Army West Point Athletics
Saturday, October 10
Mansfield, Pa.
7:30 PM
Army West Point
at
Mansfield
Sprint Football Travels to Mansfield on Saturday
October 09, 2015 | Sprint Football
WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point sprint football team is halfway through its four-game road trip that continues when the Black Knights travel to Karl Van Norman Field in Mansfield, Pa., for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff on Saturday.
The game was originally scheduled for 1 p.m., but Mansfield's third-annual Light Up Mansfield Again (LUMA) game pushed the start time back. The game is being produced by SportsFever TV and broadcast on ESPN3.
The Black Knights hold a 6-0 record against Mansfield in the series that started in 2009. Last season, Army topped the Mountaineers 48-32 at Shea Stadium.
Army comes into the game with a 3-0 record after defeating Post at home, while taking down Princeton and Cornell on the road. The Black Knights have yet to allow a point this year defensively and will look to continue that trend this weekend.
"I think defensively we've been awfully tough, given we haven't allowed a point all year," said head coach Mark West. "That's like icing on the cake when you don't let the other team score. Our defense had some question marks coming into this season because we've got some new personnel, but they have really gelled well together. We've got a lot of team speed on that side of the ball this year."
That effort starts with senior outside linebacker Ryan Gallagher. A constant for the defensive unit, Gallagher has been a starter since his sophomore year and was voted the defensive team captain by his teammates. A pair of former Division-I athletes in the secondary has certainly paid off this season as well with the return of safety Jack Barnett and the addition of cornerback Shaq Tolbert. Barnett started for the sprint football team his first two years before walking on to the Division-I team as a scout team player. Tolbert started all 12 games for the D-I team in 2013 as a sophomore.
A balanced attack has led the Black Knights' offense into the end zone in each quarter of play thus far this season. Quarterback Brady Miller has taken hold of the reins and done a fine job of leading the unit. If not for the program that lists him as a freshman on the roster, you would not have guessed that he has only two career starts under his belt.
"I think by being more balanced, it take some pressure off of the quarterback. With Brady, we're not asking him to be Tom Brady or Peyton Manning. We just want him to go out there and execute our offense the best he can, and he's been having a good year for us so far. We're pretty well balanced offensively. In years' past we may have relied on the quarterback more, but this year we've really tried to improve our running game, and we have. We have some great running backs and an experienced offensive line that has three seniors and a junior."
In addition to junior Marqus Burrell being a workhorse in the backfield averaging more than 80 yards per game, Miller has a plethora of targets to choose from in the passing game. 13 different receivers have caught passes this year, led by sophomore Ty Galyean, junior Austin Breed and senior Kevin O'Brien. Galyean leads the team with 129 receiving yards while Breed and O'Brien both have a team-high seven receptions. Breed tops the receiving corps when it comes to scoring after finding the end zone twice last game against Cornell, and O'Brien is the only one who has caught a pass in every game this season.
"In our offense, we call them the C.A.T.T.s (Catch All That's Thrown)," said West, in reference to his wide receivers. "We've got 12 total receivers on the team, and we feel just as comfortable with our third-string receivers as we do our first-stringers. They all work extremely hard at getting better every day not only at catching the ball but also blocking. You have to be able to block on the perimeter in order to have success running the ball. They take a lot of pride in what they do, and it's a really fun, tight-knit group to be around."
Mansfield comes into the game with a 1-2 record after a 22-6 win last week at Chestnut Hill behind a record-breaking performance from freshman running back Aren Harris. Harris broke the program records for carries (44) and rushing yards (153) while also finding the end zone twice.
"They've got the momentum after last week's win," said West. "While they may have gotten off to a slow start, teams in this league can improve exponentially over the course of the season because our preseason is so short. We know they're an improving football team, and this going to be a big event for them playing under the lights. They're going to be pumped up. They've got a really strong, fast running back who is coming off a career-game, and their defense flies around to the football. When they see Army on the schedule, we know they are going to put their best foot forward."
HOW TO FOLLOW:
Watch ESPN3
ESPN College Extra (Live TV available to AT&T Uverse, DirecTV, Bright House Networks, Cox, Time Warner Cable, Verizon FiOS and select NCTC subscribers)
WYOU 22 (channel 22 over-the-air, Comcast 2/HD802, Service Electric 12/HD 512, Blue Ridge 2/HD602Adams 3/HD501, DirecTV 22, Dish Network 22) in Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Stroudsburg, Williamsport and Pottsville, Pa.
WHP 21.2 (channel 21.1 over-the-air, Comcast 19, Armstrong 15, Blue Ridge 133, Nittany 99, Verizon 21, DirecTV 22) in Harrisburg, Lancaster, York, Carlisle and Lebanon, Pa.
WPHL 17.4 (channel 17.4 over-the-air, Comcast 253, Verizon 468) in Philadelphia and Lehigh Valley, Pa. and South Jersey
WETM 18.2 (channel 18.2 over-the-air, Time Warner 11, Blue Ridge 8, Haefele 204) in Elmira, N.Y. and Mansfield, Pa.
WJAC 6.2 (channel 6.2 over-the-air, Comcast 110-187-202-248, Armstrong 410, Atlantic Broadband 110, Windstream 16, Laurel Highland 15) in Johnstown, Altoona and State College, Pa.
BLUE RIDGE CABLE NETWORK (BRC 113, BRC 11, BRC 13) in Poconos, Eastern and Northern Pa.
ROOT SPORTS (Comcast, Time Warner, Armstrong, Atlantic Broadband and other cable systems, Dish Network 428 & DirecTV659) in Pa., Ohio, N.Y., W.Va. and Md. with a replay being aired on Wed., Nov. 11, at 7 p.m.
For up-to-date information on Army sprint football go to www.goarmywestpoint.com or follow @ArmyWP_SprintFB on Twitter.
The game was originally scheduled for 1 p.m., but Mansfield's third-annual Light Up Mansfield Again (LUMA) game pushed the start time back. The game is being produced by SportsFever TV and broadcast on ESPN3.
The Black Knights hold a 6-0 record against Mansfield in the series that started in 2009. Last season, Army topped the Mountaineers 48-32 at Shea Stadium.
Army comes into the game with a 3-0 record after defeating Post at home, while taking down Princeton and Cornell on the road. The Black Knights have yet to allow a point this year defensively and will look to continue that trend this weekend.
"I think defensively we've been awfully tough, given we haven't allowed a point all year," said head coach Mark West. "That's like icing on the cake when you don't let the other team score. Our defense had some question marks coming into this season because we've got some new personnel, but they have really gelled well together. We've got a lot of team speed on that side of the ball this year."
That effort starts with senior outside linebacker Ryan Gallagher. A constant for the defensive unit, Gallagher has been a starter since his sophomore year and was voted the defensive team captain by his teammates. A pair of former Division-I athletes in the secondary has certainly paid off this season as well with the return of safety Jack Barnett and the addition of cornerback Shaq Tolbert. Barnett started for the sprint football team his first two years before walking on to the Division-I team as a scout team player. Tolbert started all 12 games for the D-I team in 2013 as a sophomore.
A balanced attack has led the Black Knights' offense into the end zone in each quarter of play thus far this season. Quarterback Brady Miller has taken hold of the reins and done a fine job of leading the unit. If not for the program that lists him as a freshman on the roster, you would not have guessed that he has only two career starts under his belt.
"I think by being more balanced, it take some pressure off of the quarterback. With Brady, we're not asking him to be Tom Brady or Peyton Manning. We just want him to go out there and execute our offense the best he can, and he's been having a good year for us so far. We're pretty well balanced offensively. In years' past we may have relied on the quarterback more, but this year we've really tried to improve our running game, and we have. We have some great running backs and an experienced offensive line that has three seniors and a junior."
In addition to junior Marqus Burrell being a workhorse in the backfield averaging more than 80 yards per game, Miller has a plethora of targets to choose from in the passing game. 13 different receivers have caught passes this year, led by sophomore Ty Galyean, junior Austin Breed and senior Kevin O'Brien. Galyean leads the team with 129 receiving yards while Breed and O'Brien both have a team-high seven receptions. Breed tops the receiving corps when it comes to scoring after finding the end zone twice last game against Cornell, and O'Brien is the only one who has caught a pass in every game this season.
"In our offense, we call them the C.A.T.T.s (Catch All That's Thrown)," said West, in reference to his wide receivers. "We've got 12 total receivers on the team, and we feel just as comfortable with our third-string receivers as we do our first-stringers. They all work extremely hard at getting better every day not only at catching the ball but also blocking. You have to be able to block on the perimeter in order to have success running the ball. They take a lot of pride in what they do, and it's a really fun, tight-knit group to be around."
Mansfield comes into the game with a 1-2 record after a 22-6 win last week at Chestnut Hill behind a record-breaking performance from freshman running back Aren Harris. Harris broke the program records for carries (44) and rushing yards (153) while also finding the end zone twice.
"They've got the momentum after last week's win," said West. "While they may have gotten off to a slow start, teams in this league can improve exponentially over the course of the season because our preseason is so short. We know they're an improving football team, and this going to be a big event for them playing under the lights. They're going to be pumped up. They've got a really strong, fast running back who is coming off a career-game, and their defense flies around to the football. When they see Army on the schedule, we know they are going to put their best foot forward."
HOW TO FOLLOW:
Watch ESPN3
ESPN College Extra (Live TV available to AT&T Uverse, DirecTV, Bright House Networks, Cox, Time Warner Cable, Verizon FiOS and select NCTC subscribers)
WYOU 22 (channel 22 over-the-air, Comcast 2/HD802, Service Electric 12/HD 512, Blue Ridge 2/HD602Adams 3/HD501, DirecTV 22, Dish Network 22) in Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Stroudsburg, Williamsport and Pottsville, Pa.
WHP 21.2 (channel 21.1 over-the-air, Comcast 19, Armstrong 15, Blue Ridge 133, Nittany 99, Verizon 21, DirecTV 22) in Harrisburg, Lancaster, York, Carlisle and Lebanon, Pa.
WPHL 17.4 (channel 17.4 over-the-air, Comcast 253, Verizon 468) in Philadelphia and Lehigh Valley, Pa. and South Jersey
WETM 18.2 (channel 18.2 over-the-air, Time Warner 11, Blue Ridge 8, Haefele 204) in Elmira, N.Y. and Mansfield, Pa.
WJAC 6.2 (channel 6.2 over-the-air, Comcast 110-187-202-248, Armstrong 410, Atlantic Broadband 110, Windstream 16, Laurel Highland 15) in Johnstown, Altoona and State College, Pa.
BLUE RIDGE CABLE NETWORK (BRC 113, BRC 11, BRC 13) in Poconos, Eastern and Northern Pa.
ROOT SPORTS (Comcast, Time Warner, Armstrong, Atlantic Broadband and other cable systems, Dish Network 428 & DirecTV659) in Pa., Ohio, N.Y., W.Va. and Md. with a replay being aired on Wed., Nov. 11, at 7 p.m.
For up-to-date information on Army sprint football go to www.goarmywestpoint.com or follow @ArmyWP_SprintFB on Twitter.
Players Mentioned
DB
/ Sprint Football
WR
/ Sprint Football
RB
/ Sprint Football
LB
/ Sprint Football
WR
/ Sprint Football
QB
/ Sprint Football
WR
/ Sprint Football
DB
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