turner (5-8, 197) and Jameson Carter (5-11, 187) may also factor into the running games.

Texas A&M counters with a huge fullback of its own in Jorvrskie Lane, a senior who is listed at 6-0, 270. He has rushed seven times for 19 yards. Junior Mike Goodson (6-0, 196) is the team’s leading rusher with 42 carries for 200 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Freshman Cyrus Gray (5-10, 188) is second on the squad with 19 carries for 56 yards.

WIDE RECEIVERS
Carter, a sophomore, tops the Black Knights receiving charts with six catches for 112 yards. Sandiego has four catches for 53 yards while senior Mike Wright (6-2, 218) has three catches for 32 yards. Five others have at least one reception.

Goodson also leads the Aggies in receiving with 12 grabs for 114 yards and two touchdowns. Freshman Jeff Fuller (6-4, 209) has 11 catches for 137 yards and three touchdowns while Ryan Tannehill (6-4, 204) has eight caches for 116 yards.

OFFENSIVE LINE
Brock praised the offensive line for its improvements between weeks two and three and will look for even more production out of the veteran group. Senior Trey Miranne (6-0, 273), is surrounded by senior guards Mike Lemming (6-3, 298) and Brandon Cox (6-3, 294) and junior tackles Jason Johnson (6-2, 260) and Ali Villanueva (6-10, 302).

Texas A&M averages more than 300 pounds across its offensive line, led by junior guard Lee Grimes who is listed at 6-6, 339 pounds. Evan Elke (6-4, 303) is the other guard and they are joined by center Kevin Matthews (6-4, 297) and tackles Travis Schneider (6-8, 290) and Michael Shumard (6-5, 301).

DEFENSIVE LINE
Army is allowing just 140 rushing yards per game and only 169 through the air. End Fritz Bentler (6-3, 235) and Victor Ugenyi (6-3, 253) are joined in the 4-3 defense by tackles Ted Bentler (6-2, 280) and Mike Gann (6-2, 270). Gann has 10 tackles, a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss while Ugenyi has been credited with five stops. Marcus Hilton (6-0, 252), Joe Paolini (6-0, 264), Mark Faldowski (6-3, 235) and David Shore (6-5, 253) could also factor in on the defensive line.

The Aggies are allowing 210 rushing yards per contest and 184 passing yards and also play a 4-3 defense. Seniors Michael Bennett (6-4, 261), Amos Gbunblee (6-5, 250) and Cyril Obiozor (6-4 264) comprise the rotation at end with Lucas Patterson (6-4, 297) and Tony Jerrod-Eddie (6-5, 256) at the tackle spots. Bennnet has a team-best 4.5 tackles for loss and has 18 tackles.

LINEBACKERS
Three of Army’s top-four tacklers are linebackers. Josh McNary (6-1, 231) is the team leader with 25 tackles and three tackles for loss. John Plumstead (5-10, 222) is third with 19 tackles while Frank Scappaticci (6-1, 224) has 17.

Two juniors, Matt Featherston (6-2, 235) and Anthony Lewis (6-2, 254) share the middle linebacker duties and Featherston leads the team with 32 tackles. Garrick Williams (6-2, 217), Jonathan Haynes (6-2, 204), Von Miller (6-3, 214) and Derek Dumas (6-0, 221) are the outside linebackers for the Aggies.

“It is different in the sense that the triple option is not something you’re going to see very often, or ever, throughout the course of the season except for when you play that team,” said Sherman. “During preseason camp we spent a little time working a little period on Army, but it’s nothing like game week and preparation for that. It’s a whole lot different than the read option, so all the nuances that go with the triple option are just specific to that offense. They don’t throw the ball a whole heck of a lot. When they do it’s usually an explosive-type play down the field. So you do have to prepare for them differently, no question.”

SECONDARY
Army’s secondary has two interceptions and has limited opponents’ passing yardage to less than 170 per game. Senior Lowell Garthwaite (6-1, 207) is the second leading tackler with 20 and has two pass breakups and a pair of forced fumbles. Sophomore Donavan Travis (6-1, 187) is the other safety with Jordan Trimble (5-10, 183) and Mario Hill (6-0, 182) at the corners.

The Aggies have five returning starters back in the secondary. Corners Arkeith Brown (6-0, 174), Danny Gorber (6-0, 173) and Jordan Pugh (5-11, 191) all have starting experience and Brown has one of the team’s three interceptions. Alton Dixon (5-11, 197) and Devin Gregg (6-0, 190) are listed as returning starters at “rover” while Jordan Peterson (5-10, 184) is the safety.

SPECIAL TEAMS
Matthew Campbell (5-9, 195) is averaging 53.7 yards per kickoff for the Black Knights while Andrew Rinehart (6-1, 217) averages 37.5 yards per punt. Carter, Sandiego and Mealy have all returned punts or kicks. Sandiego has five punt returns and six kickoff returns while Mealy and Carter have each returned five kicks.

Justin Brantly (6-3, 241) averages 46 yards punt for Texas A&M while Richie Bean (5-11, 172) averages 69.2 yards on kickoffs. Jordan Pugh (5-11, 191) has returned seven punts for 60 yards and Cyrus Gray (5-10, 188) has 10 kick returns for 167 yards.

Army will continue its two-game road trip next weekend at Tulane.