WEST POINT, N.Y. – With star quarterback Bryson Daily unavailable for Army’s football game against Air Force, someone else in the supporting cast would need to step up for the Black Knights in their game against their service academy rivals.
Garden State products Kanye Udoh (Mays Landing) and Casey Larkin (Brielle) proved to be up to the task as Army topped Air Force 20-3 in the first leg of their chase to repeat as Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy champions.
It took a half for the Black Knight offense to find their rhythm against the Falcons without Daily under center. However, while the Army offense worked to rediscover its identity, managing to muster only two field goals in the first half, Larkin and his defensive teammates, were up to the task of keeping Air Force out of the endzone, allowing the Falcons only one field goal of their own.
In the second half, Udoh, and the Army offense were able to find, and assert themselves again. From the first series of the half, Udoh made his presence known.
After receiving the second half kick, the Black Knights went on a nine play, 69-yard drive culminating in Udoh’s first score of the afternoon. Udoh carried the ball seven times on the drive including the touchdown, and a critical fourth-and-two conversion that he took for eight yards up the middle.
After the game, Udoh acknowledged the importance of that first, second half drive calling it a turning point, and saying, “We knew we’d get the ball back. We had to set the tone, get the momentum on our side. Being able to go out and execute, execute, execute, play after play, and move the ball down the field and score was huge.”
As the offense started to click, the defense continued to do their part.
At the end of the third quarter, and into the beginning of the fourth quarter, Air Force had found themselves on a promising drive. However, Larkin, after being flagged for a questionable pass interference penalty earlier in the drive, halted the Falcon threat with an interception at the Black Knight 7-yard line.
“It wasn’t too much that I thought about. It was just the next play mentality,” Larkin said of the pass interference call. “For me, it’s like when something doesn’t go your way, it’s a don’t flinch. Coach Monken preaches it all the time. Don’t flinch. Play the next play.”
And, with regards to his interception later in that drive, Larkin added, “Interception, same way. You’ve got to have a short-term memory. You’ve got to play each play, one play at a time. And, then the cards fell in the right way, the D-line applied pressure, and fell into my hands.”
Neither team scored again until Udoh found paydirt again from 25-yards out with 1:46 left in the game to set the final score.
Udoh finished his afternoon with a career high 158 yards rushing, on 22 carries, along with the two touchdowns, and Larkin finished with four tackles, one for a loss, to accompany his interception. Jack Latore, a Middletown product, assisted on two tackles against Air Force.
With the win, the No. 21 Black Knights remain undefeated and setup a winner takes all matchup for the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy in the Army-Navy Game on Dec. 14, in Landover, Maryland.
