Stephen McGee and Jerrod Johnson each threw a touchdown pass and defensive end Paul Freeney returned a fumble 58 yards for a touchdown to lead Texas A&M to a hard fought 21-17 win over Army in front of 84,090 at Kyle Field on Saturday afternoon.
It was a scoreless first quarter as Army and Texas A&M each punted three times.
On their first possession of the second quarter, the Aggies drove 90 yards in eight plays. After a 25-yard completion to tight end Jamie McCoy, Stephen McGee hit Jeff Fuller on a post route for a 42-yard touchdown. The extra point gave Texas A&M a 7-0 lead with 7:12 left in the second quarter.
Army immediately responded by driving 84 yards in 8 plays, taking advantage of three 15-yard personal fould penalties, and Tony Dace scored on a 9-yard run. Adam DeMarco's extra point tied the game at 7 with 3:09 left in the first half.
On the ensuing Aggies possession, Stephen McGee was knocked out of the game with a should injury and Jerrod Johnson came on for the Aggies. A Jerrod Johnson pass attempt was intercepted by Frank Scappaticci at the Army 46-yard line and returned for 9 yards to the A&M 45-yard line.
Facing 3rd down at the Aggie 37-yard line, Aggie linebacker Matt Featherston forced Army a fumble by Army quarterback Chip Bowden. Aggie defensive end Paul Freeney recovered at the A&M 42-yard line and rumbled 58 yards for an Aggie touchdown. Bean's extra point gave A&M a 14-7 lead with seven seconds left in the first half. The first half ended on Army's kickoff return.
Texas A&M received the second half kickoff and started with a bang. On their first play from scrimmage, Cyrus Grace raced 60 yards to the Army 11-yard line. Jerrod Johnson connected with tight end Jamie McCoy for an 11-yard touchdown. Bean's extra point extended the Aggie lead to 21-7 just over a minute into the third quarter.
Army drove 71 yards in 16 plays to the Aggie 7-yard line before having to settle for a Matthew Campbell 24-yard field goal to cut the Aggie lead to 21-10 with 5:28 left in the third quarter. On their next possession Army drove 74 yards in 13 plays with Patrick Mealy scored on a 4-yard run. DeMarco's extra point pulled Army to within 4, 21-17, with 8:46 left in the fourth quarter.
After a 3-and-out by the Aggies, Army drove out to their 47-yard line before coming up inches short on 4th down rushing attempt. The Aggies used six rushing attempts by Jorvorskie Lane to run out the clock and preserve a hard fought 21-17 win over Army.
The game was as close statistically as the score. Texas A&M edged out Army in total yards 290 to 284 while Army led in first downs 21 to 14.
For Texas A&M, Stephen McGee completed 7 of 9 passes for 104 yards and 1 TD before going out with an injury. Jerrod Johnson came on to complete 6 of 10 passes for 53 yards and 1 TD with 1 interception. Tight end Jamie McCoy caught 5 passes for 60 yards and one touchdown while Jeff Fuller had the one 42-yard touchdown reception. Cyrus Gray had 6 carries for 61 yards, most on the one thrid quarter run. Jorvorskie Lane came on late to rush for 38 yards on 7 carries.
For Army, quarterback Chip Bowden rushed for 128 yards on 34 carries and completed 1 pass on just 4 passing attempts. Collin Mooney rushed for 55 yards on 13 carries.
Texas A&M (2-2) opens Big 12 play next Saturday when they travel to Stillwater, Oklahoma, to face the Oklahoma State Cowboys.