Football’s Comeback Efforts Dashed by Tulane

Saturday, November 14

West Point, N.Y.

12 PM ET

Army West Point

2-8

Tulane

3-7 , 1-5

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Tulane

Army West Point

Football’s Comeback Efforts Dashed by Tulane

November 14, 2015 | Football

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point football team staged a dramatic comeback effort against Tulane on Saturday, but could not walk away with the victory at Michie Stadium. Despite overcoming a 21-point deficit, the Black Knights lost 34-31 on a last-second field goal by the Green Wave.

The Black Knights record now stands at 2-8 while the Green Wave moves to 3-7.

The Cadets' quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw set a career-high with 121 passing yards and added 72 rushing yards. The sophomore threw two touchdowns and tacked on another score on the ground while completing 6-of-10 passes.

Army running backs Christian Drake and John Trainor each had career days as well. The freshman Drake had 69 rushing yards while Trainor, who was split out wide much of the game, hauled in three catches for 81 yards and one touchdown.

The Black Knights jumped out to an early 7-0 lead, but Tulane followed with 28 unanswered points. The Army comeback began as the end of the first half approached. Bradshaw ripped off a 41-yard run that placed the Black Knights 19 yards from the end zone. John Trainor found pay dirt on the next play as Bradshaw's pass narrowly went over the hands of an outstretched Tulane defender. Army cut the lead to 28-14 with 1:40 showing in the half.

Army created a special teams score at the conclusion of the next Tulane drive. As Tulane's Zachary Block went to punt the ball away on 4^th-and-10 from his own 35-yard line, Army linebacker Andy Davidson broke through to block the attempt. Linebacker Kenneth Brinson scooped the ball up at the 21-yard line and ran in for the touchdown. It was the first time Army blocked a punt since the Navy game last season, which was also returned for a touchdown. The Black Knights trailed 28-21 at the break.

The Black Knights' defense stood tall again to start the second half, as Tulane went three-and-out on each of its first two drives for a total of negative 12 yards. Following the second three-and-out, Army running back Tyler Campbell ran for nine yards on 1^st down to put the ball on the Tulane 28. However, the Black Knights could not advance any farther on the next three plays, going for it on 4^th-and-1 and stuffed for negative yardage. It was Army's third turnover on downs in the game.

The Green Wave committed its first turnover of the game with 2:38 showing on the clock in the 3^rd quarter. Tulane quarterback Tanner Lee was intercepted by Brandon Jackson and returned 17 yards to the Tulane 37. It was Jackson's third interception of the season and his first since the freshman had two picks on September 19 against Wake Forest. Army's subsequent possession led to a field goal and left Army trailing 28-24 with 14:50 showing on the clock in the final quarter.

Tulane quickly got into scoring position following three plays of over 10 yards on the next possession. Badie busted loose on 3^rd-and-8 for 23 yards to put the Green Wave at the 21-yard line. Presented with a 3^rd-and-1 on the 12-yard line, Tulane handed off to Lazedrick Thompson but was met by Army linebackers Andrew King and Jeremy Timpf for a two-yard loss. Tulane settled for a field goal to expand its lead to 31-24 with 10:43 remaining in regulation.

The Black Knights then responded with their longest scoring drive of the season. After a Tulane defender went offsides, Bradshaw eclipsed his career-high in passing yards with a strike to Edgar Poe for 12 yards. Army then went 11 straight plays without a negative down to give the Black Knights a 1^st-and-goal at the 9-yard line. Aaron Kemper was brought down for a two-yard loss and then Bradshaw's second down pass to Bell fell short. On third down, needing 11 yards to score, Bradshaw threw a back shoulder pass to Poe who made a great catch falling to the ground for the touchdown. The Black Knights then went back to their bag of tricks, faking the extra point as holder A.J. Schurr kept the ball on the extra point try. He crossed the goal-line and gave Army the lead for the time being, but offsetting penalties caused a replay of the down. The Black Knights settled for the extra point to tie the game at 31-31 with 1:59 left in the fourth quarter. The drive lasted 15 plays and took up 87 yards and 8:37 of game time.

Tulane took over at its 23-yard line with 1:53 showing on the clock. Before the first play, Army drew a flag for too many men on the field. Lee moved the chains following the penalty with a five-yard gain on a pass to Hilliard. Hilliard took the handoff on the next play 14 yards for another first down and Lee followed that with a 13-yard completion to Devon Breaux. Following a run by Hilliard for no gain, the Green Wave took a timeout with 59 seconds left and the ball on the Army 40. Two plays later, Lee found Breaux again, this time for 12 yards to put Tulane in field goal range. Hilliard picked up another first down with runs of three and seven yards. Following a timeout by Tulane to stop the clock with four seconds left and a timeout by the Black Knights to try and ice the kicker, Andrew DiRocco lined-up for a 35-yard attempt with four seconds left. DiRocco converted to spoil Army's comeback.

Facing a 3^rd-and-7 on the opening drive, Drake took a run to the outside 47 yards down the sideline to the Tulane 25. A holding call on the play brought the ball back to the 35-yard line, but the play was still good enough for the freshman's first career offensive touch of over 10 yards.

The Black Knights staggered through the next three plays bringing up a 4^th-and-11. Army went to a trick play to get the first down, as running back Joe Walker took the pitch from quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw then threw it back to Bradshaw who scampered into the end zone. Another penalty negated the score but was enough for an Army first down. Six plays later, Bradshaw redeemed the lost touchdown as the sophomore punched it in from the 3-yard line. The 13-play drive was tied for the second-most plays on a scoring drive this season for the Black Knights at the time it happened and gave them an early 7-0 lead with 8:16 remaining in the first quarter.

Tulane did not begin the game on the same offensive high note. The Green Wave had trouble with the kick return that resulted in starting with the ball at their 10-yard line. Their opening offensive snap was a four-yard loss on a fumble, and Tulane was forced to punt three plays later.

Set-up with good field position at the Tulane 47 after the punt and a false start by Army, Bradshaw floated a pass downfield that was caught by Trainor for 31 yards. On 4^th-and-4 at the 10-yard line, the Black Knights resorted to another trick play. Schurr took the snap and rolled out to the right with kicker Alex Tardieu. DeAndre Bell swept between the two from the right side and took the pitch from Schurr. Facing a wall of Green Wave defenders, Bell forced a pass to Kelvin White in the end zone, but he was forced out of bounds by a Tulane defender ensuing in a turnover on downs.

The Green Wave struck shortly after that. On 3^rd-and-10 from its own 10-yard line, Lee delivered a deep strike to Veal who sprinted the rest of the way for the 90-yard score. It was the longest pass play given up by Army this season. The extra point tied the game at 7-7 with 2:58 showing on the clock in the first quarter.

Following a turnover on downs that set-up Tulane with a short field, the Green Wave covered 59 yards in seven plays as Lee found Kendall Ardoin for a 15-yard touchdown. Tulane led 14-7 with 12:14 left in the second quarter.

The Black Knights triple-option attack was moving the ball on the next drive. After picking up two first downs and moving into Tulane territory, Green Wave defensive tackle Tanzel Smart penetrated through the line quickly and wrapped up Bradshaw at the legs as he went to pitch the ball. Bradshaw missed his target and Parry Nickerson ultimately recovered the loose ball and raced 48 yards into the end zone to boost the Green Wave lead to 21-7 with 8:48 remaining in the opening half.

Tulane scored its fourth unanswered touchdown as the result of two big plays. After Sherman Badie caught a 33-yard pass from Lee to put the ball at the Army 25, Josh Rounds capped off the scoring drive with a 25-yard touchdown run at the 3:35 mark in the second quarter. Tulane led 28-7, its largest lead of the game.

The Black Knights were outgained 367-362 in total yardage. Army led the game in rushing yards 216 to Tulane's 115 yards, but the Green Wave produced 252 passing yards while Army had 146.
Each team turned the ball over just once, although the Black Knights did commit five fumbles, losing one.

Tulane was led in passing by Tanner Lee who finished the game 14-of-29 for 252 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. His top receiver was Teddy Veal who had eight receptions for 123 yards and a touchdown.

Dontrell Hilliard of Tulane led all players in rushing with 91 yards on 14 carries.

Army returns to action next weekend when Rutgers comes to Michie Stadium. The Scarlet Knights are in action against Nebraska today and enter the day with a 3-6 record. This is the Black Knights' last game before the 116^th installment of the Army-Navy Game Presented by USAA.