Army produces touchdowns on six drives, rolls to opening win over FCS Lehigh

WEST POINT - The last thing Jeff Monken wanted was punting the ball away on the opening offensive drive of the season.

So a special play was sent in, the Army punting unit saw what it needed to green-light the fake. Up man Andon Thomas took the direct snap and rumbled 35 yards for the first down and the Black Knights set the tone for the evening.

Army would score on the first drive and the ensuing five full series that followed, rolling to a convincing 42-7 win over Lehigh, posting a victory in the season opener for the first time since 2021 – since then, the Black Knights have struggled out of the gate and had to rally for a pair of 6-6 season finishes.

“It’s a good first win, good first game,’’ said sophomore back Kanye Udoh,  who rushed for 78 yards and a pair of touchdowns. “It was good to get that game feeling and get the first game under our belts, get the first win and get our confidence up moving forward.’’

Udoh staked Army to a 21-7 lead late in the second quarter on an extra-effort run from 13 yards, running over one defender, putting a spin move on another and then having the wherewithal to stretch the ball over the pylon backwards as he was being drilled out of bounds. His 1-yard run off the right side was a much easier score midway through the fourth quarter.

Senior quarterback Bryson Daily looked impressive in his second season-opening start. He played his usual no-fear, rugged style from behind center, leading the team with 17 carries, gaining 78 yards and scoring twice on 1-yard sneaks.

In all, seven Army running backs and two quarterbacks amassed 375 positive yards, no rushing losses and six rushing touchdowns, the first time Army has done that since November 2022.

“I think the offense played well, executed,’’ Daily said. “A lot of guys made plays - that was really good to see. We kind of got to spread the ball around so that was awesome. I’m very excited for the future of this offense as we go to into the next game.’’

Army did give up 282 yards of total offense to Lehigh but stopped two fourth-down conversions and Donavon Platt and Jayden Mayes each killed drives with interceptions. Kalib Fortner had eight tackles, Eric Ford five and Elo Modozie four.

Lehigh rotated three quarterbacks, including a pair of freshmen. Late in the first quarter Luke Yoder tied the game at 7-7 on an 18-yard run when Army failed to wrap a pair of tackles. The Mountain Hawks had their final five drives fail with a punt, two picks, a fourth-down failure and the final gun.

Army makes its American Athletic Conference debut next Saturday in Boca Raton against Florida Atlantic. The noon game will be televised by CBS Sports Network.

“(We need) enough humility,’’ Monken said, “to understanding that we’re going to have to do a lot of things we did tonight better, if we’re going to have a chance.’’

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This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Army produces touchdowns on six drives, rolls to opening win over FCS Lehigh