Hellums’ Five Rushing Touchdowns Lead Football Past FAU, 56-24

Saturday, October 17

West Point, N.Y.

12:00 p.m.

Army West Point

4-2 , 3-1

Florida Atlantic

4-2 , 1-1

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Fla. Atlantic	14	0	3	7	24
Army West Point	14	21	7	14	56

Army Quarterback Cale Hellums rushes for one of his five touchdowns vs. FAU.

Photo by: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports

Hellums’ Five Rushing Touchdowns Lead Football Past FAU, 56-24

October 17, 2026 | Football

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Quarterback Cale Hellums rushed for 195 yards and a career-high five touchdowns to lead Army West Point football to a 56-24 victory over Florida Atlantic on Saturday at Michie Stadium Preserved by USAA.

The Black Knights (4-2, 3-1 American) improved to two games above .500 overall and in American Conference play in front of a crowd of 28,537, while the Owls (4-2, 1-1 American) suffered their second loss of the season.

Army led 49-24 in the fourth quarter when the Black Knights defense recovered a fumble at the Army 20-yard line with 3:45 left, ending an FAU threat. Backup quarterback Bryson Luter, in his third appearance of the season, then broke free for a 69-yard touchdown run, the first score of his career, to put the game away at 56-24 with 1:48 left.

Hellums carries the ball 25 carries, scoring on runs of 58, 4, 2, 3 and 1 yards. Army rushed for 479 yards as a team, averaging 8.0 yards per carry, and scored eight touchdowns, all on the ground, including touchdowns on its first seven possessions. The Black Knights attempted just two passes, completing one for a pair of yards.

The Black Knights defense forced three takeaways–an interception and two fumble recoveries–and sacked FAU quarterback Caden Veltkamp twice for 20 yards. Veltkamp completed 33-of-48 passes for 318 yards and three touchdowns, and wide receiver Easton Messer caught 14 passes for 102 yards, but FAU turned the ball over three times and made just one-of-three field goal attempts.

FAU won the coin toss, and for the first time in an Army game this season, the toss winner chose to receive the opening kick, putting the Black Knights defense on the field first. Yet it took just two plays and 22 seconds for Army to storm out to a 7-0 lead.

On the first play from scrimmage, a pass deflection by Jack Bousum fell into Elijah Walton's hands for an interception at the FAU 30-yard line to bring out Army's offense early. One play later, a pitch to the right side to slotback Samari Howard led to a lightning-fast 30-yard touchdown run.

However, the Owls struck back less than three minutes later to tie it at 7-7. After a kickoff return into Army territory, quarterback Caden Veltkamp found wide receiver Easton Messer for a 24-yard touchdown on third-and-9.

The back-and-forth affair continued as Army retook the lead just three minutes and eight seconds later, when quarterback Cale Hellums tied his career long with a 58-yard touchdown run on third-and-5 to make it 14-7 Army with 8:42 left in the first quarter.

For the third time in the first quarter, the teams traded scores. FAU got the ball back and marched down the field in just three minutes and two seconds. Veltkamp capped the drive with a 34-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Kelby Valsin, tying the game at 14-14 with 5:33 left in the first quarter.

The first quarter ended in the middle of Army's next drive, but the high-scoring pace did not slow down. The Black Knights offense chewed six minutes and 14 seconds off the clock, going 75 yards on 12 plays and capping the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run by Hellums, his second rushing touchdown of the game, to make it 21-14 Army with 14:19 left in the second quarter.

FAU took the ball back and again drove into Army territory, but the Black Knights defense stiffened at the Army 32-yard line. The Owls attempted a 50-yard field goal, which hit the crossbar and fell short.

Army's offense kept pushing after regaining possession. A 17-yard rush by Hellums, followed by a pair of rushes from Godspower Nwawuihe, moved the Black Knights to the FAU 45-yard line. On third-and-4, a short rush by Hellums left Army facing fourth-and-2. Hellums then converted with a 10-yard rush to the FAU 33-yard line, keeping the offense on the field with 6:37 left in the second quarter.

The ground game kept Army moving toward the red zone. A 5-yard Hellums rush on third-and-3 gave the Black Knights a fresh set of downs at the FAU 21-yard line, one yard shy of the red zone, with 4:38 left in the second quarter. A facemask penalty on FAU on second-and-15 moved Army to the FAU 13-yard line, where two Hellums rushes and one from Jake Rendina totaled 9 yards, leaving Army with fourth-and-1 at the FAU 4-yard line. Hellums converted again with a 2-yard rush, then scored on a 2-yard rush for an Army touchdown with 1:18 left in the second quarter to make it 28-14.

After Army took a 28-14 lead, Stroman Bridges forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, setting Army up again at the FAU 28-yard line. The Black Knights ran time off the clock before Hellums struck again, this time from three yards out, for his fourth rushing touchdown of the game, with 25 seconds left in the first half to make it 35-14.

FAU drove into Army territory in the closing seconds of the first half, but its 55-yard field goal attempt again hit the crossbar and fell short, sending the teams to halftime with Army leading 35-14.

Army received the second-half kickoff and wasted little time adding to its lead. Jake Rendina broke loose for a 61-yard touchdown run, making it 42-14 with 13:26 left in the third quarter.

The Owls took the ball for their first drive of the second half, driving 52 yards on 18 plays, but the Black Knights defense stiffened in the red zone. Victor Afolabi sacked the quarterback on third-and-11 to force another FAU field goal attempt, which was good this time from 41 yards to make it 42-17 Army with 6:02 left in the third quarter.

FAU attempted an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff, which deflected off multiple players and went out of bounds, giving Army the ball back at the Army 49-yard line.

Starting at the Army 49-yard line, Army put together a 13-play drive that took eight minutes and 15 seconds off the clock. On the second play of the fourth quarter, Hellums converted a fourth-and-2 at the FAU 5-yard line, then completed a 2-yard pass to Howard, Army's only completion of the game, before plowing into the end zone from one yard out for his fifth rushing touchdown of the game, a career high, to make it 49-17 Army with 12:44 left in the fourth quarter.

FAU struck for its first touchdown since the first quarter on its next possession, a 19-yard pass from Veltkamp to wide receiver Tucker Holloway with 9:48 left in the fourth quarter, to make it 49-24 Army.

Following the touchdown, the Owls set up for an onside kick, hoping to regain possession and close the 25-point gap. Two false start penalties on FAU's onside attempts ultimately gave the Black Knights the ball at the FAU 33-yard line.

James Wagenseller's punt after the drive, the first of the game, came with 7:44 left in the fourth quarter.

The punt pinned FAU at its own 9-yard line, creating a long field for the Owls. FAU needed six plays, mostly short passes, to cross into Army territory. A sack by Afolabi set the Owls back 9 yards, leaving them with second-and-19, and two incomplete passes brought up fourth-and-19. FAU converted on a 21-yard completion, creating another scoring opportunity, but the Black Knights defense ended the threat when Nick Buchys recovered a fumble at the Army 20-yard line with 3:45 left to play.

After regaining possession, Army turned to quarterback Bryson Luter, making his third appearance of the season. Luter rushed twice for nine yards, Rendina converted a third-and-1 on the next play, and Luter then broke free for a 69-yard touchdown run, the first of his career, to make it 56-24 Army with 1:48 left in the fourth quarter.

FAU took over at its own 25-yard line with 1:41 left in the game. The Owls moved to midfield on a series of short gains, with time expiring after an 11-yard rush to the 50-yard line, to seal Army's 56-24 victory.

Division of the Game: Army honored the 82nd Airborne Division with a logo decal on the players' helmets and coaches' headsets. The 82nd Airborne Division is a United States Army airborne infantry division that specializes in parachute assault and is based at Fort Bragg, N.C. Because its initial members came from all 48 states, the division acquired the nickname "All-American," the basis for the "AA" on its shoulder patch.

Carrying the Flag: Parker Poloskey led the Black Knights onto the field with the Black Flag. Poloskey is a native of Boca Raton, Fla.

Postgame Notes

Army scored just 22 seconds into the game, the quickest score to start a game this year.
Army's 35 first half points was the most in any half since scoring 36 vs. Delaware State in the first half on Sept. 9, 2023.
All but one of Army's offensive drives on Saturday went for touchdowns.
Walton's interception marked the second week in a row Army forced a turnover on its opening defensive drive.
Nwawuihe returned to action for the first time since Army's game at Temple on Sept. 25.
Army's one completed pass on Saturday was the fewest since its 14-13 win at Temple on Nov. 8 a season ago.
Hellums' had a 58-yard touchdown rush for the second week in a row.
The quarterback recorded his 10th career game on Saturday with two or more rushing touchdowns, and is just three games with multiple rushing touchdowns away from tying Bryson Daily's program record of 13.
The Tomball, Texas native rushed for five touchdowns, tied for most in program history with Bryson Daily (2024 vs. ECU), Kelvin Hopkins Jr. (2018 vs. Houston) and Carlton Jones (2004 vs. USF)
Rendina's 61-yard score was his career-long rush.
Army's meeting with FAU was its second in program history.
Saturday's kickoff temperature of 50 degrees represented the coolest October game for Army since October 14, 2023 vs. Troy.
Freshman linebacker Deion Miller earned the start at inside linebacker on Saturday, marking the first start by an Army freshman since Brady Small vs. Navy in 2023.
Afolabi had two sacks on Saturday, and recorded a sack for the second straight game.
Army is 7-2 in the month of October since joining the American Conference in 2024.
The Black Knights are 4-0 when scoring first this year.
Army has won 10 of its past 15 games dating back to October 4, 2025, a season ago.
The Black Knights are 14-4 over their past 18 home games, dating back to the middle of the 2023 campaign.
28,537 fans packed into Michie Stadium Preserved by USAA for Saturday's game.

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