Army Football

Army Head Coach Rich Ellerson talked to his young team before their second August scrimmage on Saturday at Michie Stadium and directed them to think about games...

"One play at a time, focus on winning the next play". 

The third-year Black Knight head coach explained this goal saying, "One of the things we take pride in at West Point is staying in the moment, the first thing you have to do is deal with the situation right in front of you. You can't worry about how you got there, you can't worry about what might happen in a series or two, or in a week or two for that matter. Just get yourself in the moment and win the next snap, and that is a constant challenge."

The scrimmage lasted nearly two hours on a sunny and warm August morning, and it attempted to simulate game conditions as closely as possible. Both the first-team offense and defense got in work and special teams received a fair amount of time.

Coach Ellerson spent time talking to the team about making sure they are aware of their responsibilities on special teams. He emphasized that each player know their responsibilities for being in the game, who they are backing up, and pointed out that quick conversions such as from offense to defense can result in mistakes.

The first-team offense looked sharp with junior quarterback Trent Steelman running the option offense. Steelman handed off to his backs and ran the ball himself to both sides of the field, including one touchdown around the left side. The Bowling Green, Kentucky native threw the ball both deep down the field and on short routes to the sidelines.  

Junior fullback Jared Hassin played a limited amount but broke through the defensive line on several dive plays.

On the offensive line, Will Wilson #66, the 285-pound center from Great Falls, VA, snapped to Steelman. At left guard was junior Frank Allen from Palyma, New Jersey. Also seeing time at guard were Joe Baily, a 274-pound senior from Marietta, Georgia and junior Mathew Villanti at 278 pounds from Katy, Texas. 

At tackles seeing time early in the scrimmage were Brad Kelley at 250 pounds, from Exeter, New Hampshire and junior Derek Bisgard a 250-pound junior from Scottsdale, Arizona.

Special teams is an area Coach Ellerson devotes major time to in scrimmages. The senior place kicker Alex Carlton from Newark, Delaware, who made his last 11 straight attempts in 2010, looked as sharp as ever completing a 41-yard field goal. On a kickoff, junior kicker Eric Osteen from Augusta, Georgia booted the ball down to the goal line. Punting duties were handled by senior Kolin Walk from McPherson, Kansas. 

Back playing full contact on the defense was senior outside linebacker Andrew Rodriquez, Army's leading tackler in 2009, who sat out all of the 2010 season recovering from a back injury.  The native of Alexandria, Virginia, made his presence on the field known with an interception.   

After the scrimmage, West Point's "AROD" said, "It was great to back out with my teammates out on the field. I've really been looking forward to it. I was just excited to be back out on the field".

I asked what had helped his recovery from the back injury which sidelined him in 2010, "I've got a lot of help from my trainers, got a lot of support from family and friends. Those two things combined together have helped me recover".  

Coach Ellerson was optimistic about Rodriquez's recovery and ability to contribute this season: "We have been cautious about starting him up, looking for any sign of a long term challenge. He just has not had a hitch at all and is as much of his old self and then some frankly. He is moving as fast as I ever have seen him move. "

Fellow linebacker and team captain Steve Erzinger dressed for the scrimmage but sat out with what Coach Ellerson described as "A deep bruise to his foot that swelled up and this was a chance for other players who have not been in game situations."

Erzinger wore his regular cleats on the sidelines so he must be close to recovery.

Two young players stood out on the offense, making plays and perhaps pushing for playing time. The local sophomore wide receiver Jared McFarlin, of Monroe, NY made two catches, one a 20-yard sideline catch from backup quarterback senior Max Jenkins. Another sophomore, Julian Crockett, from Wesley Chapel, Florida, showed speed on two running plays where he accelerated around the left side.

Watch for these young players to give the Black Knight offense two more fast strike capabilities.

Coach Ellerson described the scrimmage as a "Mock game, we detail all the things which have to happen on the sidelines, and before the game in the locker room, before a game, and at halftime. We are a young football team and have a lot of those guys have not been in that locker room at halftime, or been on the sideline during a game, and know what that organizational patterns looks like. We want them to not be surprised and not distracted by those routines when we are keeping score."

The Black Knights will have another scrimmage next Friday (August 26th) before their first game in at Northern Illinois on September 3rd.

Ken Kraetzer hosts the "West Point Football Report" every Tuesday night at 5:30 p.m. EST starting Aug. 30 on New Rochelle, NY-based WVOX 1460 AM in the NY area. 

The program can be heard nationally on WVOX.com and past recordings on www.legionpost50ny.com. Contact Ken at kgk914@aol.com.

West Point co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Chris Smeland helped guide the Black Knight defense, which was a big part of helping the team win seven games, including a bowl victory. 

The graduate of Cal Poly has 26 years of experience as a Division I defensive coordinator, previously coaching at Utah State, Louisville and Michigan State before joining head coach Rich Ellerson at West Point in 2009.  

Last year the Black Knights were ranked 29th in the country in total defense and third in the country in turnover percentage.  The native of San Luis Obispo, Calif. first coached with Ellerson at Hawaii in the early 1990s. 

We talked with Coach Smeland as the Black Knights started practice for the 2011 season:

Q:  You are coming off a tremendous game at the end of last season, the bowl victory over SMU; tell us about your memory?

Smeland:  Well, you always want to win your last one, that was great when that is a bowl.  It was exciting for us to be in Dallas-Ft. Worth before the bowl. And when you finish up with a bowl victory, it makes the whole week worthwhile.

Q: You held spring practice very early, finishing in early March; how did the players react?

Smeland: We lost quite a few seniors off last year's team.  We just felt that with the young guys we are going to play, the sooner we could get them going the more they would retain.  Also it gave them more time for physical conditioning from the end of spring ball before they come back this time of year.

Q:  A number of great names in West Point football graduated from last year's team. What is the legacy those players leave this defense?

Smeland:  We carry around a sign whenever we travel on the road and everywhere we go, a "Swarm" sign. Those young men that graduated this past year really bought into what we are trying to do defensively as a staff and as team, in terms of getting all 11 guys to run the football, to swarm the football as much as we can.  Yes, we lost some outstanding young men—Mike Gann, Steve Anderson, Donovan Travis and Josh McNary.  We had quite a few guys who made huge contributions.

Q:  What is it like as you try to find new players to fill those roles? 

Smeland: We are excited about it.  We think we have some very athletic young men in the program right now.  We are going to be new at some spots, some new faces, guys who don't have as much experience, but very athletic. And because we have at some positions—we have more than one player, it creates a competitive environment.  Anytime you are in a competitive environment you have a chance to make improvement, that is what we excited about.

Q: Who are some of the young players who stand out on the defense?

Smeland: At the SAM-saftey position we have [sophomore] Lyle Beloney and [sophomore] Reggie Nesbit.  At the free safety position we have [sophomore] Thomas Holloway and [sophomore] Tyler Dickson competing .  We have some young guys out on the edge, [freshman] Marques Avery competing with Josh Jackson. On [senior] Antuan Aaron's side, Antuan is competing with [freshman] Kendal Frederick and LJ over there.  So we are excited about that.

Q:  What are some of your objectives as you start summer practice?

Smeland: One thing you want to start to do every year with every football season, we want to bond them as a team.  It doesn't just happen because you are a team, the guys have to work at it. So one of our main objectives coming out of fall practice is to bond as a team. 

All these new faces, offensively, defensively and special teams-wise so that we all understand we all have a role in having successful outcomes we are looking forward to having on Saturdays.  So bonding the team is one priority coming out of summer camp.

Q: What are the keys to victory that you talk to the players about?

Smeland:  Coach takes us to a meeting room and points to a sign with a star surrounded by five goals for Army football:

1. Perfect Effort

2. Win the Turnover Battle

3. Win the Kicking Game

4. Win the Mental Game

5. Win the Critical Situations

By "perfect effort," an example is a young man maybe his only snap might only be on the kickoff team, but he needs to control his lane, and if the ball attacks his alley, he got to leverage the ball just as he is supposed to do it, and make the tackle.  If he has done that and if he has only has that one opportunity but does it at full speed, then he has done his job. 

We need to get all 100 or 67 players you travel with to take that same attitude: "Hey, if I am on the field for 20 plays or 40 plays, it does not matter, I am going to give it my best effort, a Perfect Effort, 100 percent, every single snap." Then we have a great opportunity. 

Q:  What are the "Critical Situations" and how do you define the "Mental Game?

Smeland: Sometimes coming out of a timeout, or maybe it is a third-down-and-seven and we need to execute on offense, to make a perfect throw and catch.  Let's execute on that critical situation.  Same thing on the defensive side of the ball. Maybe it is a fourth-down situation, maybe it is third and long and we need to get them off the field, we need to get them to punt the football before they can get that first down and they have a chance to get into a field goal area.  So there are critical situations which take place. 

By the mental game, no stupid penalties—let's don't hit the quarterback after he has released the ball, so we practice that during the week.  If we are attacking the quarterback, and we see the ball is thrown away, boom, we make a conscious effort to get our head out of the way of making contact with the quarterback so the official can see that.  We do little things like that. No stupid penalties on third down. Let's not jump offside on third-and-four—that is the mental part of the game.

Q:  What about the "Turnover Battle" and the "Kicking game"?

Smeland: Obviously the turnover battle is huge. What were we last year, third in the country in turnover margin?  It made a big role in our success.  When the offense is not turning over the ball and the defense is generating lots of turnovers, it creates more ball possessions for the offense. It gives us the opportunity to change field position in big chunks. 

On the kicking game, when we are kicking field goals and we are not letting up big returns against us.  The kicking game plays a big role.

Q:  You are of often playing teams with offensive lines much bigger in size than your defense; how do you work with that?

Smeland: It is the nature of what we do defensively. We get the defensive lineman to attack in the seams, we are looking for penetration, we don't step and read and try to take a big guy on, we want to play on our opponents side of the line of scrimmage.  We don't mind living on the edge as a defensive staff, in terms of making some little line movements or extra pressure. It is just the nature of what we do defensive.  We have those guys upfront who "light their hair on fire" and play on the other side of the line of scrimmage.  It seems to be effective for our guys; we don't need big guys to do that.

Q:  You said you look for players who show speed and explosion; what do you mean by explosion?

Smeland: You look at a guy who can throw a shot 50' or maybe a disc 150—that takes some explosion in to the shoulders, or hips, or legs, to make those weights do that.  Maybe a guy is a 6'6" high jumper, or a sprinter that can run under 11 flat for the 100, those are indicators of explosion by a young man so those are the big numbers we are looking for in our recruiting.

Q:  Over the offseason do you study the offenses of the teams you are going to face? 

Smeland:  Yes, some of the first couple of opponents are new staffs, so we have to discover some film of where some previous coordinators have come from and see what kind of thoughts they have and anticipate a little bit.  We don't know exactly what they are going to do because this is their first season there and they are introducing themselves to their football players, and they are trying to discover what these guys can do.  So we are playing a bit of a guessing game.

Q:  Our best wishes as you start the 2011 season of Army football. 

Smeland:  Thanks, Ken.

Ken Kraetzer hosts the "West Point Football Report" every Tuesday night at 5:30 p.m. EST starting Aug. 30 on New Rochelle, NY-based WVOX 1460 AM in the NY area. 

The program can be heard nationally on WVOX.com and past recordings on www.legionpost50ny.com. Contact Ken at kgk914@aol.com.

The 2011 West Point football season started Aug. 1st with Media Day and the first day of practice.  The program starts the year with a sense of confidence generated from a bowl win in 2010. 

The Black Knights are coming off a 7-6 season, their first winning campaign in 15 years and a Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl victory over SMU, the program's first bowl win since 1985.

The challenges to a second consecutive winning season are significant.  Army graduated many key defensive unit players from the 2010 team and four of the five starters from last year's offensive line. 

Then the Black Knights' schedule starts the season against strong opponents traveling first to Northern Illinois, then they host San Diego State and Northwestern at Michie Stadium. 

On the positive side, the team has returning juniors quarterback Trent Steelman and fullback Jared Hassin who helped lead West Point's productive offense last season. 

The coaches believe the talent level of the younger players in the program is significantly improving.  This may be demonstrated in more quickness and speed which the team needs to utilize as it does not have an excess of size. 

Before the start of the Media Day program, most of the team members walked by me coming out of a meeting, they all have that Academy look, absolutely in shape ready to score well on the required Army physical fitness tests, but you don't see players who appear to be your standard college 300 pound plus offensive tackles or defensive lineman. 

This team, like Navy and Air Force, will use the option offense and speed oriented defense to win by being a step ahead of  opponents.

Senior outside linebacker Steve Erzinger was named this spring as "Legacy" captain of the defense.

"Steve Erzinger provides tremendous leadership" comments Coach Ellerson. "He was the guy the graduating class voted to carry on their legacy."

The senior from Houston, Texas was recently interviewed on a ESPN program discussing player leadership in college football.

Third-year head coach Rich Ellerson commented about the new players on defense, 

"We don't have a lot of starters back on defense, but those we have are strategically placed.  We have Jarrett Mackey, we have Antuan Aaron in the backfield, and Steve Erzinger, we have some experienced guys at key positions who understand how football games go, they understand our defense as well as anyone who has ever played it.  We will be leaning on that experience, which will be pivotal to our success." 

"The rush end is a marque position in this defense, that guy needs to be productive.  If everyone comes away from watching a game and wondering who was playing that position,  then we probably did not play very well. 

But we think Jarret Mackey is the right guy.  He was frankly the other guy at that position last year.  But he was too good to be the other guy.  We had to get him on the field. 

We had to get his athleticism and his play making ability engaged.  So he was really playing out of position last year, so will be fun to see what  what we always visualized for him. 

We expect that position to be productive. It will be different with him in there, but it can be just as productive."

Junior quarterback Trent Steelman has started every Black Knight game since his his freshman year, despite playing through injuries.  He is now an an upperclassman who can project a strong leadership role. 

The Bowling Green, KY native describes the challenge coming back from off season surgery and breaking in a new offensive line,

"I think this offensive line is going to be one of the most explosive offensive lines we have had since I have been here. 

We have a good feeling about what we are bringing on offense, the new things we have coming in, the new athletes coming in, with the experience we have returning in the backfield, like I told them, this could be one of the best offenses we have seen around here in a while if everyone stays healthy and does their part."

The Black Knight offense is known to be conservative valuing ball control and avoiding turnovers,  Steelman comments, "I think you are going to see us open up a bit just based on the experience we have, but we will stick with what we do best which is run the ball." 

On the passing game, Steelman points out the experience the Black Knights have at wide receiver,

"We have Austin Barr and Davyd Brooks, and a couple of others are going to help us out, they are awesome athletes, they gave good size, and definitely can go up and get the ball, they are not afraid to get there head in there and block when they are called upon."

The Black Knights have a scrimmage scheduled for Saturday August 13th which should be a good idea of who the starters on the team will be. 

Coach Ellerson enjoys spending time on special teams so a fair amount of the time could be devoted to the kicking game.

Ken Kraetzer hosts the "West Point Football Report" every Tuesday night at 5:30 p.m. EST starting Aug. 30th on New Rochelle, NY based WVOX 1460 AM in the NY area. 

The program can be heard nationally on WVOX.com and past recordings on www.legionpost50ny.com. Contact Ken on kgk914@aol.com 

As the NFL draft proceeds tonight for a select group of college football players and others practice for interviews as they go pro in something else, the US Military Academy seniors who won the Armed Forces Bowl Game last December prepare for commissioning as second lieutenants in the US Army.

Last week seniors safety Jordan Trimble, center Carson Homme, and slotback Patrick Mealy, their 1,000 classmates and one hundred Reserve Officer Training Corps seniors from around the country heard a spirited presentation given by USMA '80 graduate Major General Vincent K. Brooks. This talk was part of the "Battle Command Conference" organized by the Simon Center for the Professional Military Ethic, designed to help senior cadets prepare for the responsibilities they will soon assume as Army officers. 

The challenges Gen. Brooks described for the former football players and their colleagues reflect the unique situations they will likely face going in harms way leading platoons in the Army.  I was very appreciative that USMA officials invited me to sit in and listen to General Brook's remarks.

Major General Brooks is the commanding officer of the First Infantry Division based at Fort Riley, Kansas.  Just back from Iraq, he described the satisfaction of witnessing the accomplishments achieved by US forces,

"To see progress, and what few veterans see with their own eyes, to see what it is to win".

Acknowledging that with the upheaval of culture and religion in the world, Gen Brooks told the audience that,

"None can predict predict what is going to happen". He cited global warming and natural disasters such as earthquakes in Japan and Haiti, and a mudslide in Korea as,

“Worse than any weapon for causing destruction”.

The former West Point “First Captain” stated that the big questions the soon to be commissioned cadets might be asking themselves are,

"Do I have what it takes, will I be ready for the first bad day?

Offering advice, the General who has served in five of the army's ten divisions answered the question by saying, "Have confidence in what has been set within you", but warned,

"Your soldiers will expect you to be ready, when you arrive, you lead right away, the apprenticeship is over the day you take the oath of office".

Describing that his first unit he was assigned to was a mortar platoon, not what he expected as a prospective infantry officer, the thirty-one year veteran Army officer stressed flexibility, "Lead the platoon you get".

General Brooks described the importance of building relationships with the Non Commissioned Officers and described how he built a relationship with the first sergeant he worked with, a demanding Vietnam veteran.

Addressing the challenge for many young officers today when assigned to a veteran unit which has been through multiple deployments,

"Tell them who you are and what you expect, and try to identify a skill or special knowledge you bring to the unit" that will help them, keep them focused on what is ahead”.

He developed the point that the Army must not lock in on the experiences of the past, but prepare for constant change while utilizing the experience of its soldiers.

General Brooks challenged the prospective US Army Second Lieutenants on three key points:

 

Lead

“Be ready on arrival, soldiers will watch everything you do, demonstrate who you are by your actions”. The General talked about being prepared for bad days and moments when the unexpected happens, such as if a bomb goes off, or sniper fire is received, or as recently happened, news comes that pay may be delayed. He told the audience to be ready to handle the question, “What do we do now sir?”

Listen

“All the time, listen to your NCOs, listen to your soldiers” the General said, emphasizing that the young officers should be ready to probe if they believe a soldier has an issue, whether military or personal, that they may be hesitant to mention. He cautioned that when a soldier confides in an officer, to point them in the right direction and handle the situation and information appropriately so that in the future, soldiers “Will trust you to handle it well”.

Learn

“Apply the knowledge given to you, put it to use. Keep learning, you will never have all the answers. Learn how to deal with stress, translate stress into action and orders, learn from feedback, and learn from operations”.

About the seriousness of command, Gen. Brooks said, “Judges and military commanders are the only professions in which the authority is given to restrict the liberties of fellow citizens”. He added,

“Don’t put your soldiers at risk unnecessarily, and share that risk.”

Addressing a question regarding how to lead an Army which may be serving more time at garrison on base, than it has the past decade of nearly constant deployments,

“Sharpen the sword, all the time. Practice combat skills, focus on honing your craft, exercise skills, keep high standards, take care of your unit, never take short cuts. Remind troops why their service matters”.

Addressing concerns about budgets, he said, “We operate with the resources provided, we may have to do with less programs, but we never say “no” and we will still be the best Army in the world.”

Ken Kraetzer hosts the Sons of the American Legion Radio Report broadcast every Monday at 2:30 PM on WVOX radio in New Rochelle, NY and nationally on WVOX.com. This past year he covered  West Point football and Iona College basketball.  Reach him on kgk914@aol.com.

Boo Corrigan, formerly of Duke, Notre Dame and Navy, has been named the new Athletic Director at the United States Military Academy at West Point today. 

Corrigan, the youngest son of former ACC commissioner Gene Corrigan, is a 1990 University of Notre Dame graduate.  He has served since August 2008 as the senior associate athletic director for external affairs at Duke University.  In this position, his responsibilities included oversight of the Blue Devils' corporate partnerships and the Marketing, Promotions, Ticket, Internet Operations, Sports Information and Video Services departments. 

Prior to working at Duke, he served as an associate athletic director for five years at Notre Dame, responsible for corporate relations and marketing. At ND, Corrigan led the re-design of its athletics website and creation of weekly video content.  He has also worked directly with ISP Sports, CSTV and NBC Sports.

Certainly very important to the decision making at West Point, Corrigan has worked at another service academy, spending nearly three years as associate athletic director for marketing at the United States Naval Academy. He was credited with turning the marketing department from a deficit to a profit in his first year and for the re-branding of the Annual Giving Campaign.  His first university position was at Florida State from 1992-96, where he was an assistant director of marketing.

Corrigan has been a supervisor of the 2009 NCAA Champion women's tennis and 2010 NCAA Champion men's lacrosse programs and has been a part of three NCAA Championships at Duke in just two seasons. He has experience with lacrosse, another important sport at USMA, from his current service as a member of the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Rules committee.

United States Military Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. David H. Huntoon Jr. commented about the selection of Boo Corrigan to lead West Point’s intercollegiate athletic department:

“We are excited about the selection of Boo Corrigan to be Army’s athletic director,” Huntoon said. “He has wide experience in helping to lead a Division I athletic department and has excelled at the highest levels. He brings to the Military Academy a wealth of experience at some of the nation’s elite athletic programs.”

Army's new Athletic Director also made comments:

“First and foremost, I am honored to have the opportunity to work at the United States Military Academy,  the West Point leadership and the U.S. Army,” Corrigan said. “It is my privilege to serve those proud Americans that serve our country and to be at the greatest leadership institution in the world. 

“I want to say specifically to our cadet-athletes that we will provide them the opportunity and the wherewithal to achieve to their highest ability and to provide our coaches with the opportunity to win championships, and build leaders of character. We will strive for our cadets to achieve great success in their academics, military training and athletic endeavors.”

“I want to thank my family and Duke University for the support and encouragement to make this possible, and look forward to serving as part of the Army team at West Point,” Corrigan added.

West Point has an extensive athletic program involving 25 men's and women’s varsity teams. Army's flagship football program in 2010 enjoyed its first winning season in 14 seasons and defeated SMU in the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl in Dallas in December.  

Corrigan takes over for Kevin Anderson, who became the Athletic Director at Maryland.  US Army Col. Sam Johnson served as interim Athletic Director through most of the 2010 football season. 

This selection points out the increased role of sports marketing and fundraising in college athletics, even at the major military academies.

Ken Kraetzer hosts the West Point Football Report during the season on WVOX radio.  He can be reached at kgk914@aol.com

This year’s bowl season features 35 games.  Many people agree that too many teams are afforded the opportunity to finish their season with a bowl game.  I can’t say that I disagree. 

The minimum eligibility requirement of six wins assures that the bowl games will feature a number of mediocre teams.  Army is far from a dominant team, but they deserved to end their season by playing in a bowl game.  For the sacrifices that they make for all of us, no one should ever begrudge a bowl appearance by Army, Navy or Air Force (regardless of their record).

The Black Knights do not feature a balanced attack.  Everyone knows that they are going to run the ball on almost every play, yet somehow, they manage to methodically move the chains when it matters.  Such was the case in their 16-14 victory over SMU in the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl. 

Despite being out-gained 413-229, while passing for only 30 yards, Army was able to capitalize on SMU’s mistakes.   The Black Knights jumped out to a 7-0 lead when Josh McNary scooped up a Kyle Padron fumble and returned it 55 yards for a touchdown.  Padron’s two interceptions in the first half thwarted any chance SMU had of putting points on the board.  The Black Knights went into the locker room at half time leading the Mustangs 16-0.  Aside from having an extra point blocked, Army played mistake-free football in the first half.

SMU mounted a comeback in the second half, as Army’s offense sputtered.  A pair of Kyle Padron touchdown passes cut Army’s lead to 16-14.  SMU had the chance to take the lead with just over 4 minutes remaining in the game, but Matt Szymanski’s 47-yard field goal attempt into the wind sailed wide left.  All Army needed to seal the victory was a few first downs, which is easier said than done when your opponent stacks the line against the run. 

The game came down to a 3^rd and 4 conversion with less than 2 minutes remaining in the game, with SMU having used all of their time outs.  Trent Steelman took the snap, rolled right and completed a 22-yard pass to WR Davyd Brooks.  Steelman only completed 2 of 7 passes on the day, but when it mattered most, he delivered.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Army’s victory is the discipline that they displayed throughout the game.  They never turned the ball over and didn’t receive any penalties. 

Although the game was played in SMU’s home stadium due to the construction being done at TCU’s Amon G. Carter Stadium, the Black Knights were well represented with a sea of cadets all dressed in gray.   

The Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl was certainly not one for the ages, but for Army and their fans, this game might just as well have been a BCS Bowl game.

After going ahead 16-0 in the first half, Army survived two second half passing touchdowns by SMU to win the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl 16- 14 before a sellout crowd of 36,742 at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas, Texas. 

The win secured West Point’s seventh win of the season, their first winning season since 1996, and their first “Bowl” victory since the Peach Bowl in 1985. 

After the game, head coach Rich Ellerson said, “I’m so proud of this senior class, for them to get this win, and to bring back winning football, it is a great moment for the senior class.  They have earned their place in the pantheon of Army football teams.”

Sophomore fullback Jared Hassin was named the Capital One Player of the game based on his clutch running, gaining 82 yards and exceeding the 1,000 yard mark, finishing the year with 1,013 yards.  Hassin as a sophomore is one of only 12 Black Knights to have run for 1,000 yards, and the only sophomore except for Mike Mayweather in 1988.

Hassin’s classmate QB Trent Steelman skillfully controlled the Army attack running himself for 27 yards on 10 carries but only needing to throw seven times for 30 yards.  Senior slot back Patrick Mealy had a productive day with 57 yards on 11 attempts. 

Senior captain Stephen Anderson was asked about being all over the field, making 14 tackles from his position behind the defensive line. “That's the position I'm in," he said. "I'm the Mike linebacker in the double eagle flex defense, that's supposed to be a player that can run sideline to sideline and make plays.

"I don't try to deviate from the defensive scheme. I just try to do my job.  We had 11 guys doing their job today. That's the best part about playing the game, you get to play next to your brothers who trust you to do your job, and of course you trust them to do their job. It's a great feeling."

After the opening kickoff, SMU completed two pass plays to move the ball to the Army 30 yard line.  The Black Knights then generated their first turnover of the game with a sack of sophomore SMU QB Kyle Padron leading to a loose ball picked up by Army senior DE senior Josh McNarry who ran the fumble back 55 yards for a TD to give Army its first score of the game.  Junior Alex Carlton kicked the PAT to give Army a 7-0 lead very early.

SMU moved the ball down field but senior Matt Szymansky missed a 35-yard field goal attempt to keep the game at 7-0.

Army went ahead to 13-0 lead at 9:34 still left in the first quarter with an 80-yard ball control drive capped off by a 13-yard run by sophomore Malcolm Brown, his fourth rushing TD of the year.  The extra point attempt of Alex Carleton was blocked by SMU’s sophomore DE Margus Hunt, Alex Carlton’s first missed PAT after having made 41 in a row on the year.

The with SMU driving down the field again, Stephen Anderson intercepted Padron at the Army 22 for another big play by the Army defense.  After an Army punt left the ball inside the SMU 5-yard line, Padron completed a pass to sophomore Darius Johnson to their own 30. 

The next play resulted in Army’s third takeaway of the game, as Padron’s pass was intercepted by Army sophomore Josh Jackson who returned the ball to the SMU 30.  Army punted and the defense, using a four-man line, held on a 3rd-and-4 pass by Padron that was nearly intercepted by senior DB Jordan Trimble. 

Alex Carlton gave the Black Knights a 16-0 lead with his 15th field goal of the year with 2:39 left in the second quarter.  Mike Gann made a fourth down stop on Kyle Padron, who tried an option play but ran the ball himself, allowing Army to take over on downs at their own 36.

Senior Jonathon Bulls launched a punt with 4 seconds play to protect Army’s 16-0 halftime lead. Coach Ellerson, running off the field at the end of the half, said, ”We take pride in our ability to take the ball away, we are making plays on offense and have to keep the pressure on up front.”

After Army received the opening kick off, Jared Hassin gained his 75th yard of the day, bringing his season and career total past 1,000 yards. Army punted from the SMU 40 and almost recovered inside the five when the ball bounced off an SMU player, but the Mustangs recovered.

With SMU stars from the early 1980s Eric Dickerson and Craig James watching from the sidelines, SMU went 92 yards on 13 plays in the third quarter to narrow Army’s lead to 16-7.  

On 3rd-and-goal from the Army 8-yard line, QB Kyle Padron threw over the middle into the end zone to senior wide receiver Aldrick Robinson.   The touchdown pass was Padron’s 30th of the year and the 14th TD reception for Robinson, who has averaged over 20 yards per catch on the year.

In the fourth, SMU scored again on a drive the length of the field, culminating in a 28-yard touchdown pass from Padron to sophomore Darius Johnson, who leaped to grab the ball over Army defender Steve Erzinger in the left corner of the end zone with nine minutes to go. 

On its next possession, Army could not move the ball but Jonathan Bulls sent a 57-yard punt down the field, which was covered after a short return at the SMU 38 with eight minutes remaining. SMU moved the ball to the Army 30 but came up short on a 3rd-and-8 play. 

SMU lined up for a 47-yard field goal from the right hash mark with a big wind blowing left to right.  SMU coach June Jones called a timeout to talk to his senior kicker Matt Szymanski, who had made 7 of 10 field goals on the season—including a 61-yarder.  The kick went wide left, allowing Army to take over with 4:10 left. 

Afterward, SMU coach June Jones commented on his decision to call a timeout before the field goal attempt. “Yeah, well, Matty had been making them in the first half, in pregame in that direction," he said. "So when I asked him, you know, what his depth was going each way, he said, 65 with the wind and 50 into.

"I took the timeout just to tell him to hit the ball, relax, don't rush it. It looked like he rushed it, which is easy to do when you're a young kid, a lot on the line. But he had enough leg. Just unfortunate it didn't go in."

Trent Steelman and the Army offense were able to generate a vital first down and ran out the clock to secure Army’s memorable win.

Stephen Anderson described that the win was the culmination of a five year commitment by the Army senior class. “It's something we said back in prep school," he said. "We had a great prep school class. We weren't going into a very successful program. Guys were taking that opportunity to maybe shop around, maybe go somewhere else. 

"We sat everybody down and said, look, we have the team that can bring winning football back to West Point. It's just a matter of time. When you have a young team like that that buys into something like that and then you have Coach E bringing what we've always felt inside but just needed someone to push us a little more for it, it's just kind of like a dream come true.

"It's a pact we made. It's a decision. Human will is the strongest thing on this earth. When you make a decision, you have to believe in it. That's exactly what we did."

Coach Ellerson spoke glowingly of his senior captain, Anderson. “Stephen is, he's a great player. He loves to play the game," he said. "But the best things about Stephen aren't going to be left on the football field. The best things about Stephen are going to go with him in life. The best things about Stephen are going to be with him as a lieutenant next year, and it's going to continue to pay dividends for all of us.  

“That's why we play football at West Point, so guys like Stephen have this developmental journey, because they're going to take it on and take it to another place, to another sphere where they have tremendous influence and responsibility for all of us.  Stephen is one of these guys, but he represents who those guys are. You need to sleep well at night knowing these guys are out there.”

Ken Kraetzer conducts the West Point Football Report for Sons of the American Legion Radio on radio station WVOX 1460 in New Rochelle, NY heard nationally on WVOX.com.  Listen to interviews conducted with Brant Ringler, Executive Director of the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl and West Point graduate John Garrison, President and CEO of Bell Helicopter Company on www.legionpost50ny.com. Ken can be reached at kgk914@aol.com

2010 has been Army's best football season in 14 years achieving six wins and Thursday's appearance in the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl to be played in Dallas, TX.  West Point's last winning season and appearance in a bowl game was in 1996 when Bob Sutton's Black Knights went 10 and 2 and played in the Independence Bowl against Auburn. 

Head coach Rich Ellerson, in his second year has been able to lead Army to a 6-6 record, realizes that a final season record of 7-6 would be light years better than 6-7, is focused on the goal of defeating Southern Methodist, commented before Christmas "We're trying to win the game. Everything we're doing and everything we're talking about is based on how to end up with more points than SMU."   

Although the team has had nearly three weeks to prepare since the Dec. 11th game with Navy, finals and leave limited the team to four practices at West Point.  Coach Ellerson was pleased the team had a spirited one on the final day before the team disbursed home for holiday leave, "We practiced some shorter practices through the week. On Saturday, there was a feeling that we might have one foot out the door as we tried to back up. We got into full pads and had a pretty fundamental, physical practice. Coming off the field we said 'That's the best practice we've had in two years.' The guys were excited. Obviously, they were excited about what was going to happen later that day - that they were going to get to go on leave, but clearly, they enjoy the game. They enjoy one another. They prepared especially well. Again, you don't have to talk these guys into wanting to play football."

Army goes into the game as a one touchdown underdog, here are 8 keys to achieve an upset over SMU:

1.  Limit SMU's passing Game:  SMU has a big play offense led by 6' 4" sophomore quarterback Kyle Padron who has thrown for 29 touchdowns this year and 3,559 yards.  The Mustangs average 274 yards per game in the air.  Army may not be able to stop this aerial attack all day but must limit the big plays SMU can achieve.

2.  Get a pass rush on the SMU QB:  Against Rutgers Army had eight sacks 2.5 by senior co-captain Josh McNary, since then opponents have been double teaming McNary limiting his impact.  The time Navy's QB Ricky Dobbs had to throw was a big factor in their two first half touchdowns that put Army in a 17-0 deficit early in that game.  Watch for West Point to implement new blitz schemes to rush Padron with linebackers Stephen Anderson and Steve Erzinger. 

3.  Stop the SMU running game.  Stopping the run has a been a key to West Point's success this year.  SMU features the running of sophomore Zach Lane who has gained 1,391 yards on the ground with a 6.1 yard average per carry.  Playing week after week against offensive lines averaging 300 pounds per player, the Black Knights have yielded just 141 yards rushing per game.  Nose tackle Mike Gann holds down the middle of the line often tying up multiple blockers to allow the linebackers make the plays. 

4.  Keep the SMU offense off the field:  This story of this game could be the Army defense versus the SMU offense.  Simply controlling the clock by keeping the SMU drives short and handing the ball to the offense will be key.  Army has maintained a 7:10 minute time of possession advantage over opponents this season.

5.  Dominate the game by running the ball: The Army offense has been averaging 256 yards per game and 4.5 yards per carry in 2010.  This consistent ground game has enabled the Black Knights to score 33 touchdowns on the ground this season a huge improvement over the 13 TDs scored on the ground last year. Sophomore fullback Jared Hassin has been a big part of the Black Knight attack with 931 yards gained and 9 TDs.

6.  Make the key conversion plays:  Sophomore Quarterback Trent Steelman has provided a combined 1,659 yards passing and running for the Black Knights.  Coach Ellerson often calls on Steelman to carry the ball himself for key plays leading to strong rates of 72% fourth down conversions and 71% red zone touchdowns.

7.  Generate Turnovers:  Coach Ellerson preaches the need to win the takeover battle.  The Black Knights have generated 12 pass interceptions this year led by the five of senior Donovan Travis and four of another senior Richard King.  Steelman has thrown only three in 2010 by comparison.   Army has also recovered four more fumbles than opponents this year.

8.  Position Carlton for a Big Kick:  Army junior placekicker, Alex Carlton has had a very strong second half of the season making his last ten field goal attempts including a 42 yarder versus Navy.  Army likes their odds, if they need to send Carlton out for a difference making kick late in the game.

Bowl News:

Congratulations to Army's defensive standout Mike Gann who graduated on Dec. 17th and received his commission as a Second Lieutenant.

Great job by the players, spirit band, and cheerleaders who went out DFW Airport during the week and welcomed home soldiers returning from deployments overseas.

Members of the team and the cheerleaders also visited Cook Children's Hospital in Fort Worth on Tuesday afternoon. The Black Knights visited with patients, distributed gifts and took a bevy of photos with the children and parents in attendance. "Coming here to the bowl game, we've found that the best part of the experience so far - aside from the game of course - has been being able to reach out to others," said sophomore RT Benjamin Jebb. "Being able to spend a couple hours with some kids that might be going through a rough time is great. It's a really humbling experience."

Many Army officials and soldiers expected to be on hand from the large Texas Army bases at Fort Hood in Bell County, Fort Bliss in El Paso County, Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio and Fort Sill in Lawton, OK.

Army and SMU kickoff at 12:05 p.m. ET on Thursday. The game will be televised live on ESPN.

Ken Kraetzer conducts the West Point Football Report for Sons of the American Legion Radio on radio station WVOX 1460 in New Rochelle, NY heard nationally on WVOX.com.  Listen to interviews conducted with Brant Ringler, Executive Director of the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl and West Point graduate John Garrison, President and CEO of Bell Helicopter Company on www.legionpost50ny.com.  Ken can be reached at kgk914@aol.com