Army Becomes Bowl Eligible with Victory over Bucknell

Saturday, November 13

West Point, N.Y.

12:00 p.m. ET

Army West Point

6-3

Bucknell

1-9 , 0-5

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Bucknell

Army West Point

Army Becomes Bowl Eligible with Victory over Bucknell

November 13, 2021 | Football

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – For the fifth time in six years, the Army West Point football team is Bowl Game eligible thanks to its 63-10 win against Bucknell on Saturday afternoon at Michie Stadium.

To go along with the excitement of becoming Bowl-eligible in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2017-18, the team surpassed the 50-point mark for the third time in 2021. The Black Knights (6-3) used 486 yards of total offense to achieve the feat and had nine different players reach the end zone in a game that saw both teams battle a flurry of rain, wind and hail.

The Cadets got to work quickly with a 21-0 lead by the end of the first quarter. QB Christian Anderson, RB JaKobi Buchanan and QB Tyhier Tyler all found the end zone, helping the team put up its highest first-quarter points this season. Along with the team's success on the offensive side of the ball, Army received defensive support early on from OLB Andre Carter II, who grabbed his first interception of the year on Bucknell's (1-9, 0-5 PL) opening drive before recording an 11-yard sack.

Army's offensive success followed it into the next stanza, as the Black Knights scored on all three of their drives in the second quarter. Both RB Anthony Adkins and RB Tyson Riley extended the team's lead with rushing touchdowns before RB Ay'Jaun Marshall ended the opening half in exciting fashion by recording his first career strike. The sophomore caught a 22-yard pass from QB Jabari Laws to secure a 42-0 lead before the halftime break for the second time this season, joining the effort against UConn (Sept. 18).

Though the weather held up for the start of the action, a storm moved in quickly during the halftime break and caused the game to enter a lightning delay. After an hour pause, the teams were able to take the field once again and resume the outing.

On the first drive of the second half, QB Cade Ballard orchestrated a 15-play, 80-yard drive that ate up more than half of the third quarter and finished with RB Markens Pierre's first career touchdown. His four-yard run extended the team's lead to 49-0 and was Army's only score of the third quarter, as the Cadets, worn down by heavy winds and rain, lost a bit of their energy.

In response to the dip, Bucknell took advantage of the window by ending the shutout. The Bison needed just five plays to spring one of their own free and used a 19-yard run to reach the end zone, trimming the Black Knights' lead down to 49-7. The momentum followed the visitors into the following drive, as a fumble allowed them to take over the ball at the 10-yard line. Army's defense came together and prevented a trip to the end zone, but the Bison were still able to come away with a field goal that cut the score down to 49-10.

After a few shaky plays, the Black Knights went on to dominate the fourth quarter and tacked on an additional two touchdowns, thanks to RB Shacori Williams and QB Jemel Jones. Both Williams, who recorded his first career strike, and Jones ran the ball in to push the team over 60 points for the first time since a 2019 victory over UMass (63-7; Nov. 9). On the other side of the ball, the defense limited Bucknell to just three total yards before OLB Cole Mabry ended the game with a 10-yard sack.

With the win in the books, Army will now await its postseason pairing in one of the ESPN Events Bowl Games having won three of its past four appearances.

QUOTABLE

Head Coach Jeff Monken
(On the team's performance)
"We were glad to get a victory. It was a beautiful day to start off the afternoon and I can't believe what it turned into with the bad weather rolling in. Building that big lead in the first half it gave us some breathing room to get some of our other guys in that don't typically get a lot of time into the game. There were some things in the first half that I thought we could have done better, and we talked about that at halftime. We have some things to work on, but college football games are hard to win and I'm glad we were able to win that one and get bowl eligible and have the opportunity to play in the post-season."

RB Markens Pierre
(On the opportunities for more players to see playing time)
"All the guys did a great job in practice throughout the week and we did a great job of executing the plays when it was our time to go in. It was easy once we got in because the offensive line played so well and got all the blocking schemes down which allowed the slots to get in there [the gaps] and make plays."

OLB Andre Carter
(On his performance in the first half)
"It was a great first half, all three phases (offense, defense, special teams) were all able to have success which allowed us to get the job done."

RB Wilson Catoe
(On the team's mindset heading into the game)
"Every game we come in trying not to take it for granted. We always come in with the mindset that we are going to execute and get the job done. I feel like a lot of guys locked in today. There were not a lot mental errors or mistakes because everyone was executing at a high level. We're happy with the win, we're happy to be bowl eligible but now we're going to keep working for next week."

OLB Malkelm Morrison
(On his mindset for the game)
"Every game we come in with the same mindset that we have to focus on doing our job because if you don't a lot of things won't go your way. After being on the road for two weeks it was great to come play in front of our home fans and that's one of the biggest things we try to do is to win at home and be successful at home."

RB Ay'Jaun Marshall
(On the whole team's contribution today)
"I think it just adds to the culture of the team and having that next-man-up mentality. The first-teamers definitely went out and did their part, and the second-teamers didn't want to take their foot off the gas. We don't want there to be a drop off from our first to our second team and we just want to have a standard overall whether you are on the first second or third team. The goal is always to live up to that standard preform and execute to that standard."

WHAT'S NEXT
The Black Knights will remain at Michie Stadium for a contest against fellow FBS Independent school UMass on Saturday, Nov. 20. Kick-off is scheduled for 12 p.m. and the game will be carried on CBS Sports Network. Prior to the start of the contest, Head Coach Jeff Monken and his staff will honor the Class of 2022 as part of the team's senior day festivities.

FOLLOW ALONG
For complete coverage of Army West Point football, follow the Black Knights on Twitter and Instagram at @ArmyWP_Football and online at www.goarmywestpoint.com.