College football: Army caps spring with Black-Gold game. Young standouts emerge.
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WEST POINT – The final night of Army football spring camp left head coach Jeff Monken feeling pretty good.
“I wanted to make sure that we got the base stuff in, something that we could build on, a foundation,’’ Monken said of the camp that began March 22. “From that standpoint we accomplished what we wanted to. I’m really encouraged by the attitude and the effort of our team.’’
The Black Knights, coming off a 6-6 season and overtime win over Navy, have significant holes to fill, namely on defense and the quarterback spot, but that organized work will have to wait until preseason camp in August. The season opener is Sept. 2 at Louisiana Monroe.
“There's a lot of growth that's got to happen before we can really feel like we're going to have the kind of team to compete against anybody on this schedule,’’ Monken said of a slate that includes road games with Syracuse and Louisiana State. “We’ve got some work to do but we made a lot of strides (this spring).’’
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Army’s new offense – a hybrid of the old triple option within a shotgun formation – was put on full public display for the first time, before several hundred fans who braved a chilly night at Michie Stadium. It was the last of 15 allowable spring practices and the third full scrimmage, the annual Black-Gold game.
The Black team rallied from an early 20-0 deficit, punching in two fourth-quarter touchdowns, the last with 1:41 to play, to win 31-30.
“That was fun,’’ said junior linebacker Josiah Banks, who sniffed out a run off a fake punt by Billy Boehlke, helping turn the tide. “We got to fly around, make plays, talk a little junk to the other team. It was a good time.’’
The absence of 35 players who were hurt during camp or still healing from the fall 2022 season was notable, a good many of whom are already proven commodities so not much was to be gained from a full-on scrimmage where only the three red-shirted quarterbacks were granted protection. That left some 96 rising sophomores, juniors and seniors as the thrust of attention in the annual send-off.
There were struggles mixed in with flashes of brilliance. Several players emerged, just in time to leave a good impression on the coaches. And there was passing … yes, actual passing in front of an audience that has been so accustomed to watching Army’s grind-it-out offense of the past two decades. New offensive coordinator Drew Thatcher is the brainchild of the change.
The busiest man of the night was rising sophomore Dewayne Coleman, who saw most of the action as quarterback of the Gold team and a handful of significant snaps for the Black team at the end. Coleman, out of Selma, Texas, and the U.S. Military Academy Prep School, ran the ball 18 times for 13 yards, a total hampered by the touch-football rules on the signal callers, but he also completed 22 of 30 throws for 250 yards, utilizing 10 different receivers.
“For my first college experience in the spring it definitely felt like a real game,’’ said Coleman. “It felt like high school again. I was calm, collected. It was a lot of fun, a lot of energy. It was great.’’
On the first series Coleman dropped a pretty 36-yard tear-drop pass to Isaiah Alston at the left flag for a 7-0 lead. “Isaiah was one-on-one with the (cornerback), no safety over the top, so I was able to get out there and find some room. I just put it up there for him to get it,’’ Coleman said.
The only varsity veteran and leading quarterback candidate Bryson Daily had some early struggles, fumbling away his first exchange for the Black team. Three snaps later, sophomore Noah Alexander broke two tackles, kept his feet and carried momentum for a 10-yard scoring run and 14-0 Gold lead.
Coleman was perfect on four throws, three to sophomore Noah Short, the last on a 16-yard scoring strike where the running back slipped past Jordan Burrell for a 20-0 lead early in the second quarter.
There was less than two minutes in the first half when sophomore Taylor Saulsberry blocked a punt for the Black team and returned it 10 yards for a score.
Daily was 5-for-11 for 87 yards. Back-to-back completions to Casey Reynolds for 19 yards and Dakoda Wagner, on a 23-yard curl route out of the backfield for a score, pulled the Black team within 20-14. Charlie Barnett booted a 30-yard field goal 3 ½ minutes later for a 20-17 score. Gold went three plays-and-out. A personal foul on Justin Weaver placed the ball at the 28 where Daily slid to his left and hit Saulsberry for a go-ahead touchdown and 24-20 lead.
Early in the fourth, Coleman completed four throws, setting up a 36-yard scoring burst off the right side by Miles Stewart (15 rushes, 88 yards) to put Gold back on top at 27-24. A 35-yard field goal by Trey Gronotte extended the margin to 30-24.
A 40-yard kickoff return by Jayden Mayes moved the ball out near midfield. Monken turned to Coleman to direct the Black team with four minutes to play. Wagner rumbled for 10, 16 and 1 yard. Coleman found Jofranstar Graham for 14 yards and Wagner followed with an acrobatic 12-yard scoring grab, jumping high in the right corner of the end zone, catching the ball with his right hand and holding on to it after spinning and crashing into the turf.
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Statistics were not kept for the game but a number of defensive players had impressive (somewhat short-changed and unofficial) tackle totals: Casey Larkin and Brett Gerena with seven, Kyle Lewis, Kalib Fortner, Gavin Shields and Tim Thurman Jr. with five apiece and Adam Cash with four.
Twitter: @KenMcMillanTHR
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Army football caps off spring camp with annual Black-Gold game
