Football Stumbles at Home to UMass

Saturday, October 28

West Point, NY

12:00 PM

Army West Point

2-6 , 0-0

UMass

2-7 , 0-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Massachusetts

Army West Point

Football Stumbles at Home to UMass

October 28, 2023 | Football

Box Score Photo Gallery

WEST POINT, N.Y. -- The Army West Point football team (2-6) fell to the Massachusetts Minutemen (2-7) by a score of 21-14 on a sunny, warm fall day at Michie Stadium.

UMass was led by RB Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams, who finished a career-best 234 yards on the ground to lead the Minutemen to the victory.

On the games-opening drive, the Minutemen drove down for a nine-play, 75-yard drive capped by a 34-yard touchdown run from Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams to take a 6-0 lead with a missed PAT by K Cameron Carson.

Freshman QB Champ Harris started his second consecutive game and came out firing on the first play, connecting on a deep post route to fellow freshman WR Tobi Olawole for a gain of 43 yards, the longest for both of their young careers. The drive would stall, and K Quinn Maretzki missed a field goal attempt from 49 yards out.

On the second drive for UMass, Lynch-Adams continued his strong running with a gain of 33, followed by his second touchdown of the game, a nine-yard run with 3:30 left in the first quarter as the Minutemen took a 13-0 lead. Lynch-Adams toppled 100 yards rushing in the first quarter.

QB Bryson Daily entered the ballgame for Army on its third drive of the game. Daily, who missed last week's game at LSU, left the game with an injury back on Oct. 14 vs. Troy.

Daily immediately drove Army down the field as part of a 17-play, 76-yard drive as the junior signal caller punched in a two-yard touchdown on the ground for his fourth rushing touchdown of the season. Daily ran three times total on the drive for 17 yards as the extra point from Quinn Maretzki made it a 13-7 game with 2:27 to play in the second quarter.

The Army defense held to end the half, forcing a lengthy 53-yard field goal attempt in the closing seconds which was missed short.

Lynch-Adams would score his third touchdown of the game in the third quarter, a three-yard run as the Minutemen extended its lead. UMass would go for a two-point conversion and get it on a pass from QB Taisun Phommachanh to George Johnson to push the lead to 14 points, 21-7.

Later in the third, Army RB Tyrell Robinson broke free on a 25-yard rush, his longest of the season. Daily then connected with WR Casey Reynolds on a 20-yard pickup, with Reynolds making a spectacular catch along the sideline. Looking to score from the UMass seven-yardline, the Black Knights went for it on fourth and two, as Daily was intercepted by UMass' Juan Lua on an intended pass to TE Tyson Riley in the endzone to prevent the scoring chance.

In the fourth, Daily was intercepted again on a deep pass towards the endzone by UMass' DB Jeremiah McGill.

Army's defense was able to hold and force a punt, getting the ball back down 14 with 6:31 to play. Back into the game at quarterback, Harris rolled out right and scampered for a 36-yard touchdown run, the first of his career. Maretzki's PAT made it 21-14 with 4:55 left to play.

Continuing his standout game, Lynch-Adams was able to pick up a pair of first down on the ensuing drive for the Minutemen, bleeding the clock down to just eight seconds by the time UMass punted the ball back to Army.

The Black Knights were able to lateral multiple times on the final play, picking up 38 yards before losing the ball at the UMass 46-yard line which ended the game.

GAME NOTES:

Carrying the Flag: OL Lucas Scott led the team out with the Black Flag.

DIVISION OF THE GAME: Army honored the 7th Infantry Division with a logo decal on the players helmet and coaches' headsets. The 7th Infantry Division is an active-duty infantry division of the United States Army based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord charged with sustaining the combat readiness of two Stryker brigade combat teams (BCT), a combat aviation brigade, and a Division Artillery Unit, as well as participating in several yearly partnered exercises and operations in support of U.S. Army Pacific and the Indo-Pacific region. The 7th Infantry Division is the only active-duty multi-component division headquarters in the Army.

• Today was Army's first-ever loss to UMass. Army is now 5-1 all-time vs. UMass.

• Army drops to 4-1 all-time vs. UMass at Michie Stadium.

• Freshman QB Champ Harris scored his first touchdown, on a 36-yard scramble to bring Army within one score in the fourth quarter, 21-14.

• Freshman RB Kayne Udoh rushed for a team-high 76 yards on 15 attempts (5.1 avg.).

• Freshman WR Tobi Olawole snagged two receptions for 57 yards.

• DB Jabari Moore pass break up in first quarter. He has now played in 54 career games, which is now tied with Greg McGlasker's (1973-1977) mark for most career games played in Army history, with accurate data going back to the 1956 season.

• Next week begins Army's quest to recapture the Commanders-in-Chief's Trophy when traveling to Denver, Colo. to play rival #22 Air Force at Empower Field at Mile High (Sat, Nov. 4 at 2:30pm).