Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
Air Force
Men's Rugby Defeats Air Force
November 01, 2024 | Men's Rugby
WEST POINT, N.Y. - The Army West Point Men's Rugby team (7-1) secured a commanding victory over Air Force (3-4) with a final score of 43-20.
Noah Sanchez led the Black Knights, scoring three tries—the first of his A-side career. John Hartford also contributed, scoring his first career A-side try.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Army received the ball at kickoff and quickly advanced, breaking through Air Force's defense. In just four and a half minutes, Sanchez crossed into the try zone for his first try of the season, with Howie Heller converting to give Army an early 7-0 lead.
After regaining possession, the Black Knights advanced swiftly back toward the try zone. A 50-yard run from Heller set them up in scoring territory again. With strong team support, Jacob Bottarini powered over the line five minutes later for his third try of the season, extending Army's lead to 12-0.
Just minutes later, the Black Knights scored again without allowing Air Force to regain possession. Sanchez crossed the try zone in the 15th minute, with Heller's conversion bringing the lead to 19-0.
Air Force managed to gain possession and scored their first try in the 20th minute, narrowing the deficit to 19-5. A back-and-forth period followed, with both teams trading possession but unable to advance significantly.
In the 27th minute, Army threatened the try zone again. Despite a few attempts held off by Air Force's defense, Dylan Liskey broke through in the 30th minute, pushing the score to 24-5.
A penalty against Army in the 33rd minute allowed Air Force to successfully kick a penalty goal, trimming the score to 24-8. Army maintained possession for most of the half but couldn't break through until the final minute when Heller broke free and scored, sending the Black Knights into halftime with a comfortable 29-8 lead.
Army kept the momentum into the second half. Just two minutes in, Hartford broke through for his first try of the season, with Heller converting to increase the lead to 36-8.
Five minutes later, Sanchez completed an impressive run, dodging Air Force defenders to score his third try. Heller's successful conversion brought the final score to 43-8.
Though Air Force controlled possession for parts of the remaining match, Army's defense held strong, preventing any further scoring until the final few minutes of the game. Air Force scored back to back tries cutting their deficit.
However, time ran out for Air Force and the Black Knights secured the service academy victory at 43-20.
HEAR FROM THE TEAM"I am super proud of the performance we demonstrated tonight. Air Force was tough but we fought hard and a win on Warrior Field is always special." -John Hartford
"I'm proud of the brothers today, still striving the leave the jersey in a better place. Air Force was a good team, and we still have a lot of work as a team to do, aiming to play a full vigilant 80 minutes." - Noah Sanchez
Players Mentioned
