1977 Army Cadets football team

1977 Army Cadets football
Conference	Independent
Record	7–4
Head coach	Homer Smith (4th season)
Captains	Chuck D'Amico Leamon Hall
Home stadium	Michie Stadium
Seasons ←  1976 1978  →

1977 NCAA Division I independents football records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Notre Dame		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
No. 5 Penn State		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
Colgate		–		–				10	–	1	–	0
North Texas State *		–		–				10	–	1	–	0
No. 16 San Diego State		–		–				10	–	1	–	0
Tennessee State		–		–				8	–	1	–	1
No. 14 Florida State		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
No. 8 Pittsburgh		–		–				9	–	2	–	1
East Carolina		–		–				8	–	3	–	0
Rutgers		–		–				8	–	3	–	0
Army		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Louisville		–		–				7	–	4	–	1
Boston College		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Cincinnati		–		–				5	–	4	–	2
Georgia Tech		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Memphis State		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Northwestern State		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Syracuse		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
William & Mary		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Southern Miss		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Temple		–		–				5	–	5	–	1
Hawaii		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Navy		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
West Virginia		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
South Carolina		–		–				5	–	7	–	0
Utah State		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Villanova		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Illinois State		–		–				3	–	7	–	1
Virginia Tech		–		–				3	–	7	–	1
Miami (FL)		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Richmond		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Tulane		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Air Force		–		–				2	–	8	–	1
Holy Cross		–		–				2	–	8	–	0
Northeast Louisiana		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
North Texas State (originally 9–2) awarded a forfeit win after Mississippi State was found to be using an ineligible player. [1] Rankings from AP Poll

The 1977 Army Cadets represented the United States Military Academy during the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. They claimed the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy for the second straight season.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 10		UMass	Michie Stadium West Point, NY	W 34–10	22,101	[2]
September 17		VMI	Michie Stadium West Point, NY	W 27–14	26,664	[3]
September 24		at Boston College	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	L 28–49	19,200	[4]
October 1		No. 7 Colorado	Michie Stadium West Point, NY	L 0–31	34,548	[5]
October 8		Villanova	Michie Stadium West Point, NY	W 34–32	30,618	[6]
October 15	1:30 p.m.	vs. No. 11 Notre Dame	Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ (rivalry)	L 0–24	72,594	[7]
October 22		Lafayette	Michie Stadium West Point, NY	W 42–6	28,277–28,322	[8] [9]
October 29		Holy Cross	Michie Stadium West Point, NY	W 48–7	41,376	[10]
November 5		at Air Force	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)	W 31–6	34,338	[11]
November 12	1:30 p.m.	vs. No. 10 Pittsburgh	Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ	L 26–52	35,387	[12]
November 26		vs. Navy	John F. Kennedy Stadium Philadelphia, PA (Army–Navy Game)	W 17–14	81,091	[13]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^[14]

Game summaries

UMass

Army's win over UMass was the 500th in school history. Leamon Hall threw five touchdown passes, including three to freshman Mike Fahnstock. ^[15]

Villanova

1 2 3 4 Total Villanova 14 0 0 18 32 •Army 0 7 7 20 34 Date: October 8 Location: Michie Stadium • West Point, New York

Scoring summary 1 VILL Poleo 1-yard run (Fernandez kick) Villanova 7-0 1 VILL Thompson 2-yard run (Fernandez kick) Villanova 14-0 2 ARMY Hall 5-yard run (Castelli kick) Villanova 14-7 3 ARMY McGlasker 18-yard pass from Hall (Castelli kick) Tie 14-14 4 ARMY Brundidge 5-yard pass from Hall (Castelli kick) Army 21-14 4 VILL Thompson 1-yard run (Fernandez kick) Tie 21-21 4 VILL Fernandez 27-yard field goal Villanova 24-21 4 ARMY Hall 2-yard run (Castelli kick) Army 28-24 4 ARMY Dwyer 26-yard run (kick failed) Army 34-24 4 VILL McCauley 17-yard pass from O'Brien (Hobar pass from O'Brien) Army 34-32

^[16]

Navy

See also: 1977 Navy Midshipmen football team and Army–Navy Game

Army vs. Navy

1 2 3 4 Total Navy 0 7 7 0 14 •Army 7 10 0 0 17 Date: November 26 Location: JFK Stadium, Philadelphia Game attendance: 81,091

Scoring summary 1 ARMY Leamon Hall 1-yard run (Mike Castelli kick) Army 7-0 2 ARMY Mike Castelli 27-yard field goal Army 10-0 2 NAVY John Kurowski 18-yard pass from Bob Leszcynski (Bob Tata kick) Army 10-7 3 1:09 ARMY Greg King 1-yard run (Mike Castelli kick) Army 17-7 3 NAVY Joe Gattuso Jr. 2-yard run (Bob Tata kick) Army 17-14

Army finished with its first winning season since 1972. ^[17]

Roster

1977 Army Cadets football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class TE 82 Clennie Brundidge Jr OL 71 Tony Dailey Sr OL 67 Curt Downs Sr WR 47 George Dunaway Sr RB 37 Jon Dwyer So WR 88 Mike Fahnstock Fr QB 16 Leamon Hall (C) Sr OL 63 Jim Hodge Sr OL 77 Jim Hollingsworth Sr OL 57 Chuck Johnston Jr RB 43 Greg King Sr RB 32 Tony Landry WR 11 Greg McGlasker Sr RB 40 Jim Merriken Jr QB 10 Earle Mulrane So OL 78 Joe Oliver Jr RB Dave Pritchard WR 29 Bill Skoda So TE 22 Ward Whyte Jr TE 85 Keith Wilson Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DE 64 Mark Berry Sr DB 18 Dave Charest DB 25 Ed Clemons DT 72 Chuck D'Amico (C) Sr DB 33 Bruce Elliott DL Stan Ford Sr DL Duane Fuller DL 74 Bob Groller Jr DL Tom Hayden LB 80 John Hillard DB 20 Joe LeGasse Jr DB Doug Lowery DB 34 Phil Macklin Jr DL 55 George Mayes Fr LB 53 Steve Miller Sr DL 84 Chuck Schott Jr DL 91 Tiki Traylor Jr DL 69 Doug Turrell Jr LB 58 Kirk Thomas Jr DB 24 Dan Webb	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 39 Mike Castelli Sr	Head coach Homer Smith Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Awards

• Homer Smith – Eastern Coach of the Year (New York Football Writers Association) ^[18]

Stats

• QB Leamon Hall – 151/265 for 1,944 yards with 15 TD vs 17 INT ^[19]
• RB Greg King – 177 carries for 961 yards with 7 TD
• RB Jim Merriken – 99 carries for 447 yards with 4 TD. 35 catches for 350 yards with 2 TD
• TE Clennie Brundridge – 51 catches for 842 yards with 4 TD

References

1. https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/years/1977-standings.html
2. "Army plebe steals show as Cadets win, 34–10". The Herald-News. September 11, 1977. Retrieved April 26, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Hall directs Army attack past stubborn VMI". The El Past Times. September 18, 1977. Retrieved February 2, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Boston College downs Army, Smith sparkles". Daily Press. September 25, 1977. Retrieved April 26, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Buffs sock Army". Express-News. October 2, 1977. Retrieved April 26, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Army's second-half rally stuns Villanova, 34–32". Staten Island Advance. October 9, 1977. Retrieved April 25, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Notre Dame routs Army as heavens shows speed". Asbury Park Press. October 16, 1977. Retrieved April 25, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Hall Directs Army over Lafayette 42-6". Daily Press . Newport News, Va. Associated Press. October 23, 1977. p. D12 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Final 1977 Cumulative Football Statistics Report (Lafayette)". National Collegiate Athletic Association . Retrieved August 16, 2024.
10. Mumpton, Roy (October 30, 1977). "Army Marches over HC, 48-7". Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. p. 72 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Army trounces Air Force, 31–6". The Herald Statesman. November 6, 1977. Retrieved April 26, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Pitt rips Army, awaits bowl bid". Mount Vernon Argus. November 13, 1977. Retrieved April 26, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
13. "Army, Penn St. win thrillers". The Philadelphia Inquirer. November 27, 1977. Retrieved April 26, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
14. 2011 Army football media guide
15. 2011 Army football media guide
16. Palm Beach Post. 1977 Oct 9.
17. "Cadets Hold Off Middies." Palm Beach Post. 1977 Nov 27.
18. 2011 Army football media guide.
19. "Site is undergoing maintenance".