Bryson Daily and Kanye Udoh ran for two touchdowns apiece as Army crushed Lehigh 42-7 in a Friday-night season opener at Michie Stadium.
Army got on the board first, after forcing a Lehigh punt. With fourth down, Brady Small took a fake punt 30 yards for a first down. Quarterback Bryson Daily later completed a 30 yard pass to Kayne Udoh to bring the Knights down to the Lehigh 1 yard line. On the next play, Daily took the ball on a keeper for the first score of the season.
The Mountain Hawks answered with a 9-play 75 yard scoring drive, highlighted by a completed pass from Dante Perri to Mason Humphrey. With 3rd down on the Army 18, Luke Yoder took a handoff and raced to the end zone.
On the next possession, the Black Knights moved 76 yards, highlighted by a Hayden Reed run for 11 yards and a Noah Short pitch for 8. Daily kept the ball for a 16-yard gain to the Lehigh two, and then pushed the ball over for the final two yards and his secnd touchdown of the evening to put Army up 14-7.
Following a Lehigh punt, Army took over on the 21, and raced 79 yards on 10 plays for a score. The drive was sparked by Udoh runs of 7, 5, 9 ,4 and finally 11 yards to get the ball into the end zone.
Late in the first half, the Mountain Hawks drove to the Army 32, but the drive stalled by a false-start penalty, an incomplete pass and finally an interception by cornerback Jaydan Mayes. The half ended with the Black Knights up 21-7.
The Black Knights took the second-half kickoff and an completed a 10-play, 77 yard scoring drive, highlighted by Daily’s pitch to Noah Short for a 46-yard run to the Lehigh 9. Moments later, Short took another pitch for three yards for complete the drive, putting Army up 28-7.
Lehigh Coach Kevin Cahill employed three quarterbacks during the game, and Hayden Johnson seemed to give the Mountain Hawks some spark in the third quarter. He ran for gains of 10 and 8 yards, driving down to the Army 8. But the drive ended when Army’s Donovan Platt picked off a Johnson pass in the end zone. It would be as close as Lehigh would get to the end zone for the remainder of the night.
Army made it 35-7 with a 12-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a one-yard run from Udoh, his second of the night.
After Lehigh was stopped on downs, Army drove down the field one more time, with Jake Rendina scoring on a three-yard run, with just 19 seconds remaining.
Army ended the night with 432 rushing yards and 25 first downs, playing a near perfect game, forcing two Lehigh turnovers to their none, and committing only one penalty for five yards.
Games notes:
Army (1-0) entered the 2024 season as a new member of the American Athletic Conference. They begin the league portion of their schedule on Saturday at Florida Atlantic University. The Black Knights return home on Saturday, Sept 21 for a noon kickoff against Rice.
Michie Stadium has a different look. The east stands have been completely demolished and ground has been broken on the Michie Stadium Preservation Project, a $177 million venture that will offer premium seating and other luxury amenities. The Corps of Cadets now occupies the north end zone.
Attendance for this rare Friday night game was 23,760.