Army West Point Athletics
Football Kicks Off 2015 Versus Fordham
September 03, 2015 | Football
WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point football team opens its 2015 season on Friday evening against Fordham at historic Michie Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:04 p.m. and the game will be televised live by CBS Sports Network.
On the call for the game will be Ben Holden (play-by-play), Jay Feely (color analyst) and John Schriffen (sideline). Saturday's game can also be heard on the radio via the Army Sports Network.
"I'm excited about this new team to see what we've got and excited to take the field Friday night," second-year head coach Jeff Monken said at his weekly press conference. "We've got a great challenge ahead of us, this is an outstanding football team coming in here, Fordham has won 23 games over the past two years and we will find out a lot about our football team. I think we have worked really hard, we have had a good offseason and we have some new faces. I'm excited for Friday, excited for the season and there is always hope of a new season. It's no different now, and when the lights come on Friday night we will see how ready we are."
Monken, coming off a 4-8 campaign in his initial season, will rely on a roster that includes 77 freshmen. The Black Knights posted wins against Buffalo (47-39), Ball State (33-24), Connecticut (35-21) and Fordham (42-31) a year ago.
Army is 95-27-3 all-time in the first game of the season and has won its last two home-openers.
Army does return 25 players who started at least one game last season, including 12 on offense.
While Larry Dixon, Terry Baggett, Raymond Maples, Angel Santiago, Tony Giovannelli and Trenton Turrentine have been lost to graduation, running backs Aaron Kemper, Matt Giachinta and Joe Walker have experience in the triple-option offense. John Trainor, a wide receiver as a freshman, has been moved to running back to add depth.
Monken named sophomore Ahmad Bradshaw the starting quarterback on Monday. Bradshaw and senior A.J. Schurr were locked in a battle for the starting position all through camp. After analyzing practice and scrimmage films, Monken settled on Bradshaw as the starter.
"Give credit to both Ahmad and A.J., they both worked very hard," Monken said. "Ahmad was a little bit sharper and A.J. missed some time with some minor injuries after sitting out spring ball. Ahmad will be our starting quarterback and we know we have a very capable backup in A.J. who really knows our offense. "
A native of Chicago, Ill., Bradshaw will be making his first career start. Bradshaw played a season at the United States Military Academy Preparatory School before joining the Black Knights.
Schurr started two games last season and competed in all 12. He rushed for 320 yards and three scores and threw for 242 yards and another touchdown.
On defense, Army returns its top four tacklers from last season. Jeremy Timpf made 117 stops, Josh Jenkins 64, Andrew King 63 and Chris Carnegie 54 a year ago. Timpf and King will be the starting inside linebackers with Carnegie and Jenkins in the secondary.
The Black Knights will have to replace defensive line stalwarts Joe Drummond, Richard Glover and Mike Ugenyi. Senior T.J. Atimalala and sophomore John Voit are expected to see an increase in snaps.
Army does return the bulk of its special teams units. Kicker Daniel Grochowski, punter Alex Tardieu and long snapper Connor Farley all return for their senior season. Grochowski was successful on 6-of-13 field goals last season and averaged 57.3 yards per kickoff. Tardieu punted 44 times for an average of 39.3 yards per boot. Eighteen of his punts were inside the opponents' 20 yard line and six were 50 yards or longer.
ARMY IN SEASON OPENERS
Army owns a sterling 95-27-3 record in its previous 125 season-opening games. The Black Knights are looking for their third consecutive season-opening victory after defeating Buffalo and Morgan State each of the past two seasons. Monken is 5-0 in season openers as a head coach.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Army and Fordham are meeting for the fifth time in a series that began in 1891. Army and Fordham played last season at Michie Stadium on Senior Day and the Black Knights posted a 42-31 victory to improve to 4-0 all-time against the Rams.
SCOUTING THE RAMS
Fordham went 11-3 in 2014, advancing to the second round of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoffs where a loss to New Hampshire ended its season.
The Rams, under fourth-year head coach Joe Moorhead, were picked to win the Patriot League and return a host of talent from a postseason squad in 2014, including 46 letterwinners.
Chase Edmonds was selected as the league preseason offensive player of the year after winning the Jerry Rice Award as the top NCAA FCS freshman last season. He ran for 1,838 yards and 23 touchdowns and caught 19 passes for 121 yards in his rookie campaign.
Linebacker Stephen Hodge was picked as the league preseason defensive player of the year. He missed all of 2014 with an injury and posted 124 tackles, 16 tackles for loss and five sacks the year prior.
IMPORTANT GAMEDAY INFORMATION
In an effort to control lines entering Michie Stadium from Black Knights Alley, this year the fan fest area will only be accessible with a game day ticket. Fans will be permitted to scan in their tickets to enter and have tickets scanned to exit.
Football Game Day Ticket Operations have been moved inside Holleder Center (Ticket Services, Will Call,
Gameday Sales)
Gate 7 will be the entrance for Army Player/Guest, Visiting Player Guest, & Army Recruits. Re-entry points will be Gates 1, 3, 6A, and 7. Fans will no longer be able to print parking passes at home.
Tickets for Friday's game are still available online by clicking here, or by calling the Army West Point Ticket Office at 1-877-TIX-ARMY.
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On the call for the game will be Ben Holden (play-by-play), Jay Feely (color analyst) and John Schriffen (sideline). Saturday's game can also be heard on the radio via the Army Sports Network.
"I'm excited about this new team to see what we've got and excited to take the field Friday night," second-year head coach Jeff Monken said at his weekly press conference. "We've got a great challenge ahead of us, this is an outstanding football team coming in here, Fordham has won 23 games over the past two years and we will find out a lot about our football team. I think we have worked really hard, we have had a good offseason and we have some new faces. I'm excited for Friday, excited for the season and there is always hope of a new season. It's no different now, and when the lights come on Friday night we will see how ready we are."
Monken, coming off a 4-8 campaign in his initial season, will rely on a roster that includes 77 freshmen. The Black Knights posted wins against Buffalo (47-39), Ball State (33-24), Connecticut (35-21) and Fordham (42-31) a year ago.
Army is 95-27-3 all-time in the first game of the season and has won its last two home-openers.
Army does return 25 players who started at least one game last season, including 12 on offense.
While Larry Dixon, Terry Baggett, Raymond Maples, Angel Santiago, Tony Giovannelli and Trenton Turrentine have been lost to graduation, running backs Aaron Kemper, Matt Giachinta and Joe Walker have experience in the triple-option offense. John Trainor, a wide receiver as a freshman, has been moved to running back to add depth.
Monken named sophomore Ahmad Bradshaw the starting quarterback on Monday. Bradshaw and senior A.J. Schurr were locked in a battle for the starting position all through camp. After analyzing practice and scrimmage films, Monken settled on Bradshaw as the starter.
"Give credit to both Ahmad and A.J., they both worked very hard," Monken said. "Ahmad was a little bit sharper and A.J. missed some time with some minor injuries after sitting out spring ball. Ahmad will be our starting quarterback and we know we have a very capable backup in A.J. who really knows our offense. "
A native of Chicago, Ill., Bradshaw will be making his first career start. Bradshaw played a season at the United States Military Academy Preparatory School before joining the Black Knights.
Schurr started two games last season and competed in all 12. He rushed for 320 yards and three scores and threw for 242 yards and another touchdown.
On defense, Army returns its top four tacklers from last season. Jeremy Timpf made 117 stops, Josh Jenkins 64, Andrew King 63 and Chris Carnegie 54 a year ago. Timpf and King will be the starting inside linebackers with Carnegie and Jenkins in the secondary.
The Black Knights will have to replace defensive line stalwarts Joe Drummond, Richard Glover and Mike Ugenyi. Senior T.J. Atimalala and sophomore John Voit are expected to see an increase in snaps.
Army does return the bulk of its special teams units. Kicker Daniel Grochowski, punter Alex Tardieu and long snapper Connor Farley all return for their senior season. Grochowski was successful on 6-of-13 field goals last season and averaged 57.3 yards per kickoff. Tardieu punted 44 times for an average of 39.3 yards per boot. Eighteen of his punts were inside the opponents' 20 yard line and six were 50 yards or longer.
ARMY IN SEASON OPENERS
Army owns a sterling 95-27-3 record in its previous 125 season-opening games. The Black Knights are looking for their third consecutive season-opening victory after defeating Buffalo and Morgan State each of the past two seasons. Monken is 5-0 in season openers as a head coach.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Army and Fordham are meeting for the fifth time in a series that began in 1891. Army and Fordham played last season at Michie Stadium on Senior Day and the Black Knights posted a 42-31 victory to improve to 4-0 all-time against the Rams.
SCOUTING THE RAMS
Fordham went 11-3 in 2014, advancing to the second round of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoffs where a loss to New Hampshire ended its season.
The Rams, under fourth-year head coach Joe Moorhead, were picked to win the Patriot League and return a host of talent from a postseason squad in 2014, including 46 letterwinners.
Chase Edmonds was selected as the league preseason offensive player of the year after winning the Jerry Rice Award as the top NCAA FCS freshman last season. He ran for 1,838 yards and 23 touchdowns and caught 19 passes for 121 yards in his rookie campaign.
Linebacker Stephen Hodge was picked as the league preseason defensive player of the year. He missed all of 2014 with an injury and posted 124 tackles, 16 tackles for loss and five sacks the year prior.
IMPORTANT GAMEDAY INFORMATION
In an effort to control lines entering Michie Stadium from Black Knights Alley, this year the fan fest area will only be accessible with a game day ticket. Fans will be permitted to scan in their tickets to enter and have tickets scanned to exit.
Football Game Day Ticket Operations have been moved inside Holleder Center (Ticket Services, Will Call,
Gameday Sales)
Gate 7 will be the entrance for Army Player/Guest, Visiting Player Guest, & Army Recruits. Re-entry points will be Gates 1, 3, 6A, and 7. Fans will no longer be able to print parking passes at home.
Tickets for Friday's game are still available online by clicking here, or by calling the Army West Point Ticket Office at 1-877-TIX-ARMY.
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