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San Jose State vs. Army: Recap
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Another week and another loss for the Spartans. In the first quarter, the Spartans were able to hang tough with the Black Knights as they kept Army off the scoreboard for the 1st quarter. In the first possession of the game, San Jose State went with Montel Aaron at quarterback and went 3 and out. On Army’s first possession they were able to get one first down but then forced to punt. San Jose State took over and went 46 yards on 13 plays but to many penalties in the red zone forced the Spartans to attempt a 49-yard field. The Spartans could have had a first and goal situation if not for an illegal man downfield call but instead settled for 3 points. The Black Knights on their second possession drove down the field on 8 plays racking up 75 yards and capped the drive off with a 41-yard pass. After pounding it down the Spartans throat, Army was able to hit a wide-open Jordan Asberry for the score.
At this point, it was 7-3 Army and San Jose took over and was only able to pick up 2 first downs, one on a pass from Aaron to Tre Hartley and the other was a 15 yard run from Tyler Nevin. This drive halted around midfield and Army took over but was only able to pick up one first down before punting. To this point in the game, the defense had been defending the Army rushing attack pretty well but the Spartans needed a score on offense. Instead, the opposite happened as San Jose went 3 and out and Army took over and did what they do, running the ball 12 times and marching down the field for a touchdown. They also were able to run out the majority of the clock, not allowing San Jose the chance at a score before the half.
At the half, San Jose was only down 14-3 but it seemed like so much more as that last Army drive seemed to really tire out the defense. Army had the first possession on offense in the second half and continued to have success running the ball, going 12 plays and 57 yards all on the ground. After over 6 minutes on defense, the Spartans would head right back on to the field. After the long Army drive, Montel Aaron was stripped of the ball and Army took over at the San Jose 19 yard line. The Spartans were able to hold Army to only 3 yards and a field goal to keep the game somewhat close at 24-3.
With 7:35 left in the 3rd quarter, Michael Carrillo came in at QB and also fumbled. You read that right, as on back to back offensive possessions the San Jose quarterback fumbled the ball on the first play of the drive. Three plays later Darnell Woolfock punched it in for the Black Knights and the blow out was in full swing. On the next drive, it only took another 3 plays for Michale Carrillo to fumble again and Army took over at the San Jose 35 yard line. After an incompletion by Army QB Kelvin Hopkins Jr. the Black Knights ran the ball 7 straight times and Hopkins finished the drive off with a 4 yard TD run.
As Army pulled ahead 38-3, Montel Aaron entered back into the game and was able to complete a couple of passes and pick up a first down but on a 3rd and 3 from the San Jose 46 yard line Aaron fumbled again and Army was able to complete the scoop and score for a 52 yard TD fumble recovery. On the next possession during garbage time, Aaron picked up a couple of first downs but was forced to punt and Army took over at there 20. Army would chew up nearly 5 minutes of the clock while they went 80 yards in 9 plays, again all runs. San Jose came out on the next possession and ran it 3 times and was forced to punt and Army took over and ran out the rest of the clock putting San Jose out of there misery.
Entering this game, as much as they can for a winless team things were looking up for the Spartans. Although the offense has been inconsistent they had not been turning over the ball and the defense had been playing better. After this game, the Spartans seem to have more questions than when they entered it. Who will be the quarterback moving forward as combined the Spartans QB’s accounted for 4 fumbles and only 3 points. The offense finished with only 36 rushing yards which should not come as a surprise but only picking up 10 first downs and 171 yards is not going to cut it. Next week the Spartans will try again for there first win as they head on the road to San Diego State.
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