Owls Lose Against Army West Point

Saturday, September 7

Boca Raton, Fla.

12 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

0-2 , 0-1

Army

2-0 , 1-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Army West Point

Fla. Atlantic

Photo by: JC Ridley/FAU Athletics

9/7/2024 4:33:00 PM | Football

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Ben Paul

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic football team fell to Army West Point on Saturday afternoon by a score of 24-7.

With the loss, the Owls fall to 0-2 and 0-1 in American Athletic Conference play.

FIRST HALF

A quick-moving first half saw the Owls come to life with just under four minutes to go. Facing a 3rd-and-1 and defending Army in FAU territory, true freshman safety C.J. Heard made a veteran play, forcing a fumble and recovering it himself for the takeaway.

On the ensuing offensive possession, redshirt junior QB Cam Fancher found redshirt sophomore Omari Hayes wide open for an eight-yard score, his first career touchdown reception, to finish the half down 14-7.

SECOND HALF

Hayes continued to shine in the second half, taking the ball 27 yards for the team's biggest play of the game.

The Owls gave up a field goal and a touchdown in the game's final 30 minutes for 24-7 final.

OFFENSE

Hayes continues to lead the team in receiving, recording a game-high 45 yards on four receptions
Graduate WR Marlyn Johnson and redshirt senior WR Milan Tucker made their first catches as Owls. Johnson went for 35 yards on four catches and Tucker added 31 yards with a long of 18
Fancher showcased an improved passing game, going 25-for-37 and throwing for 193 yards

DEFENSE

For the third game in a row (dating back to last season), the Owls had a double-digit tackler. This time it was Heard with 11 in addition to his forced fumble and recovery
Graduate LB Desmond Tisdol logged nine tackles, one for a loss
Fellow graduate LBs Jackson Ambush and Eddie Williams recorded eight tackles each

PHOTO GALLERY

Gallery: (9-7-2024) Army at Florida Atlantic

QUOTABLE

Hagerty Family Head Football Coach Tom Herman
"The silver lining is we don't play another one of these in our conference for a while, but we're not going to beat anybody if we don't take the steps to play consistently. We're pretty good when everybody does exactly what they're coached to do. We'll get back to work tomorrow. We have a challenge as a staff, we have to figure but how to develop more consistency, because when we're at our best, we're pretty good. We're just not at our best consistently enough."

Redshirt Junior QB Cam Fancher
On getting consistent
"[There can be] 10 guys on the field doing something right and then there's just that one key piece or player that had a hiccup. That ultimately makes a play not successful, and that starts with me. I have to be better."

Graduate ILB Jackson Ambush
On taking on a unique offense like Army
"It's definitely physical. If your eyes are in the wrong spot, the ball is going to be long past you. At the end of the day, we just need to execute, look at our keys and be in the right spot and right fits."

Graduate C Federico Maranges
On lifting up his teammates
"You have to pick them up, it is on us. Our defense is a great defense, they have been busting their behind all training camp. We saw how good our defense is against Michigan State, so I think it's on us. We have to put points on the board and that starts with the details, going back to the details because that's what we're harping on for next week."

VIDEO RECAP

UP NEXT

Florida Atlantic will renew their rivalry with FIU on Saturday, Sep. 14 for the 22nd Shula Bowl. It will be hosted at FAU Stadium with kickoff scheduled for 6 p.m., airing on ESPN+.

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