By Tiffany Williams –
The Wasabi Fenway Bowl turned the historic Fenway ballpark in Boston into a ground-and-pound crime scene, and the Black Knights were the only ones holding the shovel. Army smashed UConn 41–16, finished 7–6, and controlled the game so thoroughly that the final score almost flatters the Huskies.
This wasn’t a bowl game. It was a possession-by-possession suffocation.
Army owned the afternoon the way triple-option teams dream about. Thirty-six minutes and fifteen seconds of possession. Fifty-six rushing attempts. Three hundred sixty-eight rushing yards. Zero penalties. Zero chaos. Just relentless forward motion while UConn slowly disappeared into the cold Boston air.
UConn entered Fenway with a 9–4 record and left with a reality check. The Huskies scored first and then spent the rest of the night chasing shadows in olive drab.
Cam Edwards gave UConn early life with a 12-yard touchdown run, capping a crisp opening drive. That was the peak. From that moment on, Army dictated everything: pace, field position, momentum, and psychology.
Army answered immediately when Cale Hellums hit Noah Short for a 40-yard touchdown. That single strike told the story of the night. Army didn’t need to throw. But when it did, it hurt.
Godspower Nwawuihe turned the game vicious in the second quarter. His 43-yard touchdown run capped a 10-play, 90-yard drive that chewed nearly six minutes off the clock. UConn’s defense was already breathing heavy. It never recovered.
By halftime, Army led 14–10, and the numbers were already screaming danger. UConn was 1-of-9 on third down. Army was converting, grinding, and leaning on a Huskies defense that couldn’t get off the field.
Then came the third quarter avalanche.
Nwawuihe broke Fenway open with a 70-yard touchdown run just 56 seconds into the half. One play. One crease. One defense completely out of position. Army missed the extra point, and it didn’t matter. The tone was set. UConn was in trouble.
Army followed with an 11-play, 74-yard drive that ended with Hellums punching it in from a yard out. That possession lasted nearly seven minutes. That’s not football. That’s erosion.
By the time the fourth quarter started, UConn had run out of answers, gas, and time. Army opened the final period with a 15-play, 89-yard march that burned over eight minutes and ended with another Hellums rushing touchdown. At that point, Fenway belonged to Army.
UConn tried to push back. Ksaan Farrar scored on an 11-yard run midway through the fourth, but the failed two-point attempt summed up the night. Close wasn’t close enough. Nothing was.
Army slammed the door for good when Carson Smith ran in from six yards out with just over a minute left. That made it 41–16, a score that finally matched the domination on the field.
Stat sheet brutality followed.
Army finished with 476 total yards to UConn’s 267. Army rushed for more than double UConn’s output. Army converted 8 of 11 third downs. UConn converted one. Army committed zero penalties. UConn had five. Army held the ball for over twelve more minutes. Army turned the game into a controlled demolition.
Nwawuihe was the wrecking ball. Twelve carries. One hundred seventy-one yards. Two touchdowns. One run of 70 yards that broke the game open and the spirit with it.
Hellums was surgical. Seven completions on eight attempts for 108 yards and a touchdown. Fifteen carries. Forty-five yards. Two rushing touchdowns. He didn’t need volume. He needed timing.
Noah Short caught all seven Army passes for 108 yards and a touchdown. That’s it. That’s the entire receiving chart. When your passing game is that efficient and that limited, it means the run game is doing unspeakable things.
UConn’s offense never found rhythm. Farrar completed 11 of 17 for 84 yards. No touchdowns. No interceptions. The passing game existed, technically, but never threatened.
Edwards ran hard and produced 108 yards on 11 carries, but the game script erased him. Once Army pulled away, the Huskies couldn’t stay balanced, couldn’t sustain drives, and couldn’t flip the field.
UConn’s defense racked up tackles because Army never left the field. Sixty-six total tackles is not dominance. It’s survival mode.
Fenway Park has seen championships, collapses, and curses. On this Bowl Day, it saw a military-grade takeover. Army played clean, disciplined football and imposed its will from the second quarter on. UConn played catch-up until the clock finally ran out.
The final whistle didn’t end a game. It ended an illusion.
Army marched out winners. UConn walked off knowing exactly how far away it still is when a team decides to take your bowl game — one run at a time.
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