Army remains undefeated as they take down Rice, 31-14
Sophomore fullback Andy Davidson had his second 100 yard rushing performance on the young season, while adding three touchdowns his Saturday resume to help lead the Army Black Knights to their second win of the season.
“All of my touchdowns were the result of our offensive line. They did a great job for us that whole game,” stated Davidson following GBK Reporter Maddy Daugherty post game question surrounding his touchdown performance.
This the the program’s first 2-0 start since 1996 and tt was the first time that Army won two games in a row since 2010.
Junior quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw completed 3 of 5 attempts for 55 yards, and added 70 yards in 17 rushing attempts. While back QB Chris Carter was a perfect 1 for 1 passing, and senior slotback Joe Walker’s 32 yard run was the longest of the game.
“It feels great, I don’t really know how to describe it,” said Bradshaw in the post game press conference when asked by GBK Reporter Maddy Daugherty how does it feel to be the quarterback of a team that starts 2‐0. “It’s a great feeling knowing that we have done something that they haven’t done in a while. We really worked hard for this.”
The Black Knights won the turnover battle 2-0 on an interception by middle linebacker Jeremy Timpf and a fumble forced by James Nachtigal, recovered by linebacker Andrew King. The Army defense held Rice to 92 yards rushing, and 197 yards passing on 16 of 30 attempts.
“I thought we did really well on 3rd downs and the D-line was really effective,” shared defensive coordinator Jay Bateman in his post game conversation with GBK Publisher Charles Grevious on the overall performance of the Black Knights defensive versus Rice today.
GAME SUMMARY:
Rice scored first on a 3 play drive that covered 75 yards, capped by a 64 yard pass play from Tyler Stehling to Connor Cella, and the Owls took a 7-0 lead in the first minute of play.
Army got it right back on their ensuing possesion with their own 75-yard drive featuring a 32 yard run by Joe Walker and capped by a 6 yard run by Darnell Woolfolk, which was his first collegiate touchdown of his young career.
On Rice’s second possession they reached the Army 36 before the defense force the Owls to punt, and Army got the ball back on their own 16. The Black Knights marched 84 yards in 7 plays highlighted by two completions from Ahmad Bradshaw to wide receiver Edgar Poe for 15 and 31 yards. Davidson capped it off with his first touchdown to give Army its first lead at 14-7 after 1 quarter.
Rice and Army exchanged punts on the first two series of the second quarter and Rice started their next possession on their own 5. Rice advanced the ball to their 35 where Nachtigal forced a fumble and King recovered to give Army the ball on the Rice 35. Seven plays and 3:30 later, Davidson punched it over from the 2 to increase the lead to 21-7, which is where it stood at the end of the first half.
After forcing Army to punt on their first two drives of the thirrd quarter, Rice opened the scoring of the second half with a 1 play drive of 37 yards to close the gap to 21-14, but the Black Knights took the kickoff and drove 75 yards to regain their 14 point advantage at the start of the 4th quarter.
Defenses prevailed in the 4th quarter, and the only scoring came on Mitchell Howard’s first career field goal.
Stay tuned for our GBK Monday Morning Quarterback analysis and breakdown in which we’ll take a closer look at the game. Also upcoming is our post-game video with the players and one one one with QB Ahmad Bradshaw, along with several key prospects who were on hand for Saturday's contest and GBK Photo Gallery.
**To chat with other Army fans about this article, GBK’s analysis and more, please visit The 12th Knight message board**