West Point, N.Y. – With rain deflecting off the turf at Michie Stadium in a monsoon-like scene, Army’s student section popped onto its feet and bounced up and down to the beat of loudspeakers and the marching band. Down 24–20, Boston College football faced a fourth-down situation with just over seven minutes to play and failed to convert. The Eagles walked off the field looking tired and dejected. Sporting green camouflage uniforms, Army fans pumped their hands up and down in a ballistic rhythm.
The Eagles had been ahead all game long. But at the 11:43 mark in the fourth quarter, the Black Knights reversed the scoring mojo and took their first lead of the game on a 9-yard pass to Tyson Riley.
While a 3-yard flick pass to Hayden Reed seemed to put the game away for good on Army’s next offensive drive—as Reed took the third-down catch all the way into the end zone from 50-plus yards out—officials penalized Army quarterback Bryson Daily for an illegal forward pass. The Eagles received the ball on their own 38-yard line with one more chance at redemption—that is, redeeming the lead they had lost despite holding the advantage for the first three quarters of the matchup.
On the back of quarterback Thomas Castellanos, BC (3–3, 1–2 Atlantic Coast) completed a 12-play, 62-yard drive to go back on top 27–24 with just 25 seconds left in regulation. Castellanos’ fourth rushing touchdown of the game secured the Eagles’ first back-to-back victory since the 2021 season as more rain swallowed Army’s (2–3) remaining fans.
“He rushed the ball 31 times for 157 yards and four touchdowns,” BC head coach Jeff Hafley said. “But tough. Because we weren’t just running them on the perimeter. We were running quarterback power, quarterback counter, and he was taking some shots. Just a gritty effort.”
Cooper Allan shanked Army’s first punt of the game just 16 yards down the field and allowed the Eagles to creep into scoring territory with ease on their second offensive possession.
BC took advantage of the ideal field position right away. Castellanos scurried on a quarterback carry 20 yards away from Army’s end zone, trotting through defenders after dodging two behind the line of scrimmage to break the scoring plane. Liam Connor missed the extra point attempt to keep the score at 6–0.
The Black Knights hadn’t allowed a single point in the first quarter up until that point, previously outscoring opponents 36–0 in opening frames.
On the flip side, the Eagles halted an opponent to zero first downs on the opponent’s first three offensive drives for the first time all season. Neto Okpala prevented Reed from reaching the first down mark just over the one-minute mark in the first quarter for BC’s third third-down stop on Army in the first frame.
“This is a different offense to play,” Hafley said. “It’s not your typical zone read football. Now there’s a pitch element, there’s guys pulling all over the place, but we shrunk the game plan getting ready for this team.”
Despite starting the second quarter with a quality look downfield, finding Jaden Williams for a long gain, Castellanos tossed his first interception on the very next series. Castellanos motioned Lewis Bond to run backward after digging across the field, but his throw was wide and long as it drifted into the hands of Quindrelin Hammonds. Army marched down the field and painted its first points on the board with a 22-yard field goal.
Moving the chains continued to not be a problem for the Eagles’ offense. A mix of carries in the backfield and Castellanos keeps provided a haven for BC as it steadily trudged forward.
On 4th-and-3 from the Black Knights’ 17-yard line with 2:27 left in the first half, the offensive line opened up a gaping hole on the left side for Pat Garwo III to high step through. Castellanos made Army pay on the ground for his second rushing touchdown of the game, dashing through the line of scrimmage on a designed quarterback sneak to make it 13–3.
“At the end of the second, I started feeling like our 3-yarders were now going for six or seven,” Hafley said. “And then we hit some explosives.”
Featuring the triple option in the backfield to start the second half, Tyrell Robinson took a handoff for 10 yards to snatch Army’s first touchdown of the game, cutting the deficit to 13–10.
On BC’s next offensive drive, however, Garwo trampled through a heap of blockers on the right end for a gain of 50 yards. Classically, Castellanos made Army’s linebackers look like they were in slow motion with his mobility, recording his third rushing touchdown of the game to take a 20–10 lead.
“I feel like we’re rolling now,” Castellanos said. “We got our groove.”
But the Black Knights snapped the deficit right back to three points as Reed piled onto Army’s scoring total with a 6-yard rushing touchdown. Reed carried multiple BC defenders with him as he fell into the end zone on his torso.
“It’s like a boxer,” linebacker Vinny DePalma said of the triple option. “They lull you and lull you to sleep, and then they come in with a big haymaker, and if you don’t have great eyes, if you’re not sound on every play, they can get you.”
After a three-and-out caused by a holding penalty and an illegal block in the back, the Black Knights got right back in tempo. Taking the ball down the field with the likes of switch run plays and passing plays to Reed and Riley, Daily then flipped a 9-yard touchdown pass to Riley smudged between two BC defenders. Army’s third touchdown of the contest put them in the front seat for the first time at 24–20.
But Castellanos’ magic never stopped, as his game-sealing rushing touchdown secured the Eagles’ third win of the season to go back to a .500 record.
“We knew they weren’t going to quit,” Hafley said. “I told the team all week: This team prides itself on being the toughest, most disciplined team in the country and they’ll never quit and you can’t make ’em quit, and they didn’t.”
