Army Black Knights Blank Air Force 21-0

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. – The Army West Point football team blanked service-academy rival Air Force on Saturday afternoon, 21-0.

The Black Knights are now one step closer to winning the Commander-In-Chief’s trophy, which will be decided on Dec. 9 when Army and Navy clash in the annual Army-Navy Game presented by USAA.

With the outcome, the Cadets shut out the Falcons for the first time in program history. The Black Knights’ win marked the first time Air Force has been shut out since 1992 and the first time the Falcons have been blanked at home since 1980.

It was also Army’s first shutout of a service-academy opponent since a 27-0 victory over Navy on Nov. 29, 1969. Army’s last shutout of any opponent came in a 55-0 win over Fordham on Oct. 29, 2011.

Saturday’s contest was controlled by Army from start to finish. The Black Knights limited the Falcons to a season-low 190 total yards. The Cadets also held the No. 2 rushing offense in the nation to just 95 yards on the day.

Senior quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw rushed for 265 yards in the game, which broke Army’s all-time quarterback single-game rushing record. The mark was previously held by Trent Steelman when he posted 212 against Eastern Michigan on Oct. 20, 2012.

Kell Walker and Darnell Woolfolk were Army’s next best rushers with 67 and 54, respectively, on the day.

James Nachtigal and Cole Christiansen led the defense with 10 tackles each. Nachtigal, Alex Aukerman and Kenneth Brinson all added sacks, while Aukerman recorded two tackles for a loss of eight yards.

Army returns to West Point Saturday for its home finale against Duke. That contest is slated for 12 p.m. and will be the last home game for 16 firsties.