Hellums scores three times as Army rallies past Temple 21-17

Army quarterback Cale Hellums scored three rushing touchdowns Friday, and the last one rescued a game Temple had taken over late. Hellums ran three yards with 1:41 remaining to give the Black Knights a 21-17 win in Philadelphia. The final play log and box score show Army trailing 17-14 after a fourth-quarter field goal before Hellums supplied the deciding score.

Hellums accounted for all three Army touchdowns on the ground. His 15-yard run opened the scoring in the first quarter, but Temple answered almost immediately when Ajani Sheppard hit Samuel Brown V for a 78-yard touchdown. The teams reached halftime tied 7-7. Army moved back ahead in the third on Hellums's 12-yard run, only to see Sheppard find Colin Chase for a 67-yard score less than two minutes later. That exchange kept the game level at 14 entering the final period.

Temple went in front 17-14 when Carl Hardin made a 29-yard field goal with 7:38 left. Army's response was its most important drive of the night. Hellums finished it from three yards out, and Dawson Jones added the extra point. Temple had built its lead on two long touchdown passes and the late kick; Army won with a third sustained scoring answer from its quarterback. The official final was 21-17, with no further scoring after the go-ahead run.

Hellums carried 22 times for 104 yards, three touchdowns and more than half of Army's points by himself. He completed three of six passes for 36 yards, illustrating how much of the offense came through the run. Temple's Sheppard threw for 242 yards and two touchdowns on 11 completions. Brown had 96 rushing yards and a 78-yard touchdown reception, but Temple did not find a third touchdown after Chase's long catch tied the game.

The Army game center identifies Friday's trip to Lincoln Financial Field as an American Conference meeting. Its pregame history listed a narrow all-time series between the teams; this result came down to a narrow final margin too. Hellums's late keeper matters more than the earlier score swings because it turned Temple's fourth-quarter advantage into an Army road win. This is the completed Friday result; the scoring timeline and player numbers come from the final game summary.

The late touchdown made Hellums responsible for each of Army’s three scoring drives that ended in the end zone.