Sprint Football Coasts Past Mansfield

Saturday, October 10

Mansfield, Pa.

7:30 PM

Army West Point

4-0 , 4-0

Mansfield

1-3 , 0-3

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Army West Point	14	7	0	21	42
Mansfield	0	0	0	0	0

Sprint Football Coasts Past Mansfield

October 10, 2015 | Sprint Football

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – With the spotlight from ESPN3 shining brightly, the Army West Point sprint football team showed that it is a force to be reckoned with this season after posting a 42-0 shutout-victory over Mansfield on the road on Saturday night.

The shutout is the fourth of the season for the Black Knights (4-0, 4-0 CSFL), rivaling only the 1958 team for best start in program history. These two marks are also matched by the 1965 team, who ended its season with four consecutive goose eggs.

Army's defense overpowered the Mountaineers (1-3, 1-3 CSFL) at Karl Van Norman Field, allowing just 99 yards of total offense. Mansfield gained negative 13 yards on 40 rushing attempts and completed only 40 percent of its passes with its three quarterbacks. They were pressured all night long as the Black Knights recorded 11 sacks for 73 yards to go along with the six turnovers that were forced. Additionally, the Black Knights did not allow a rushing play of 10 or more yards after a historical performance on the ground from Mansfield the week before.

"Defensively, we played lights out," said head coach Mark West. "We were able to generate some points from our defense with a scoop and score and a pick six. They made a few plays on us, but we didn't break. One of the things we try to do every week as a defense is shut down the other team's running game and make them one dimensional. You want to force them out of their comfort zone, and with Mansfield coming off the career rushing week last week, we wanted to take that away and force them to beat us through the air."

That defensive effort was led by a multitude of players. Sophomore defensive lineman Curtis Jerzerick led the team with 11 tackles and nine solo tackles while also recording three sacks and returning a fumble recovery 61 yards for a touchdown. Senior defensive lineman Philip Choi recorded seven solo tackles with a team-high five sacks for a total of 34 yards. Choi also forced the fumble that allowed Jerzerick to break the game open in the fourth quarter. Sophomore linebacker Jake Marchillo recorded a sack and returned an interception 24-yards for a touckdown while senior defensive back Alfred McQuirter returned his interception 46-yards for a score. Additionally, sophomore defensive back Tanner Andrews notched his second game of the season recording two interceptions and a fumble recovery like he did against Post in the season-opener.

The Black Knights stormed out to a 7-0 lead after a four-yard pass from freshman quarterback Brady Miller was hauled in by junior running back Marqus Burrell 4:11 into the contest. Burrell would add a rushing touchdown later in the quarter, also from four yards out, to double the margin after Andrews snagged his third interception of the season.

That type of balance in the Army offense can not only been seen in the play calling differentiating between runs and passes, but also on who the target will be through the air. Eight different receivers recorded receptions on the night, led by senior wide receiver Kevin O'Brien and junior wide receiver Austin Breed with five receptions each, and that's exactly how West likes to run things.

"We are not one dimensional when it comes to offense. That's not who we are. We take what the defense gives us, and if there's one receiver open on one play then we'll hit him. If another receiver is open on another play, we'll hit him. We are not locked into going to one receiver all the time, and, hopefully, that is an advantage we can have over other teams."

Less than a minute before halftime, Miller tossed a ten-yard touchdown pass to Breed for his second touchdown through the air on the night McQuirter's interception set up the drive. Army took a 21-0 advantage into the locker room.

Mansfield came out of the intermission with a reenergized look and did something no other team has been able to do thus far in 2015; prevent the Black Knights from scoring a touchdown for a full quarter, breaking a streak of 14-consecutive quarters. Army was determined to find the end zone in the final frame, however, and did so multiple times.

Jerzerick scored less than a minute into the fourth quarter with his 61-yard fumble recovery, followed by a 14-yard scamper by sophomore running back Quay Gilmore with 3:02 left in the game increased the lead to 35-0. Marchillo recorded the team's fourth interception of the night to cap the scoring a minute later.

The Black Knights will conclude the road portion of the schedule next week as they travel to Rindge, N.H. on Sat., Oct. 17, for a 1 p.m. kickoff against Franklin Pierce.

For up-to-date information on Army sprint football go to www.goarmywestpoint.com or follow @ArmyWP_SprintFB on Twitter.