
Falcons score 10 second-half points to slip past Black Knights 13-7.
After six long years, the Commander-In-Chief’s (CIC) Trophy has returned to Colorado Springs.
Scoring 10 points in a second-half surge while hold the opposition scoreless for the final 30 minutes, the Air Force Falcons (6-3) scored a 13-7 win over the Army Black Knights Saturday in the Lockheed Martin Commanders Classic at Globe Life Field in Arlington, TX.
Air Force had defeated Navy 13-10 on October 1, so the triumph over Army (3-5) means that the Falcons earned the right to take the CIC Trophy – a 170-pound, 30-inch tall, three-sided black and silver monument that is awarded annually to the service academy football team that can beat the other two – back to the Air Force Academy for the next 12 months. Traditionally, the Falcons players and coaches will also be invited to the White House to meet the president and to formally be presented with the CIC Trophy.
It was the 21st CIC Trophy win for Air Force, the most of any service academy, but the first since 2016. Navy last won the trophy in 2019 and Army won it in 2020; it was shared a year ago when each team won one game.
“We’ve had some fantastic games with the service academies,” said a happy Air Force Head Coach Troy Calhoun. “All close games. It’s tremendous to bring the Commander-in-Chief’s trophy back to Air Force. I want to commend Army; they played hard. But our defense the last 35 minutes was extraordinary.”
Army Head Coach Jeff Monken was clearly disappointed with his team’s performance and the outcome, but optimistic that they will rebound and play hard in their remaining games.
“That’s a big game for us,” Monken said. “Playing for that (CIC) trophy is a source of pride for our academy and for our program, and to have to relinquish that trophy is awfully tough. My hope is that our guys will continue to fight, fight for each other, keep playing. I think they will, I think we’ve got a tremendous culture in our program – a brotherhood. They love each other and they care for each other. They’re not going to turn on each other.”
The Air Force victory was achieved in the second half. Trailing 7-3, the Falcons began their first possession after intermission on their own 35, and four runs by halfback Brad Roberts (game-high 138 rushing yards) and quarterback Haaziq Daniels (95 rushing yards, 6-of-13 passing for 98 yards) advanced the ball to the Army 46. Daniels then found David Cormier (who finished with four receptions for 89 yards) with a 27-yard toss to the Army 19. Four plays later, Daniels bolted right and cut left around the corner, dashing 17 yards up the sideline into the end zone to give Air Force a lead it would not relinquish. Matt Dapore’s second field goal – a 26-yard boot with 12:06 left in the final quarter – rounded out the scoring.
“Our offense made the plays with Zeke (Daniels) leading the way,” Calhoun said. “A shooter in basketball keeps shooting and a pitcher in baseball keeps throwing strikes. He made some great passes.”
Daniels was named the Player of the Game for his combined running and passing efforts.
“I thought in the first half we were shooting ourselves in the foot,” Daniels said. “We had some plays that we missed. After halftime, we focused what we could control and moved on from the first half. It’s an unbelievable feeling (winning the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy). It’s been two tough years (losing to Army in overtime last year and needing a second-half comeback to win on Saturday).”
Army, which had struggled to find any consistent plan of attack in the first half, faced one of its stiffest challenges in memory throughout the second half. The Falcons defensive unit was remarkably effective at breaking up plays and making quick tackles, holding the Black Knights to just 20 total yards in the second half. It was a true group effort as Michael Mack II and TD Blackmon led the Falcons with six tackles each while seven other players had at least four. The Black Knights had been averaging 419.1 offensive yards per game entering the game; they were held to just 145 on Saturday.
“Our guys laid it on the line,” said Calhoun, who realized that winning the CIC Trophy was something his senior players had not experienced in their first three years at Colorado Springs. “The guys were ready to play during the bye week and again during this week. These guys up here (in the interview room – seniors Blackmon, Daniels, Roberts) have been awesome. We put these guys in pressure situations and they take charge. You feel blessed to coach them and our guys are blessed to have them as teammates.”
A crowd of 33,912 watched Saturday’s contest, which featured the top two rushing offenses in NCAA Division I-A competition (Air Force, 336.8 yards per game; Arm, 334.6 ypg). Running was the featured style of attack from the opening kickoff.
In the opening quarter, the teams traded unsuccessful series, searching for weaknesses to be exploited. With just 3:25 left on the clock in the first stanza, the Black Knights faced a fourth-and-1 situation on their own 37 and Head Coach Jeff Monken decided to go for it. Fullback Jakobi Buchanan was stopped cold, giving Air Force possession in Army territory. On the second play of the drive, Falcons running back Roberts found a hole in the line and dashed 15 yards into the secondary. Four plays later, Air Force kicker Matt Dapore booted a 19-yard field goal with just 19 seconds left before switching ends.
The teams began to experiment in the second quarter and Army surprisingly found pivotal success in the air. Quarterback Jemel Jones completed consecutive passes to Isaiah Alston (24 yards) and Ay’Jaun Marshall (31) before ending a 6-play, 68-yard drive with a 3-yard quarterback dash into the end zone to give the Black Knights a 7-3 lead at the break.
In logging their sixth win of the year, the Falcons became eligible for consideration for a post-season bowl. Before that, they have three regular-season games left against Mountain West Conference opponents – hosting New Mexico (Nov. 12) and Colorado State (Nov. 19) and visiting San Diego State (Nov.26). Additional Mountain West playoff games may be added.
Army has four regular season games remaining – a home contest against UConn (Nov. 19) and visiting battles against Troy (Nov. 12) and UMass (Nov. 26). The Black Knights also play at a neutral site – Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia – in the 123rd Army-Navy Game on December 10.
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