DENTON – Revenge never tasted so good.
The rematch of last year’s 2016 Heart of Dallas Bowl did not disappoint, as the North Texas Mean Green defeated the Army Golden Knights 52-49. The win was sealed by a game-winning field goal from 37 yards out by Trevor Moore with only five seconds left on the clock.
North Texas (8-3) hung around all night and won on the final drive of the game. After failing to stop Army from tying things up at 49 with 1:23, the Mean Green got the ball back on its own 32-yard line. From there, sophomore quarterback Mason Fine led North Texas just far enough to give Moore a shot at putting a kick through the uprights.
Photo: Sara Carpenter/TexasHSFootball
Given the circumstances, Fine had one of the best games in school history. He finished with 386 total passing yards, four touchdowns and one interception – that brought him to a grand total of 2,198 yards through the air this season, the most any quarterback has had in a single season in North Texas history.
North Texas was able to pull out the victory despite losing their two best offensive skill position players due to injury. Running back Jeffrey Wilson was seen on the sideline with crutches in the fourth quarter after leaving with an ankle injury, and Jalen Guyton was sidelined due to concussion protocol after taking what looked to be an illegal helmet-to-helmet hit. There was no penalty called on the play.
From the very beginning, the game had all the makings of a classic shootout. There were only three punts combined for both sides compared to 14 total touchdowns, 10 of which came on the ground.
Photo: Sara Carpenter/TexasHSFootball
Army continued playing their signature style, featuring a triple-option running game all night. Quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw tore up the Mean Green defense for 244 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 27 carries, including five runs of 22 or more yards.
Running backs Darnell Woolfolk (18 carries, 120 yards, 2 touchdowns) and Andy Davidson (11 carries, 72 yards, two touchdowns) made big contributions as well. Bradshaw’s only completion went for 27 yards with less than two minutes left, setting up a goal-line plunge to tie the game at 49-49 in the fourth.
Ultimately, it came down to which team had the ball last, which benefitted North Texas. Players like Nic Smith and Rico Bussey came in clutch for the Mean Green in the fourth quarter. Smith took a run into the end zone with 10:04 remaining to give North Texas a lead. Following another score by Army, Fine connected with Bussey for a 68-yard touchdown with 3:13 remaining.
Photo: Sara Carpenter/TexasHSFootball
North Texas (8-3) faced Army (8-3) twice last season, defeating the Golden Knights 35-18 in the regular season but falling in the bowl game rematch in overtime, 38-31.The two teams could potentially meet again in the same bowl game – Army has already accepted an invitation to the Heart of Dallas Bowl, but the Mean Green will likely wait until their season is complete.
Both teams have big games looming before bowl season. Army will have a three-week break before their annual faceoff against Navy. Meanwhile, North Texas ends their schedule at Rice on Saturday, Nov. 25 before facing FAU in the Conference-USA Championship game the following week.
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