Sophomore FB Jared Hassin’s seven-yard touchdown run with 38 seconds left propelled Army to a come-from-behind 31-27 victory over Eastern Michigan on Saturday night at Rynearson Stadium. Hassin made his collegiate debut with 68 yards and three touchdowns on just 12 carries.
Army (1-0) has now won back-to-back season openers for the first time since the 1995 and 1996 seasons. The loss was the Eagles’ (0-1) 13th straight.
The game was tied 14-14 at halftime, but the Black Knights scored the first 10 points of the half on an 11-yard touchdown run by senior SB Patrick Mealy and a 42-yard field goal by junior Alex Carlton. Eastern Michigan came back to take a 27-24 lead after a one-yard run by quarterback Alex Gillett and a 10-yard touchdown pass from Gillett to Ben Thayer with 2:59 left on the clock.
Army’s offense roared back on the game-winning drive, marching 72 yards in only eight plays. The series started with a 16-yard completion from sophomore QB Trent Steelman to sophomore WR George Jordan before the Black Knights rushed the ball seven straight times. Steelman ran two times for 21 yards on the drive, including a game-saving fumble recovery of his own option pitch that he turned into a seven-yard gain.
Eastern Michigan had one final chance to win for the 11,318 fans on hand. The Eagles moved the ball to the Army 32-yard line with three seconds left. Gillett was flushed from the pocket and his desperation heave went out of the back of the end zone to end the contest and send the Black Knights back to West Point with a win.
Mealy led a balanced Army rushing attack with 81 yards and a score on 14 attempts. Sophomore SB Malcolm Brown rushed 10 times for 68 yards, followed by Hassin. Sophomore SB Brian Cobbs rushed three times for 60 yards, including a 39-yard run which was Army’s longest play from scrimmage, in his debut in the backfield after playing defense a season ago. Steelman rushed 15 times for 35 yards.
Steelman completed five of his 11 throws for 65 yards. Jordan caught the first three passes of his career for 34 yards, while Mealy and junior WR Austin Barr each had one reception.
Priest and Gillett both cracked the 100-yard rushing mark for the Eagles with 142 and 126 respectively. The duo accounted for all three of EMU’s rushing touchdowns with Priest finding pay dirt twice.
Senior LB Stephen Anderson led the Black Knights’ defense with 10 stops, including eight in the first half. He also forced one fumble and made one stop behind the line of scrimmage. Senior DB Donnie Dixon had a game-high 2.5 tackles for loss while junior LB Chad Littlejohn had a career-high seven tackles, including half a sack and. 1.5 tackles for loss.
Army is now 5-0 under head coach Rich Ellerson when winning the turnover battle.
Army will make its home debut when it hosts head coach Rich Ellerson’s alma mater, Hawaii, on Saturday, Sept. 11th. The game has been designated "Salute to Heroes Day" and local fire, police and EMT personnel will be honored throughout the day. Kickoff at Michie Stadium is set for noon and CBS College Sports Network will carry the game.
