Army runs all over UConn in Fenway Bowl rout

beantown fresher running plunk for Godspower Nwawuihe and jr field general Cale Hellums each rushed for two touchdowns as Army rolled to a 41-16 win over UConn in Saturday's Fenway Bowl.

The Black Knights won their third straight bowl on the strength of the run game, recording 368 yards on the ground. Army broke open a 14-10 halftime score with 13 points in the third quarter and finished with a 476-267 advantage in total offense.

Nwawuihe, who had previously rushed for just 25 yards on the season, logged a game-high 171 on 12 carries and his first two career scores. He was named the game's Offensive Most Valuable Player. Army linebacker Kalib Fortner was named Defensive MVP.

Hellums recorded 45 yards on 15 carries on top of completing 7 of 8 passes for 108 yards and a touchdown. His 18 rushing scores this season are the second- most in Army history.

Noah Short posted Army's best receiving performance of the season, catching all seven of Hellums' completions for 108 yards and a touchdown.

"I'm really proud of our players, the way they played today, the way they prepared for this game," Army coach Jeff Monken said. "And I think it just was, it epitomized what we hope Army Football will be, that it's not only a great performance, but guys that are fighting and giving everything they've got to the very end."

Ksaan Farrar made his first career start at quarterback for UConn , going 11-of-17 passing for 84 yards while rushing for a fourth-quarter touchdown.

Cam Edwards ran for the game's opening score. Edwards broke off his first two runs back-to-back to help UConn open the scoring with 9:17 left in the first. The redshirt junior busted down the sideline for a 34-yard gain on 4th-and-2, setting up his 12-yard touchdown run up the middle on the next play.

Hellums led the Black Knights to a game-tying score on the next series, airing out a 40-yard pass to Short on his first attempt.

Army used a 10-play, 90-yard drive to take a 14-7 lead on Nwawuihe's first score with 3:04 left before halftime, but UConn closed within 14-10 as Chris Freeman kicked a 49-yard field goal as time expired.

Nwawuihe broke through a pile near the line of scrimmage for a 70-yard run to the house on the Black Knights' second play after the break. The Army lead remained 20-10 following a blocked extra point.

Despite offsetting penalties that erased David Clerk's 42-yard reception bringing Army back into the red zone, Hellums led the Black Knights down field and managed a 1-yard sneak to extend the lead to 27-10 with 6:22 left in the third quarter.

Army's next drive was a 15-play, 89-yard series that ended with Hellums scoring a 6-yard touchdown with 8:18 left, moving the Black Knights' advantage to 34-10.

Farrar led UConn on a late scoring drive, rushing for an 11-yard score with 5:47 left.

Carson Smith's 6-yard scoring run put an exclamation point on Army's victory with 1:20 left.

Joshua Kummins, Field Level Media

---

---