Home College Football No. 16 Wake Forest Takes Care Of Army 70-56 At West Point

No. 16 Wake Forest Takes Care Of Army 70-56 At West Point

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Photo Credit: Adam Hunger/AP

West Point, N.Y.— Sam Hartman threw five touchdowns and No.16 Wake Forest beat Army 70-56 by scoring the third-most points in program history Saturday afternoon in front of a sold-out crowd at Michie Stadium at West Point, N.Y.

Hartman also ran for a touchdown while he amassed 458 yards in the air on 23-of-29 passing as the Demon Deacons rolled up 638 yards of offense.

When it was over, Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson used one word to describe the game: “Wow!”

Both teams traded touchdowns into the third before Wake Forest (7-0) took off when Traveon Reed’s 83-yard interception return for a touchdown to put them up 42-28. That was the first time that Wake led by more than a touchdown.

Wake Forest’s lead was 56-49 with eight minutes left in the game after Army’s Jabari Laws hit Tyrell Robinson for a 25-yard touchdown strike.

The Demon Deacons reciprocated on Hartman’s 8-yard touchdown run with 6:57 remaining for a 63-49 advantage. Wake Forest Demons scored again, Justice Ellison ran it from 46 yards out with 1:48 to play. The Black Knights scored a touchdown on Laws’ 39-yard pass to Isaiah Alston.

Three of Hartman’s touchdown passes went to wide receiver Jaquarii Roberson, covering 41, 75, and a 2-yarder.

Christian Beal-Smith had 71 rushing yards and a touchdown for the Deacons.

The Black Knights (4-3) lost its third straight game despite accumulating up 595 yards of total offense. Laws was 9-for-11 in the air for 140 yards and three touchdowns.

Photo Credit: Adam Hunger/AP

“It felt like whoever had the ball last was going to win,” Clawson said. “That was about as clean a performance as I’ve ever seen. Every time we had to make a play we made a play. We found a way to win.”

Tyhier Tyler of Army ran for 104 yards on 15 carries and scored a touchdown, while Robinson gained 98 yards on 11 carries and Anthony Adkins had 93 yards and a touchdown on 10 attempts. Jakobi Buchanan scored on two runs for the Knights.

Wake Forest have won their last four visits to West Point. This marked the first meeting since Army won a 2016 road matchup.

Army rushed for 416 yards and moved the ball effortlessly. The teams combined for 1,233 yards in a contest that featured just one punt and was the second-highest scoring game involving an Atlantic Coast Conference team, according to Elias Sports, after Pitt’s 76-61 win over Syracuse in 2016.

Wake Forest didn’t commit a turnover, while both of Army’s giveaways came in the second half after reaching Wake Forest’s territory, which was the difference in the game.

“Yeah, it was frustrating,” Army coach Jeff Monken said. “If I was a fan of football and just watching, that’s a fun offense to watch. I hate I had to watch it from our sideline.”

The Deacons remains undefeated and in a great spot in the Atlantic Division. But there’s plenty to figure out between now the end of the season, with five games left and the teeth of their conference schedule ahead of them.

“It’s hard to say we defended anything well today,” Clawson said. “I mean, the plays that we stopped them, those who are more fluke than the plays.

“…It was just we didn’t we didn’t play well. We made uncharacteristic mental mistakes, And that’s part of the offense. But there’s no excuse for how poorly we played. We got to get some things fixed.”

UP NEXT:

Wake Forest returns to ACC action to host Duke next Saturday.