Army: Football just outside of the Top 25 in both polls

Army Football is starting to get some love in the polls

The Black Knights are starting to get noticed in both the AP and Coaches Polls, receiving 128 and 58 votes respectively. With a record of 8-2 they definitely should be getting that kind of love, and probably more. With that said, back to back FCS opponents, including this week’s matchup against an undefeated Colgate, that is unlikely to happen. The prospect of facing a 2-10 Navy isn’t likely to do them any favors either.

Kenneth Brinson named a finalist for the Pop Warner Little Scholar Award

Brinson was named one of six finalists for the honor. This award recognizes “a graduating senior who has made a difference on the field, in the classroom and in his community, and serves as a role model to Pop Warner’s young student athletes.” The award will be present during the Pop Warner Super Bowl at Walt Disney World’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida. Previous winners include NFL stars such as CB Prince Amukamara and TE Evan Engram.

Captain Courtney Horace named All-Patriot League Second Team

The Junior received second team honors this week; the first time in Horace’s career she has received post season honors. She averaged 2.76 points per set and totalted 10 double digit kill matches on the year.

Buckingham Named Rookie of the Week

Cate Buckingham received ROW honors this week as the Black Knights took back-to-back victories of Bucknell (3-1) and regular season Patriot League champs American (3-2). The freshman led the team with 27 kills over the weekend and averaged 3.38 kills per set.

Black Knights put up a fight at Cameron Indoor Stadium

No one thought Army’s matchup against #4 Duke would be exciting. Traveling to Durham to face West Point Alumni, and Duke headman Coach K, was supposed to be a fun experience for the Cadets. At halftime however, with a score of 50-42, some were asking if the Black Knights were better than the Kentucky Wildcats, since they put up more of a fight against the Blue Devils. Army ended up falling 94-72, but no one is going to question the effort they put up against one of the best teams in the country, coached by the greatest men’s basketball coach of all time.

Navy: Volleyball, Wrestling, and Squash dominate

Navy Women’s Volleyball well-represented in Patriot League Honors

The Mids will find several familiar names in this year’s Patriot League Post-Season Honors. Most notably is Senior Patricia Mattingly who was named setter of the year for the third year in a row. Mattingly was also named to the first team; her third time receiving that honor as well. Sophmore Maddi Sgatonni joins Mattingly on the first team. Senior Katie Patrick makes another appearance receiving post-season honors, this year she was named to the second team. This star-studded lineup will face Loyola in the Patriot League Tournament Semifinals this weekend in Washington D.C.

Navy Wrestling performs well at Bearcat Open

9 of the 20 Mids who participated in the Open placed in the top 6 of their weight class. The most notable performance came from senior captain Nicholas Gil, the two-time NCAA qualifier won 5 straight matches in the 141 pound weight class to take the title. Head Coach Joel Sharratt called Gil “A Hammer” who delivers every time he hits the mat.

Men’s Squash taking it to national powerhouses

We won’t often talk about a squash team, but when they are undefeated, ranked, and racking up back to back wins against higher ranked competition, it’s worth mentioning here at Against All Enemies. This is all being accomplished under first year headman Tyler Osborne, who has racked up four wins against ranked opponents this season. If this were basketball or football, it’s all you would hear about.

A starting quarterback without a controversy?

Look I am not interested in Monday-morning quarterbacking this team. Niumatalolo and Jasper clearly know how to run this program, despite this season’s record. No one can reasonably fault them for putting the rock in the hands of their best playmaker in Malcolm Perry. It was a great experiment that unfortunately hasn’t panned out as Navy fans had hoped and dreamed. If you want to explore this subject more, Bill Wagner over at the Capital Gazette brings up some interesting points to consider.

Air Force: Men’s Soccer to host first round game of NCAA Tournament

Men’s soccer is returning to the NCAA tournament

Air Force Men’s Soccer (15-4, 8-2 in the WAC) draws a home match against Central Arkansas (8-5-4, 4-1-1 in the MVC) for their second straight NCAA tournament appearance. The Falcon’s will face off against the Bears this Thursday 15 November. Air Force enters the tournament on a two game skid with both loses coming in shutouts against Grand Canyon University, including a loss in the WAC semi-finals. The Antelopes of GCU are the only WAC opponent to best the Falcons this season. GCU also earned a spot in the tournament by defeating San Jose State in the WAC tournament championship.

Air Force hosts the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams

The NFL’s L.A. Rams are heading to Mexico City for Monday Night Football against the Kansas City Chiefs in Estadio Azteca. In preparation for the game at altitude, the Rams are spending the week practicing in Colorado Springs in the Falcons football facilities.

The Falcons impress in the first round of the Big 12 Wrestling Tournament

Air Force Wrestling went toe-to-toe with rival Fresno State in the opening round of the Big 12 opener. The Falcons bested the Bulldogs 19-15 n a Veteran’s Day matchup. The teams went back-and-forth all evening with five of the Falcons six wins coming by decision, and the decisive sixth victory coming from Senior Co-Captain Anthony McLaughlin in the 197 pound match.

Air Force Lacrosse coaching staff continues to rebuild

Falcon’s Lacrosse got quite a boost in their coaching staff this week when they added John Grant Jr. Coach Grant has been coaching at the professional level for nearly two decades, including time with Team Canada when they won the gold medal in the World Games in 2014. Grant was also an integral part of leading the Denver Outlaws to a Major League Lacrosse Championship in 2018.