WEST POINT, NY – It didn’t matter if it was Larry Dixon, Angel Santiago or A.J. Schurr running past the Ball State defense, they only looked like a blur.
Going up against one of the toughest running teams in the nation, the Ball State football team surrendered 425 yards on the ground in a 33-24 loss to Army.
“Bottom line is, I have to find a way to get these guys to play with more detail, more discipline and more consistency,” Ball State head coach Pete Lembo said. “We’re showing flashes right now of good execution, but too often we’re having breakdowns that are critical and negatively affecting our chances to get the results that we want.”
An Edwards fumble on the second play of the game was hardly the start Ball State was looking for. The ball was ripped out and recovered by Army deep in Ball State territory.
“The game plan is to come in and win, and I turned the ball over. It doesn’t matter how many yards I had,” Edwards said.
Facing its first third down of the game, Army set the tone when Schurr took off for 16 yards. Four plays later, he pushed forward for a touchdown, giving Army a 7-0 lead after the extra point, less than four minutes into the game.
Edwards ignited the struggling Ball State offense minutes later. Taking a handoff to the right, a defender bounced off him and he cut back to the left. Making two more defenders miss, he sprinted 56 yards to the end zone, tying the game at seven.
Feeling momentum starting to swing, Army’s Dixon took the first play of the next drive 40 yards, before Schurr scored on another one-yard run a few plays later.
“We had two weeks to prepare for these guys, you’ve got to be at your best,” linebacker Ben Ingle said. “We beat ourselves out there, we didn’t get a stop when we needed to … we’re going to be talking with each other to see what we can do to get better.”
After Ball State kicker Scott Secor connected on a short 22-yard attempt to cut the lead to 17-10, Army quarterback Angel Santiago broke off runs of 27 and 37 yards, pushing the ball deep into Cardinal territory. The Black Knights fell short of the end zone, and settled for a field goal going into halftime.
The second half began much how the first half ended, with Dixon breaking off a rush of 27 and Terry Baggett having a rush for 25, setting Army up on the goal line. Facing fourth and goal, Santiago kept the ball and came up short, Ball State getting a much needed stop.
Ball State didn’t take advantage, running three times and punting, immediately putting the ball back into its opponent’s hands.
Feeding off momentum, Santiago found receiver Edgar Poe deep for a 37-yard pass to the Ball State nine. Aaron Kemper took the ball up the middle for the touchdown, his first of the season, extending the lead to 27-10.
With the game slipping away, Edwards rumbled in from nine yards away on Ball State’s next drive, breaking a tackle at the line of scrimmage before breaking away into the end zone, cutting the lead to 27-17.
He finished the game with 142 yards and two touchdowns.
The Cardinal defense forced a quick stop, capped with a sack from defensive lineman Keenan Noel. Ball State marched downfield, using a six-yard touchdown pass from Mann to tight end Dylan Curry to cut the Army lead to 27-24.
Army answered, with Baggett tearing off a three-yard carry deep into Ball State territory. A few plays later, Santiago took the ball to the right, sprinting into the end zone to extend the lead to 33-24 after a botched extra point. Santiago finished 102 yards rushing, Dixon led with 189.
“It’s different seeing them in person,” Lembo said about Santiago and Dixon. “I think they’re a very good offensive team and a running team, but we didn’t help ourselves."
Mann was picked off on the next drive, effectively ending Ball State’s chances.
“I have to continue working hard to demand more consistency out of our guys and demand better decision making out of our guys,” Lembo said.
The offense held onto the ball for just over 22 minutes, exhausting the defense and leaving little room for error.
"We put our defense in a bad spot,” Edwards said. “We can’t be making those mistakes.”
His head slowly drooped down, the 1-4 record containing a gut-wrenching loss to Iowa, a last-second defeat to Indiana State, and two rain soaked debacles against Toledo and Army setting in.
“Man,” he whispered, his eyes closing, his voice trailing off.
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