Late two-point conversion gives Army edge in run-heavy duel with San Diego State

Army visited its former outpost on the Trinity Saturday and walked away in triumph the West Point way: Forward, march.

The Black Knights swallowed up huge swaths of Amon G. Carter Stadium in the Armed Forces Bowl with its patented boots-on-the-ground rushing attack: 440 yards on an all-time bowl-tying 87 attempts in a 42-35 victory over San Diego State in front of 35,986.

Army running back Darnell Woolfolk rushed for two touchdowns, the last a game-tying score with 18 seconds left, and Kell Walker added the game-winning 2-point run.

Quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw, the game’s most outstanding player, completed his record-breaking career with 180 yards and two touchdowns, and Alex Aukerman had a key interception in the red zone for Army (10-3), which became only the second team in The Point’s history to win 10 games.

Elijah Riley returned a San Diego State fumble for a score as time expired to account for the final score.

Army ran 60 more plays than the Aztecs and dominated time of possession by 30 minutes, yet still needed good fortune to overcome San Diego State’s superman, Rashaad Penny.

Penny became the fourth player in FBS history to rush for at least 200 yards in five straight games, joining Marcus Allen, Barry Sanders and North Texas’ Jamario Thomas.

The senior ran for 221 yards on 14 carries and a career-high four touchdowns of 81, 32, 49, and 4 yards that put the Aztecs up seven with 3:31 left in the game.

Penny also became the school’s top rusher for a season, passing Donnel Pumphrey with 2,248 yards, the fifth-most in NCAA FBS history.

“As we got closer and I saw the clock running down, I knew at that point I wanted to go for two,” Army coach Jeff Monken said. “That No. 20, Rashaad Penny, if we went into overtime that meant we were going to give him a chance to get the ball in his hands. There was no way I wanted to watch that anymore. I had seen enough.

“The effort and the determination to win the game. There wasn’t any doubt in the eyes of our players. I’m really proud of that. That’s not something you can fake. That’s part of who this team is. As team that represents the Army, a very proud moment for us.”

San Diego State could not get Army off the field. In addition to running three times as many plays, Army was 13-for-18 on third-down conversions and 2-for-4 on fourth down.

“I thought two teams on offense played well,” San Diego State coach Rocky Long said. “I think our defense played really, really poorly. And that’s coaching, so that’s my fault. We had some chances to put the game away and we didn’t. Obviously, we’re disappointed.”

The Aztecs’ best shot occurred late in the third quarter. Up a touchdown, Anthony Luke intercepted receiver Kjetil Cline’s pass off a reverse, setting up San Diego State with first down at Army’s 14. The pass was one of four Army attempts.

But the Aztecs couldn’t score, in the end exchanging the interception for another. On second-and-8, Christian Chapman missed his receiver and Aukerman swooped in to pick off the tipped ball.

It was, Long said, the play of the game.

San Diego State was also set back by five personal-foul penalties.

“I was just running to the ball,” Aukerman said. “It just fell right into my hands. It was right place, right time for me. A gift from the football gods, I guess.”

It was a two-score turnabout. Army took possession and drove 79 yards in 10 plays to tie the game.

On the final drive, down a touchdown, the Black Knights drove 72 yards in 15 plays. There was little doubt in the final outcome of the possession, as the air was clearly out of San Diego State. The only question was whether to try to tie or go for two.

“We were confident we were going to move the ball,” Bradshaw said. “We had no doubt we were going to go for two. Coach Monken takes risks. He believes in us and we believe in ourselves.”

Bradshaw, who became the service academies’ single-season rushing leader at 1,746, ran 10 times for 42 yards.

San Diego State managed to go into halftime tied at 21-all despite running only 15 plays. In addition to Penny’s two touchdowns in the first 30 minutes, Juwan Washington, a Kennedale High School product, ran back a kickoff 78 yards with 18 seconds left in the second quarter.

Ultimately, Army ran 91 plays to the Aztecs’ 31 – an all-time bowl record low -- and enjoyed a time-of-possession edge of 46 minutes to 14.

The Black Knights’ 87 run plays matched Oklahoma’s attempts in the 1972 Sugar Bowl against Auburn. San Diego State edged Tennessee’s 35 plays in the 1953 Cotton Bowl for fewest.

Army tied the all-time bowl record for rushing first downs with 30, matching Baylor in the 2015 Russell Athletic Bowl against North Carolina.

“It’s what we do best,” Monken said of his ball-control offense. “We had some run plays we got 9, 10, 11 yards. For us, it might take us four or five tries throwing to gain 11 yards. This is what we do, it’s what our guys believe in, it’s what we’re best at.”

This story was originally published December 23, 2017 at 9:15 PM with the headline "Late two-point conversion gives Army edge in run-heavy duel with San Diego State."