Army Downs UMass to Close Out Michie Stadium in Winning Fashion

Saturday, November 20

West Point, N.Y.

12:00 p.m. ET

Army West Point

7-3

UMass

1-10

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

UMass

Army West Point

Army Downs UMass to Close Out Michie Stadium in Winning Fashion

November 20, 2021 | Football

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army Black Knights closed out the home portion of its 2021 slate with a 33-17 senior day victory over UMass at Michie Stadium.

A 14-point effort in the fourth quarter helped the Black Knights (7-3) put away the game against the Minutemen (1-10), who trailed Army by as little as two with less than 14 minutes to go. Outside linebacker Andre Carter II also highlighted the contest by breaking the program's 12-year-old season sack record when he reached 13.5 on the year, besting defensive end Josh McNary's previous mark of 12.5 (2009).

Both running back JaKobi Buchanan and quarterback Tyhier Tyler helped boost the Cadets to the win with Buchanan recording 49 of his 75 yards on a scoring drive that finished with a dive over UMass' defensive line to put the home team on top at 26-17. An interception by safety Cedrick Cunningham Jr. then facilitated a drive that saw Tyler put the game out of reach with a 25-yard touchdown run that pushed the team to its final margin of victory.

The Minutemen were the first to strike in the fourth-ever meeting between the two teams, using a recovered fumble to get into scoring position. Though Army's defense prevented them from reaching the end zone, the visitors came away with a 45-yard field goal that put them up 3-0, marking the Cadets' first time allowing an opposing team to score in the opening quarter since a game against Wake Forest (Oct. 23).

Army was quick to respond to the early push, as running back Tyrell Robinson made a career-long, 87-yard touchdown run on the second snap of the following drive. Running back Cade Barnard then found tight end Josh Lingenfelter with a floater to complete the two-point conversion, giving Army its first lead of the day at 8-3.

The teams traded touchdowns at the start of the second quarter, which began with a three-yard dive from running back Wilson Catoe. Once again, the Black Knights secured the two-point conversion when quarterback Christian Anderson connected a pass with tight end Chris Cameron. UMass' strike was recorded with a five-yard toss after a 38-yard pass put them in the red zone, cutting the Black Knights down to a one-possession lead at 16-10.

A stalled-out Cadet drive allowed the Minutemen to get the ball back quickly, but their chance was killed when Carter came up with his record-breaking sack and a forced fumble, which was recovered by Nolan Cockrill. The play allowed the team to finish the half with a 33-yard field goal from kicker Cole Talley that extended the home team's advantage to 19-10 before the clock wound down.

The game slowed down dramatically after the trip to the locker room, as just 102 yards of total offense were recorded in the scoreless third quarter. In the fourth quarter, Army scored 14 unanswered points in the last stanza to earn the victory.

With the result, the Black Knights secured their sixth-straight season with a winning record at Michie Stadium. Over that stretch, Army has earned a 32-5 advantage over visiting teams, highlighted by three undefeated campaigns.

Additionally, the victory puts head coach Jeff Monken (56-42) just two wins away from tying Charles Daly (58-13-3; 1913-16, 1919-22) as the second-winningest coach in Army Football history. Earl "Red" Blaik (1941-58) owns the record with a career mark of 121-33-10.

QUOTABLE

Head Coach Jeff Monken
(On the victory on Senior Day)
"I'm proud of our seniors and happy to get a win on senior day. They've sure meant a lot to our program over the last four years and I was really happy to get a victory for them. It was a hard-fought victory. There were a lot of things that we talked about after the first half that we tried to correct at halftime. Then we came out in the second half and made some mistakes we didn't make in the first half. It's hard to win a football game and we are happy that we won but here is a lot we need to improve on.

(On OLB Andre Carter's record-setting performance)
"I'm happy for Andre Carter for setting the new record for sacks in a season at Army – a record that has been around for a good while. He's a good player and I was happy to see him make some big plays this afternoon. He came up with some turnovers that were big for us and that led to a field goal at the end of the half that ended up being an important score."

RB Tyrell Robinson
(On establishing out in the perimeter)
"It's exciting to get in the end zone ands celebrate with my teammates. They were just as excited as I was which made it an even better feeling. It was great to put together everything we've been practicing and see it on the field today."

S Cedrick Cunningham
(On getting the victory in his last home game and the improvement of the defense overall)
"It feels great any time we can pull out a win. To help send my classmates out on a high note felt great. We've come a long way and we were able to respond to some adversity and I'm excited about the rest of the season and looking forward to what we bring to the table moving forward."

RB Jakobi Buchanan
(On the running game picking up in the fourth quarter)
"The O-Line just did an incredible job of opening up the holes. If you watch the film, anyone could run through the holes they were opening up. It was wide open and they were getting great movement off the line of scrimmage which made it easy for me to follow their blocks and pick up yards."

OLB Andre Carter
(On breaking the single-season sack record at Army)
"It was a good feeling be able to celebrate with my teammates. It's just an all-around good feeling especially since it happened in a win."

RB Cade Barnard
(Getting a hard-fought win on Senior Day)
"It's surreal. We've put in a lot of work here. Coming up the stadium everyday to work out or lift or watch film, whatever it is; we've put in a lot of work up here and its awesome to get a win in our last game here and its just great to see everything that we've put together and worked for come together and it was great to get the win. The season isn't over and we have some work left to do, but it was a great day and it was nice to get the win."

WHAT'S NEXT
Army will hit the road for a game against FBS Independent foe Liberty on Saturday, Nov. 27 in in Lynchburg, Va. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. and the game will be carried on ESPN+. The team's penultimate contest will serve as a precursor to the Army-Navy game, presented by USAA, which is scheduled for Dec. 11 at MetLife Stadium.

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.