2-Point Gamble, Late TD Push Army Past San Diego State In Armed Forces Bowl
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Darnell Woolfolk scored on a 1-yard run with 18 seconds left, Kell Walker converted a go-ahead 2-point run and Army added a last-play defensive touchdown for a 42-35 victory over San Diego State on Saturday in the Armed Forces Bowl.
After Rashaad Penny's fourth touchdown run of the game gave San Diego State (10-3) a 35-28 lead with 5:47 to play, Army (10-3) drove 72 yards for the tying score and winning conversion.
The Aztecs made multiple laterals on the game's final play from their 40. The final lateral was grabbed by Army's Elijah Riley, who returned it 29 yards for a touchdown.
The Black Knights tied a school record for wins set by the 1996 team.
Penny ran for 221 yards, his fifth straight game of at least 200 yards.
Penny's scores came on runs of 81, on his first carry, 31, 49 and 4 yards. Juwan Washington added the Aztecs' other touchdown on a 78-yard kickoff return.
Army dominated the time of possession with its option offense. The Black Knights ran 91 plays to the Aztecs' 30 and held the ball for 46:00 to San Diego State's 13:53.
Woolfolk ran for two touchdowns, and Ahmad Bradshaw and Andy Davidson ran for one each.
THE TAKEAWAY
San Diego State: The Aztecs went into the game ranked ninth in FBS rush defense, allowing 110.4 yards per game. Army ran for 120 in the first quarter and 440 overall.
Army: The Black Knights went into the game ranked last in the FBS averaging 29.6 passing yards per game. They went 1-for-4 passing for 6 yards, including receiver Kjetil Cline throwing an interception.
RUNNING RECORDS FALL
Penny's 32-yard touchdown run gave him the school's single-season mark for rushing yards, set last season by Donnel Pumphrey. Penny finished with 2,248 yards. Penny also became the fourth FBS player ever to run for 200 yards in five straight games.
Bradshaw became the single-season rushing leader for the FBS service academies, passing the 1,587 gained by Navy's Napoleon McCallum in 1,587. Bradshaw finished the season with 1,746.
UP NEXT
San Diego State: Having produced 2,000-yard rushers each of the past two seasons, the Aztecs will look to Washington as their primary ball carrier in 2018. The 5-foot-7, 190-pounder ran for 715 yards this season as a sophomore. The Aztecs, with seven starters each returning on offense and defense, will open at Stanford on Sept. 1.
Army: Bradshaw is a senior, but the academy's public affairs office stated two weeks ago that he would spend an additional year at West Point. Bradshaw didn't play varsity football as a freshman in 2014 for what West Point called an academy matter. The Black Knights will open at Duke on Sept. 1.
(© Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
