Mule-Kicked - cusa-fans.com (PHOTOS)

[mr. pony]

Mule-Kicked
Army Edges Error-Prone Mustangs, 16-14, In Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl
By Rick Atkinson for cusa-fans.com
http://cusa-fans.com/



DALLAS – Turnovers and missed field goals spelled doom for SMU on Thursday as a fired-up Army squad, hungry for its first bowl win in 25 years, pounced on the Mustangs early then hung on for dear life.

Army’s Josh McNary returned a fumble 55 yards for a touchdown on the game’s third play from scrimmage and the Black Knights would never trail. SMU quarterback Kyle Padron, who coughed up McNary’s scoop-six, was picked off twice before halftime as Army built a 16-0 lead.

“It’s something that shouldn’t have happened,” Padron said of the fumble. “It could have been avoided. But we always talk about ‘one snap and clear.’ It’s a big motto with our team. And one play’s not going to make or break the ballgame. I know that.”

Oddly, SMU lost the game with: a 413-229 edge in total yards, the game’s leading rusher, the game’s leading receiver and the game’s leading passer.

And here’s something else you don’t see much: SMU coach June Jones appeared to “ice” his own kicker, Matt Szymanski, with a timeout before a 47-yard potential game-winning field goal attempt. The kick sailed wide left and Army ran out the remaining four minutes. (Szymanski also missed from 35-yards out in the first quarter.)

“I took the timeout to just tell him to hit the ball, relax, don’t rush it,” Jones said. “And it looked like he rushed it, which is easy to do when you’re a young kid and [there’s] a lot on the line.”

SMU held Army’s10th-ranked rushing attack, averaging 256 yards per game, to 199 yards. The Black Knights offense put together one touchdown drive, an eight-play, 80-yarder in the first quarter capped by Malcolm Brown’s 13-yard run. (Six-eight Margus Hunt blocked the extra point.) Army’s Alex Carlton added a 44-yard field goal late in the second quarter.

Linebacker Taylor Reed led the Mustangs with 12 tackles, 11 unassisted.

“Defense, as a whole, we did a great job,” Reed said. “I can’t even comment on it. There’s nothing I can say. We held them to what, nine points, defensively? If you would have come to me the day before [this game] and said, ‘You hold this team to 16 points and you lose,’ I couldn’t believe you.”

“I tip my hat off to Army.”

“After the first series, everybody defensively settled down,” Reed said. “We knew that you’ve got to do your assignments. But apparently it was not enough. They won, we lost.”

“[At halftime], Coach Jones told us, defensively, keep playing your butts off. And offensively, they did have some mistakes, they had to pick it up.”

Reed said perhaps SMU underestimated the Black Knights. “Any given game, man,” he said. “I don’t know if that’s how everybody’s mindset was, but how I see it today is, we didn’t expect that Army was going to play up to the level of us. I think we played down to their level. Any given game you’ve got to respect your opponent.”

The Mustangs finally scored late in the third quarter on an 8-yard pass from Padron to Aldrick Robinson. In the fourth, Darius Johnson, SMU’s bowl MVP with 152 yards on nine catches, made a leaping 28-yard catch in the end zone to draw the Mustangs to within 16-14 with nine minutes left.

After an Army three-and-out, Padron led SMU to the Black Knights’ 30 before Szymanski’s failed kick for the lead.

Zach Line, C-USA’s top rusher, tallied 103 yards on 17 carries for SMU - a 6.1-yard average.

Padron finished with 302 yards passing, completing 23-of-34 attempts. “But three turnovers on my part, you just can’t do that,” he said. “It’s unfortunate. I feel bad for the seniors. I wish we had gone out on a better note.”

How tough is to put turnovers behind you during a game? “I try to look at the positives from it,” Padron said. “It gives us a shot to come back and fight some adversity. It’s a tough loss for all of us.”

“It has been a fun week, aside from right now,” Padron said when asked. “The Armed Forces Bowl is a great experience.” He called the gameday atmosphere, with a Ford Stadium record crowd of 36,742 on hand, “impressive.” “It was a lot of fun to play in front of all the military. With my dad being an ex-Lieutenant Colonel in the Army, it was kind of bittersweet for him, as well.”

“We thank the men and women overseas for what they do for our country,” Padron said. “And these guys right now, the cadets, may be sent over there, maybe not, but we thank them as well.”

[b_caesar]

Nice job, Rick on story & photos - not the outcome hoped for, but glad it was a close game - kept most of the bodies in the stands until that last BK 1st down.

[mr. pony]

Thanks.

Agreed.

[Big Hoss]

Nice pic of Peruna. Also dig the 17 on the side of the cover in honor of Dandy Don!

[bubba pony]

Peruna looks great.
what is that symbol on the helmets. looks like a skull and spears?

[mr. pony]

It's Hawaii warrior-type stuff.