Game Summary: Wake Forest Defeats Army 45-10

The Deacs defense stymied a normally tough Black Knights offense

In their final non-conference game of the season, Wake Forest took care of business against Army, cruising to a 45-10 win.

First Quarter:

Starting with the ball, Army opened the game with a 47-yard pass to Tyrell Robinson. The completion was quarterback Tyhier Tyler’s third of the season and first that wasn’t for a touchdown. With the Black Knights on the doorstep, Wake Forest stole a possession — linebacker Chase Jones poked the ball free on a run and recovered it himself.

In their first drive of the game, Wake Forest followed the Black Knights’ model with a 46-yard diving catch by A.T. Perry. Three plays later, the Deacs were in the end zone with a run up the middle by Christian Turner.

After Army converted on fourth down from their own 11-yard line, they were forced to punt a few plays later. From there, the Deacs turned to Justice Ellison, who tallied rushes for 18, 14, 15 and three yards, the final getting him the touchdown.

Second Quarter:

Trailing by 14, Army closed the first quarter with four straight rushes for 23 yards. In the second frame, though, the Black Knights couldn’t find further success, turning the ball over on downs at the Wake 33-yard line.

After a Wake turnover on downs of their own, the defense once again stopped the Army offense right in their tracks.

With a 12-play, five-minute drive, the Deacs dissected the Army defense. Sam Hartman completed passes of 15, 17 and 13 yards, reaching the one-yard line. On fourth down, head coach Dave Clawson elected to go for it, and Quinton Cooley punched the ball in for the score, giving Wake Forest a 21-0 lead.

With an opportunity to score to end the first half, linebacker Dylan Hazen intercepted Cade Ballard. Wake Forest knelt out the remaining four seconds on the clock.

Third Quarter:

To begin the third quarter, Wake Forest moved down the field with two straight quarterback keepers by Hartman, one of which had a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty tagged on top of it. Then, Hartman connected with a wide-open Perry for the 26-yard touchdown, extending the Deacs’ lead to 28.

Following a missed 42-yard kick by Quinn Maretzski, the Deacs marched down the field with 24 and 37-yard passes by Hartman. From the Army four-yard line, Turner tumbled into the end zone for his second score of the day.

After an Army three-and-out, Matthew Dennis added his first field goal of the day from 38 yards out to extend the lead to 38.

Fourth Quarter:

With a new quarterback, Jemel Jones, in the game, the Army offense finally found some footing. After a 25-yard completion, Jones hit Isaiah Alston in the end zone for a 20-yard score, ending Wake Forest’s shutout.

With backup quarterback Mitch Griffis in the game, the Deacs mixed in several rushes by redshirt Will Towns and Griffis himself. On third down, Griffis then uncorked a nice, over-the-shoulder touchdown to true freshman Wesley Grimes. The score was Grimes’ first as a Deac.

After a final Army field goal, the remaining minutes were run off the clock, giving Wake Forest the 45-10 victory.

Key Stats:

• QB Sam Hartman: 13/19, 246 yards, 1 TD
• WR A.T. Perry: 5 catches, 118 yards, 1 TD
• RB Justice Ellison: 11 carries, 96 yards, 1 TD
• RB Christian Turner: 8 carries, 46 yards, 2 TDs
• LB Dylan Hazen: 12 tackles, 0.5 sacks, 1 interception
• LB Chase Jones: 7 tackles, 0.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery
• DE Kendron Wayman: 3 tackles, 1.5 sacks

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