Army Earns their 9th Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy
Great Defensive Efforts
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Air Force Sings First
Entering the deciding game for the Commander-in-Chief’s trophy, if you were an Air Force fan, the one person you did not want to be the deciding factor if in favor of the Cadets from West Point, it was coach Jeff Monken.
Well give credit where it is due. Jeff Monken’s staff called the better game, and their players executed more effectively. Both teams defenses deserve a lot of credit for an excellent game, wire to wire. But in the end, it was the Army defense that made the difference, capitalizing on what many will see as questionable play-calling for the Falcon offense.
In particular the second of three interceptions by Haaziq Daniels, which came in the fourth quarter. A curious play-call when historically and conventionally we would be watching the Falcons run out the clock. Though it is worth noting, the deep shot came after some of Daniels best string of throws.
In the end, Air Force flinched when Army did not. They strayed from their identity settling for two field-goal attempts which went wide, when there was short yardage to sustain the drive. And they abandoned the run beyond comfort in favor of throwing the ball, far too often.
Army stayed true to identify all game long and it paid off. Yards and points were very hard to come by for both teams, but the Black Knights never wavered. They ground out just enough yardage, and baited the Falcons into three critical and game deciding interceptions.
Army sings second when the dust settles by a score of 10-7 over the Falcons.
