Freshman Nwawuihe Powers Army Football to Fenway Bowl Victory

Saturday, December 27

Boston, Mass.

2:15 p.m.

Army West Point

7-6 , 4-4

UConn

9-4 , 0-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

UConn

Army West Point

Photo by: Danny Wild-Imagn Images

Freshman Nwawuihe Powers Army Football to Fenway Bowl Victory

December 27, 2025 | Football

Box Score Game Highlights Photo Gallery

BOSTON — Army West Point football (7-6, 4-4) was victorious in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl, 41-16 over the UConn Huskies (9-4), played at the iconic Major League Baseball Stadium Fenway Park, home to the Boston Red Sox.

The Black Knights set a multitude of team and individual milestones in Saturday's bowl victory—including the Fenway Bowl record for most points scored in a single game—and had their highest scoring output in a single game in 2025.

Army outgained UConn 476-267 in total yards and 368-183 on the ground. The Black Knights held their opponent to just 1-for-9 on third down attempts, and maintained 36:15 of possession.

Freshman running back Godspower Nwawuihe emerged onto the scene, starring for the Black Knights, rushing for 171 yards and a pair of touchdowns over 12 carries to lead the Army attack on Saturday afternoon. He was the first Army freshman to rush for over 100 yards and two scores since at least 1995.

Nwawuihe was named the Fenway Bowl Offensive MVP, and senior team captain linebacker Kalib Fortner was named Defensive MVP, recording six tackles and half a sack.

The win marked Army's third consecutive bowl win (2021, 2024, 2025) and moved head coach Jeff Monken to an impressive 6-1 Bowl record with the Black Knights.

After Army won the coin toss and deferred, the Black Knights forced an immediate three-and-out, thanks to an intentional grounding forced and a pass deflection one play later by Eric Ford on third-and-long.

On Army's first offensive possession, the Black Knights faced fourth-and-1 at the 46-yard line, but quarterback Cale Hellums was stopped on a run up the middle.

UConn struck first in the opening quarter on back-to-back big runs by running back Cam Edwards. Facing fourth-and-2 at its own 46-yard line, Edwards broke free on a 34-yard run to the Army 12, then capped the drive with a 12-yard rushing touchdown to give the Huskies a 7-0 lead with 9:17 remaining after the extra point.

Army answered later in the first quarter when Hellums connected with Noah Short on a 40-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 7-7 with 6:01 remaining.

After quickly following on defense with a stop, Army turned the ball over early in the second quarter when Jake Rendina fumbled on a run up the middle, with UConn recovering at their own 39.

Army's defense forced a punt after UConn failed to capitalize on the turnover, with Andon Thomas and Kalib Fortner sacking quarterback Ksaan Farrar for an 8-yard loss.

Pinned at its own 10 after a UConn punt, Hellums moved the sticks with his feet on third-and-7 to escape the shadow of Army's own end zone. The Black Knights converted another third-and-7 on their next set of downs on a pass to Short. The 90-yard, 5:57 drive was then capped in style when Nwawuihe scampered for his first career touchdown, a 43-yard rush that put Army ahead 14-7 with 3:04 remaining in the first half. The 90 yards marched was Army's longest drive by yardage this season.

With UConn driving close to midfield on its next series, Army briefly appeared to have turned over the Huskies, with cornerback Jaxon Hammond coming out of the pile with the ball. But UConn running back Mel Brown was ruled to have been stopped, and the Huskies kept the football. They would reach Army's 31, and the half concluded with a 49-yard field goal from UConn's Chris Freeman to cut Army's lead to 14-10 at the break.

As the sun dipped below the New England horizon coming out of halftime, Nwawuihe opened the second half with his second touchdown of the afternoon, a 70-yard scamper down the sideline on the second play from scrimmage in the third quarter. The rush was the longest touchdown in Fenway Bowl history and put the Black Knights up 20-10 after a blocked extra point.

Army's defense then started the half equally hot, delivering a three-and-out on UConn's first possession after halftime, giving the ball back to the offense at its own 43.

The Black Knights took full advantage of that favorable field position, overcoming a long pass to RB David Clerk being nullified by penalty with a 22-yard pass to Short to get the offense back deep into UConn territory. Hellums punched the ball into the end zone from the 1 on third-and-goal to punctuate an 11-play drive and put the Black Knights ahead 27-10 with 6:22 in the third quarter.

With the Huskies down three possessions, UConn mounted a deep drive on its next series, reaching the Army 11. But the Black Knights' defense walked off the field with no damage done after an incomplete pass on fourth-and-4 ended any immediate threat to Army's 17-point cushion.

An 89-yard drive from Army as the third quarter gave way to deep in the fourth gave Army the Fenway Bowl record in points scored, as the Black Knights took a 34-10 lead behind a six-yard Hellums rush.

After UConn found the end zone with 5:47 left in the contest (failed two-point conversion), backup QB Dewayne Coleman checked into the game and led the Black Knights to a late touchdown drive, capped by a Carson Smith six-yard rush with 1:20 on the clock to effectively cap the matchup, before Dirty Water was played over the Fenway Park speakers.

GAME NOTES

Carrying the Flag: Defensive Lineman Jack Latore led the Black Knights onto the field with the Black Flag.

Saturday's game marked the fourth installment of the Fenway Bowl. The first Fenway Bowl was played in 2022, and the previous games' winners have been Louisville (2022), Boston College (2023), and UConn (2024).
The Wasabi Fenway Bowl was Army's 12th bowl appearance in program history. The Black Knights hold a 9–3 mark all-time, including a 6–1 record under head coach Jeff Monken.
Saturday marked Army's third straight bowl appearance (2021, 2024, 2025) that came after a loss to Navy in the Army-Navy Game. Army is 3-0 in bowls following a loss to Navy under Monken and is 5-0 all-time in bowl games following a loss to Navy.
Army has now played five games in four baseball stadiums over the last five seasons combined (2021-present) — Center Parc Stadium (formerly Turner Field), Globe Life Field, Yankee Stadium, and Fenway Park.
Only 17 programs have competed in games at both iconic ballparks (Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park — including 15 at the FBS level, as Army has done so in back-to-back seasons.
Army's 41 points were the most scored since a 45-28 win over East Carolina on October 19, 2024.
In Saturday's contest, Short reached 1,000 career yards in both rushing (1,148) and receiving (1,008). He became the first player in program history to surpass 1,000 career yards in both categories. Short recorded seven receptions for 108 yards and a score.
Short's 40-yard touchdown reception was his seventh career receiving touchdown and 10th overall touchdown.
Short's seven catches Saturday were the most in a game for Army since Isaiah Alston at Wake Forest in 2022.
Nwawuihe is the first Army freshman with 100 yards rushing and two rushing scores in a game since at least 1995.
Nwawuihe's third-quarter touchdown rush of 70 yards was his first career score and longest career rush. It also marked the longest touchdown run in Fenway Bowl history.
His 171 rushing yards were the most in a game for an Army freshmansincet 1995 for the converted quarterback.
His 70-yard touchdown run was tied for Army's second-longest touchdown run in a bowl game with Tyler Campbell (2016, Heart of Dallas Bowl).
Nwawuihe—a true freshman—scored the first touchdown by a Black Knight freshman since Kanye Udoh vs. Delaware State on September 9, 2023.
Hellums eclipsed 1,200 rushing yards on the season (1,251), becoming just the eighth Army rusher to reach the mark.
Hellums' 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter gave him 17, tying Carlton Jones (2004), Trent Steelman (2012), and Kelvin Hopkins Jr. (2018) for the second-most rushing touchdowns in a season in program history, trailing only Bryson Daily's program-record 32 set in 2024.
Hellums' 40-yard touchdown pass to Short in the first quarter was tied for his career-long touchdown pass, with his 40-yard pass at Air Force on November 1, also to Short. The pass also represented the longest touchdown pass in Fenway Bowl history.
Hellums carried the ball 304 times this season, ranking second in the nation and second all-time in a single season at Army, trailing only Bryson Daily's 310 carries in 2024.
Hellums tied a career-high in single-game completions (7) and set an outright career-high in completion percentage (.875), going 7-for-8 passing.
Army's 90-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter was the team's longest touchdown drive by yards gained in 2025.
Rendina's 15-yard rush on the first play of Army's second drive was his career-long rush. He equaled that rush a drive later, on his way to a career high 87 total yards Saturday.
Saturday's game was 23 degrees at kickoff, serving as Army's coldest postseason game in program history. The Black Knights' previous coldest postseason game was the 2024 American Championship vs. Tulane at Michie Stadium (29 degrees), and their coldest previous bowl game was the 2010 Armed Forces Bowl vs. SMU (38 degrees).
S Stephen Nnadozie made his second career start Saturday.