WEST POINT, N.Y. – Army junior slotback Patrick Mealy's 17-yard touchdown run with 8:58 remaining in the fourth quarter helped Army rally past VMI, 22-17, Saturday afternoon at Michie Stadium in West Point, N.Y. 

The Black Knights held off VMI's upset bid and snapped a three-game losing skid while moving to 4-6. The Keydets, who had knocked off Army just once in the 14-game series history, fell to 2-8 on the year.

VMI had taken the lead on the first play of the fourth quarter when senior running back Howard Abegesah rumbled 44 yards for a touchdown and Jeff Sexton's extra point lifted the Keydets to a 17-16 lead. The score culminated a second half that saw the VMI offense come to life while the special teams produced a crucial takeaway that led to another score.

Abegesah led VMI in rushing with 111 yards on 24 carries and a touchdown and produced his 13th career 100-yard game. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Cam Jones entered the game in the third quarter and rushed for 100 yards on three carries and tossed a touchdown pass.

Mealy led all ground gainers with 136 yards on 16 attempts with a touchdown. Army Freshman quarterback Trent Steelman completed 11 of 14 passes for 174 yards and a touchdown and 6-10 senior wide receiver Ali Villanueva hauled his seven receptions for 119 yards and a score. 

In a battle that pitted two of the top rushing attacks in the country, VMI outgained Army 328-186 on the ground, but the Black Knights held the advantage through the air, 174-19. The Black Knights also held the advantage in time-of-possession, 31:24 to 28:36. Both teams were perfect on red-zone scoring chances with Army converting four-of-four inside the redzone while the Keydets capitalizing on its two red-zone chances.

The VMI defense racked up nine tackles for loss for 55 yards on the day and redshirt sophomore A.J. Gross led the defensive charts with nine stops. Redshirt junior defensive tackle Ben Brandt had two tackles-for-loss for seven yards.

After an exchange of fumbles on each team's opening possession, Army got on the board first when Steelman lofted a timing pass in the left corner of the endzone that Villanueva snatched to put the Black Knights up, 7-0, with 5:33 left in the first quarter.

Army built the lead to 10-0 late in the first half when sophomore placekicker Alex Carlton booted the first of three field goals on the afternoon at the 4:20 mark of the second quarter, a 28-yard effort that capped a drive aided by a pass interference and offsides infraction flagged against the VMI defense. A 14-yard third down conversion pass from Steelman to Villanueva to the VMI 17 helped set up the score.

VMI's offense had trouble getting on track in the first half seeing its first four possessions of the game end on a fumble, downs (Army 33-yard line), and two punts.

The Keydets  trailed 10-0 at the break, but a rejuvenated offense under Jones gave VMI the spark it needed to climb back into the game. VMI took its opening drive of the second half 92 yards on six plays and was keyed by a 68-yard Jones dash down the right sideline to the Army 18. Three plays later, Jones flipped a 13-yard scoring strike to senior slotback Tim Maypray that put the Keydets on the board at the 12:21 mark of the third quarter. Sexton's extra point was good and the Keydets trailed 10-7.

Army return man Damion Hunter was drilled by VMI's T.J. Talley on the ensuing kickoff and coughed up the football which was recovered by VMI's Julian Bowers at the Army 27. VMI ran the next seven plays that covered  16 yards, and had to settle for Sexton's 28-yard field goal that knotted the score, 10-10, with 9:07 left in the third quarter.

The Black Knights added Carlton third quarter field goals of 41 and 37 yards to take a 16-10 with 55 seconds remaining in the period.
After VMI took its only lead of the game following Abegesah's fourth quarter TD run, both teams exchanged punts before the Black Knights assembled what would be the game's decisive scoring drive that was marked by a crucial video replay overturn that worked in Army's favor.

On a third-and-nine from the VMI 39, a 22-yard boundary pass from Steelman to Villenueva was ruled incomplete for being out-of-bounds. The video replay official called for a review as Army's punt unit was lined up on the field ready to kick the ball away back to the Keydets,  and after several minutes of review, the call on the field was overturned, extending  the Black Knights' possession. One play later, Mealy scored on a 17-yard cutback rush to put the Black Knights up for good. An ensuing  two-point conversion run was unsuccessful.

The Keydets saw its final two possessions end on downs, the final penetration halted at the Black Knight 34 as Jones pass to wideout Mario Scott fell incomplete inside the Army 10 with 20 seconds remaining.

VMI returns home for its season finale next Saturday as it takes on Old Dominion at Foster Stadium at 1:30 p.m. on Military Appreciation Day.     

Quotes - VMI Head Coach Sparky Woods
"I want to congratulate Army - they made the plays they had to in order to win the game. I'm really disappointed for our football team. We did not (make plays).We missed tackles, they broke tackles. We turned the ball over, and we didn't make enough plays. Congratulations to them. We don't have any excuse. If we want to win, we have to play better."

(Ref.: halftime adjustments)
"We talked about doing better. We made a little adjustment on offense and tried to get the ball outside. We were having trouble getting the ball outside. Once we did, we were able to run the fullback dive a little bit. I really don't think it had anything to do with the adjustments. It had more to with missing tackles and (Army) breaking tackles. We made some mental errors is the first two series that got us down and got us in trouble. I was disappointed in that."

(Ref.: his team's preparation)
"We were ready to play, but we were anxious. Sometimes you react that way. We were not a well-coached team at that period (early in the game). Our kids fought back and I'm proud of that but we're not very happy. We really lost the game, and we're not very happy."

(Ref.: playing a fellow service academy)
"I think it's great for college football and great for our country. These two schools are awesome in what they stand for. What these young men are all about is awesome. I hope the competitiveness of both teams shows through. I love playing (Army), because you have such great respect for West Point. We have a lot of pride in our school and we are working hard to make some people recognize us, and be proud of what we are doing at VMI as well."