Photo credit: @SanJoseStateFB

By Ana Kieu

San Jose State had lost two in a row, but they redeemed themselves with a win over Army West Point at Michie Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Spartans got on the board first, thanks to Isaiah Hamilton. Hamilton scored a 19-yard touchdown off a pass from Josh Love to put San Jose State up 7-0 at 11:44 of the first quarter.

The Black Knights evened the score 7-7 when Kelvin Hopkins Jr. threw a pass to Camden Harrison for a 31-yard touchdown. The score was tied at 7 at the end of the first.

But the Spartans refused to back down. San Jose State opened the second quarter with a Matt Mercurio 30-yard field goal at 14:42. Then, the San Jose State scores kept on coming. Love threw a pass to Kairee Robinson for an 18-yard touchdown at 11:36. Mercurio added two field goals, a 23-yarder and a 38-yarder with 5:37 and 0:02 left in the second, respectively.

The Black Knights’ lone score in the second was a Cole Talley 41-yard field goal with 0:52 left. The Spartans led 23-10 at the halftime break.

The third quarter was a low-scoring affair, but the Spartans remained on top 23-17 after three. Sandon McCoy ran for a 4-yard touchdown to pull within six with 8:09 left in the third.

The back-and-forth fourth quarter had fans on the edges of their seats. Love threw a pass to Bailey Gaither for a 21-yard touchdown and Love connected with Tre Walker for the 2-point conversion to put the Spartans up 31-17 at 14:53. Christian Anderson ran for a 1-yard touchdown, but the Black Knights’ 2-point run conversion failed, so they just pulled within eight. Mercurio kicked a 28-yard field goal to make it 34-23 with 3:48 left. Anderson responded with a 33-yard touchdown, his second of the game, but once again, the Black Knights’ 2-point pass conversion failed, so the Spartans still led 34-29 with 31 seconds left.

This wasn’t the prettiest game for the Spartans, but they left West Point, N.Y. with a 34-29 win over the Black Knights. San Jose State improved to 4-4, while Army fell to 3-5. Mercurio was 4-for-4 for the day.

The Spartans return home to host the #22 Boise State Broncos on Saturday, November 2 at 7:30 pm PT. The game will be broadcasted on the CBS Sports Network.