ARMY Wins 2OT Thriller 31-30 Over Miami (OH)

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Cinderella Act by Thomas -- with help from Woolfolk and Riley --

Leads Army to 31-30 Double OT Win Over Miami (Ohio)



By John Chuhran



Highland Falls, N.Y. -- When people reference the story of Cinderella, they often fail to remember that when the clock struck 12, Cinderella lost everything (including the glass slipper). She needed a little help from her fairy godmother and prince charming to get the success she dreamed about.



Army's Cam Thomas is unlikely to forget that story any time soon. He played the role of Cinderella in Saturday's 31-30 double-overtime football triumph for the Black Knights over visiting Miami (Ohio) before a sellout crowd of 38,016. Thomas played extremely well in his first start for the cadets, but he still needed help from two fairy godmothers -- in this case, running back Darnell Woolfolk (96 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries) and corner back Elijah Riley (four tackles and a quarterback sack) -- to secure the sweet taste of victory.



Saturday was a day of triumph, disappointment and, ultimately, redemption for Thomas, who got the surprising assignment to start at quarterback for the Black Knights (5-2). The U.S. Army has long preached the concept that "no man is indispensible".



Thomas normally would see minimal playing time, but junior Kelvin Hopkins, who had started the first six games of the year as Army's signal caller, did not play so he could give a lingering hip injury some time to heal. With Thomas calling the plays, the Army offense hardly seemed to know the difference for the better part of three quarters. The only truly obvious difference was the fact that Army reverted to just two of its three options -- the run or the pitch. Hopkins had given Army the third option -- the pass -- but against Miami (3-5) the Black Knights reverted to the style that they had played for most of the last decade.



For someone who had limited game experience, Thomas executed like a veteran for most of the game and finished with a game-high 139 rushing yards and a touchdown on 26 carries. But on two successive fourth-quarter possessions, he could not get a first down, giving the ball -- and a chance at victory -- to the Redhawks. He was going to need help if Army was going to win.



After Army's first 3-and-out series of the fourth quarter, Miami quarterback Gus Ragland realized his team still had a chance even though they were down 21-7 with 6:17 remaining. Ragland -- a throwing quarterback who finished with 53 pass attempts and 30 completions for 329 yards and four touchdowns -- responded with a well choreographed, 8-play, 68-yard touchdown drive that ended with a three-yard toss into Dom Robinson at the right sideline of the endzone to make it 21-14.



Despite a Miami on-side kick that Army's Andy Davidson recovered on the Army 47, Thomas again failed to have a successful response -- another three rushes short of a first down, another punt. With

3:28 on the clock, Ragland seized his opportunity. With Army playing to prevent the big play, the Redhawks signal caller found extra time to locate receivers and read coverage. Starting on his own 18 yard line, Ragland engineered a 15-play march downfield that left the Redhawks with a fourth-and-goal on the Army 5 with 21 seconds to play.



With everything on the line, Ragland dropped back, looked left, looked right...and fired a strike straight ahead that was pulled in by a virtually untouched Nate Becker. Suddenly it was a 21-20 Army lead and Miami head coach Chuck Martin already knew what he was going to do.



"We were going to go for (the) two (-point conversion)," Martin said. "Before the game, I told our kids that everything we have is due to the sacrifice and service of everyone who wears the (military) uniform. I told them that the greatest honor they could show this (Army) team is to play hard the whole game. They (Army) never quit and we could honor them by never quitting, either."



Unfortunately, emotion overcame the elated Becker, who spiked the ball and was given an Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty. Instead of having a 50:50 chance of scoring from Army 3 yard line, the 15-yard penalty meant that the probability of gaining two points was far less likely, and Martin elected to try a kick. The boot split the uprights, knotting the score and sending the game to overtime.



On their first overtime possessions, both teams gained about 10 yards before settling field goals. On the second overtime possessions, Army had the first attempt. Starting on the Miami 25, Kell Walker found a hole and gained eight yards. Woolfolk pushed forward for three and then Walker gained one, but benefitted from a grabbing the facemask penalty that was given to Miami's Bart Baratti. Now, Army was in a first-and-goal situation from the Miami 7.



On the next play, Thomas handed off to Woolfolk, who charged straight ahead. As Woolfolk broke over the line of scrimmage, three Miami defenders grabbed him and held on. Woolfolk dragged the trio forward, bulling towards the goal line as two more Redhawks fell on his back, driving him towards the turf. Reaching forward with the ball in his outstretched hand, Woolfolk broke the plane of the goal line a fraction of a second before his knee hit the ground. With the successful point after kick, Army led 31-24.



The Redhawks remained focused on the win. Ragland took control, completing a 2-yard pass to Jalen Walker and a 10-yard toss to Kenny Young. Now on the Army 13, the confidant Miami leader dropped back looking for an open receiver. But Army's Riley swept in from his blind side and sacked Ragland for a five-yard loss. An incompletion, a five-yard completion to Walker and a crucial delay of game penalty left Army with a fourth-and15 situation on the Army 18. An Army victory seemed assured.



With the game again on the line, Ragland dropped back, momentarily hesitated in the hopes a receiver could break free, and fired a strike to the back left corner of the endzone. Luke Mayock pulled in the toss and suddenly the score was 31-30.



Coach Martin was not going to drag the game on further. He told Ragland to go for two points.

The quarterback did as instructed, but two Army defenders broke through the line and reached out for the tackle. Ragland darted back and to his left as he felt arms bring him down. Somehow he twisted his body and threw a "hail Mary" across field before his knee hit the ground. The cannon ending the game was fired prematurely as the ball was in the air. Amazingly, Miami's fleet Kenny Young grabbed the toss on the Army 5 and was charging full speed towards the goal when Army's Riley made a direct hit on the runner's left side, driving him to turf a yard short of the goal and sealing the 31-30 Army win.



"Some of it is just plain luck," said winning head coach Jeff Monken. "I'll take all they send out way. Our guys are playing hard. When you play really, really hard, play with good fundamentals, you can make things happen to go your way."



The exciting ending came after a regulation four quarters of extremely hard-fought football.



The Redhawks took the opening kickoff, but the balanced Army defense contained two pass attempts and a run, giving Thomas and the Army offense their first possession. Much of the Black Knights' deep running corps got into the act as a Kell Walker, Darnell Woolfolk, Connor Slomka, and Davidson and Thomas all carried the ball during a classic 12-play, 54-yard drive that gave the cadets a 7-0 lead and ate 6:51 off the game clock.



The Redhawks, under the direction of Ragland, began to find a bit of running success, advancing 48 yards on 10 plays, but the drive stalled on the Army 26 and the hosts took possession on downs. Thomas again led the offense as if he had been doing it all season, this time leading a 15-play, 74-yard drive that ended with an 11-yard charge through a massive hole on the left side to give Army a 14-0 lead with 9:40 remaining in the second quarter.



A serpentine, 45-yard kickoff return by Miami's Maurice Thomas gave the Redhawks great field position and Ragland started to find his rhythm, completing a 3-yard pass to Jack Sorenson, a 13-yard pass to Nate Becker, and a 34-yard touchdown completion to a wide open Kenny Young. In just 2:00, Miami had cut the lead to 14-7.



With a fair catch, Army started its next possession on its own 25 with 7:40 remaining until intermission. Thomas again orchestrated a solid drive as Woolfolk, Walker, Jordan Asberry, Thomas and Slomka all handled the ball and moved it steadily down field. With just six ticks left on the clock, the Black Knights found themselves on the Army 1 on fourth down. Woolfolk got the call and, to the surprise of all, was stopped at the line of scrimmage to leave the score 14-7 at the break.



Army led 14-7 entering the third quarter, but both teams made adjustments during the halftime break and neither squad count sustain momentum during their first possessions. On the second play of Army's second possession on the half, Thomas had his biggest moment in a big day with 3:42 left in the third quarter. Rolling right, he found a hole inside right tackle, took three strides and found another gear. Only a desperate diving tackle by Miami's Mike Brown brought down the quarterback after a 52-yard charge to the Miami 24. Six plays later, he found a similar hole an ran untouched into the end zone to build the Army advantage to 21-7. Another long Army drive (eight plays for 80 yards), another Army score.



As the fourth quarter began, Ragland tried to ignite the Miami offense. A mix of nine passes (five completions) and seven rushes moved the ball 60 yards but stalled on the Army 22. All Army needed was two or three first downs to seal the win, but Thomas was stopped for no gain on the first play and the next two runs by Woolfolk and Thomas gained only six yards, necessitating a Nick Schrage punt. Miami would soon close the gap and force the exciting, double overtime conclusion.