With less than a minute to play in Saturday’s game at Wake Forest, and with his team down by a field goal, senior Army linebacker Stephen Ricciardi may have gotten a bit desperate. First the video, then some background:
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The setup: The Black Knights led 21-14 going into the fourth quarter at Wake, but two late scoring drives gave the home team a 24-21 edge, and an Army fumble gave Wake the ball back with about four minutes to play.
Army called its last timeout with 2:34 left, stopping the clock before a critical 3rd-and-8. But Wake Forest picked up 13 yards on a draw play, earning a first down and the right to run the clock down to next to nothing.
As the video shows, Ricciardi appeared to channel his inner soccer star, or perhaps basketball star, trying to draw a clock-stopping penalty when none existed. At least he didn’t play dead. And he did get a starring role on several sports websites.
He did end the game with four tackles, however, the last one coming on the play following his fall.
Army would get the ball back, but with just two seconds left and more than 70 yards to cover. One incomplete pass later, the Black Knights fell to 1-2.
Both losses have come to so-called “Power Five” opponents — teams in college football’s top-tier conferences. Army has zero Power Five foes remaining on its schedule; the Black Knights visit Yale on Saturday.
