Football Falls to Fordham in Season Opener

Friday, September 4

West Point, N.Y.

7 PM ET

Army West Point

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Fordham

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Fordham

Army West Point

Football Falls to Fordham in Season Opener

September 04, 2015 | Football

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point football team fell to visiting Fordham by a 37-35 final in its 2015 season opener on Friday night at Michie Stadium.

Sophomore quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw ran for 143 yards and two touchdowns and threw for 107 yards and two more scores for the Black Knights. Joe Walker and Edgar Poe each added touchdown receptions, while Matt Giachinta contributed a rushing score.

Fordham's Chase Edmonds ran for 110 yards and three touchdowns, while quarterback Kevin Anderson threw for 322 yards. Edmonds also had 140 receiving yards on six receptions to lead the Rams. Phazahn Odom reeled in three passes for 90 yards and Robbie Cantelli snagged three for 45 yards.

Army freshman Jordan Asberry ran for 56 yards and had one grab for 33 yards in his collegiate debut. Aaron Kemper carried six times for 36 yards, Walker registered 28 yards on the ground and John Trainor had 19 rushing and 28 receiving yards.

Army's defense made an immediate impact when defensive lineman Bayle Wolf got into the backfield and stripped Anderson. Andrew King and Wolf pounced on the loose ball and Wolf came out of the pile with the recovery to set up Army with a first-and-goal from the Fordham 8-yard line.

Three plays later, Bradshaw, who made his first-career start, connected on a play-action pass to Walker. The score gave the Black Knights a 7-0 cushion after Daniel Grochowski's successful extra point.

The visitors responded with a six-play 77-yard touchdown drive of their own to tie the game. On third-and-1 from the Fordham 32, Edmonds ripped off his longest run of the night (46 yards) to keep the drive alive. Anderson connected with Austin Longi (18 yards) and Edmonds (8 yards) before he scrambled for a six-yard touchdown that knotted the game at 7-7.

After the ensuing kickoff, Bradshaw hit Trainor down the seam for 28 yards into Fordham territory. The Black Knights kept the ball on the ground and scored four plays later on a 15-yard keeper by Bradshaw. Asberry set up the TD with a 15-yard dash of his own.

Trailing 14-7 midway through the first quarter, Fordham quickly tied the game with a seven-play, 62-yard touchdown drive in less than three minutes. The Rams faced a third-and-goal from the 14-yard line, but Edmonds took a handoff from Anderson and found the end zone for his first score of the night.

After forcing the only punt of the opening half, Fordham took over deep in its own territory. Starting on the seven-yard line, Anderson picked out Edmonds across the middle and he went 87 yards before being brought down from behind by Xavier Moss inside the Army 10-yard line. Three plays later, Anderson's pass was dropped by Odom and the Rams were forced to settle for a 22-yard field goal by Makay Redd.

Ten straight rushing plays helped Army regain the lead at 21-17. Bradshaw racked up 47 yards on the drive, including a 15-yard TD run on third-and-goal.

Fordham's offense continued to find success, with three big passing completions to Cantelli (24 yards), Ben Johnson (17 yards) and a 34-yard hookup between Anderson and Odom that made it first-and-goal. On third down from the one, Edmonds walked in and Fordham went ahead 24-21 with 1:10 to play in the half.

Bradshaw was intercepted near midfield by JQ Bowers with 36 seconds to go and the turnover turned into a 27-yard Redd field goal as the half came to an end. Fordham had 351 yards of offense at the half, including 266 through the air and led 27-21.

Army's offense stalled on its first two possessions of the second half and was forced to punt for the second time in as many drives. The snap sailed over punter Alex Tardieu's head and he scooped it up and ran out of the back of the end zone for a safety. The score held at 29-21 after Army's defense forced Fordham into a three-and-out.

The Cadets took over on their own 29 and Bradshaw and company went back to work on offense. Two 10-yard rushes by Bradshaw sandwiched around an incomplete pass had the Black Knights with a first down near midfield, prior to consecutive six-yard pickups by Asberry and Trainor. With the ball at the Fordham 39, Trainor had a six-yard carry and Bradshaw moved the chains with an eight-yard keeper. Asberry was next and nearly scored on a 24-yard run that set up a one-yard score by Giachinta. Trailing 29-27, head coach Jeff Monken elected to go for two and Bradshaw took in the keeper to tie the game with four minutes remaining in the third quarter.

The Fordham offense got back on track as Anderson directed a 13-play, 82-yard drive that ate up 6:47. Edmonds added 65 yards to his personal total on the drive, which was capped by his 10-yard run off the left side. The snap on the Fordham extra-point attempt was bobbled by Joe Pavlik, but he outran the rush and converted the miscue into two points. Fordham led 37-29 at that point.

A three-and out by the Black Knights' offense gave the ball back to Fordham with less than 10 minutes remaining. Army's defense stepped up and forced a punt, but the kick was muffed and Fordham recovered at Army's 35-yard line.

Looking to add to its lead, Fordham went back to its workhorse Edmonds for a gain of 12 on first down. Edmonds gained three more, and then Anderson scrambled for six, setting up a third-and-one from the Army 14. The snap sailed high and Edmonds was taken down for a loss of 21 and the Rams were forced to punt after the loss moved them outside of field goal range.

Facing an eight-point hole with 5:20 to play, Bradshaw and Army started at their own 10-yard line. After a loss of two and an incompletion intended for Edgar Poe, Bradshaw rolled right and tucked the ball in for a gain of 13. Trainor picked up 19 on the next play, before Bradshaw's play-action pass to Asberry went for 32 yards down the middle. Army went back to the air and Bradshaw lofted a pass to Poe down the left sideline for a 27-yard touchdown. Needing a two-point conversion to tie, Fordham got into the backfield and brought Bradshaw down to keep the lead at 37-35.

With 2:33 left, Army tried an onside kick, but it was recovered by the Rams. The Black Knights forced a punt and got the ball back at its own 20 with 55 seconds left to play. Kelvin White came in at quarterback and threw a dart to Moss near midfield, but the comeback attempt stalled there and Fordham held on for the two-point victory.

The Black Knights return to action on Saturday, Sept. 12, when they travel to East Hartford, Conn., to take on Connecticut. Kickoff is scheduled for noon at Rentschler Field and the game can be seen on CBS Sports Network.