Sprint football shellacked by Army in season opener

The sprint football team's showing in the inaugural Adirondack Trust Allegiance Bowl in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. will most likely not inspire any desire to go back for a second Allegiance Bowl. Army (1-1 overall) put 28 points on the scoreboard in the first quarter on its way to a 77-0 rout.

The story of the game was the disparity between the two offenses. While the Black Knights' attack had no problem finding the end zone, Princeton (0-1) could only muster 14 yards of total offense.

Army scored on its first four possessions of the game and added two more offensive touchdowns before the end of the half. These scores, coupled with two defensive touchdowns, propelled the Black Knights to a commanding 56-0 lead by the half.

Running back Patrick Hall of Army capped off two six-play drives with one-yard touchdown runs to put the Black Knights out in front 14-0 only six minutes, 41 seconds into the game.

On Army's ensuing possession, running back Nathan Navarro finished a six-play, 35-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown run. Just over a minute later, the Black Knights struck again. This time, however, it was the Army defense that added to the lead on the scoreboard, as the corps forced a Tiger fumble and returned it 16 yards to the end zone.

The second quarter was just as disheartening for the Tigers as the first. The Black Knights continued the scoring onslaught, registering another 28 points on four touchdowns.

Only half a minute into the second quarter, Army linebacker Andrew Bigelow sacked sophomore quarterback Alex Kandabarow in the end zone, forcing the ball to slip out of Kandabarow's hands in the process. The Black Knights pounced on the ball for another defensive score.

The ensuing kickoff did not go Princeton's way either, as Army recovered the kickoff on the Tigers' own 22-yard line. Just over two minutes later, quarterback Braden Amigo found wide receiver Christian Cortez for a 13-yard score.

The bleeding continued. With five minutes to go in the first half, a Kandabarow pass was intercepted and returned for 26 yards to the Princeton 15. Hall finished off the drive with a five-yard scamper, his third touchdown and the Black Knights' seventh of the day.

To cap off a 56-point first half of football, Army's backup quarterback hit Cortez on a 55-yard pass play for a touchdown.

The halftime locker room talk did little to improve the Tigers' play. The Black Knights rushed for two more touchdowns in the third quarter and took an interception the other way for the score early in the fourth quarter.

Army managed an incredible 410 yards of total offense in the game, 283 yards of which came on the ground. Amigo, who did not have to shoulder as much of the offensive load as he has done in the past, finished six-of-eight for 72 yards and one touchdown.

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The Black Knight defense, equally as impressive, forced six turnovers, recorded five sacks and limited Princeton to two first downs. The Tigers went 2-of-14 on third down tries under Army's relentless pressure.

"They were blitzing from the outside all afternoon," Kandabarow said. "They put a lot of pressure on the passing game. It was difficult to find my rhythm."

The Princeton offense, which passed for 65 yards, rushed for negative 51 yards. Sophomore wide receiver Lon Johnson led all receivers with five receptions for 45 yards. Kandabarow finished four-of-13 for 51 yards.

Saturday's contest provided a learning experience for those team members who had not yet played in a collegiate football game. Despite the lopsided score, there were a few other positives that the team took away from Saturday's game.

"Our punt team looked pretty good this weekend," Kandabarow said. "Also, our defense was able to stop Army occasionally, which was a positive."

The Tigers will look to rebound Friday night against Penn in Philadelphia.