COLLEGE FOOTBALL : Notre Dame Rolls Over Navy : Anthony Johnson Has Four Scores in 56-13 Rout

When Notre Dame got the ball in close, fullback Anthony Johnson was more than happy to do the rest of the work.

“If you can’t score from about the two-yard line, you shouldn’t be a fullback,” Johnson said after scoring four touchdowns Saturday to lead No. 9 Notre Dame to a 56-13 rout of outmanned Navy. “The team counts on you at that point and you have to give them that extra ounce of effort.”

Johnson rushed 6, 9, 1 and 2 yards for touchdowns to lead the Irish to their 24th consecutive victory over the Midshipmen.

“We stunk,” Navy Coach Elliot Uzelac said. “I’m not a guy who makes excuses, but I’ll promise you that we are a better team than you saw today.”

Irish Coach Lou Holtz is assured of a winning season after finishing 5-6 in his first season last year. Notre Dame is 6-1, Navy 1-7.

All-American flanker Tim Brown, who totaled 173 all-purpose yards and 1 touchdown, played most of the game with three stitches in the ring finger of his left hand. “I was trying to block the defensive end,” he said. “My fingernail caught in his jersey and it ripped right off.”

Notre Dame scored touchdowns on six consecutive possessions, including all five in the first half, as the Irish raced to a 35-6 lead.

Johnson opened the scoring by scrambling six yards for a touchdown to cap Notre Dame’s first possession, and Brown finished the first-half onslaught by beating double coverage to catch a pass from substitute quarterback Kent Graham and score on a 51-yard play.

Notre Dame gained 406 yards rushing and 224 yards passing.

Notre Dame capitalized early on Navy mistakes. Johnson scored his second touchdown on a nine-yard run after linebacker Wesley Pritchett recovered Paul Parker’s fumble at the Irish 48.

Irish cornerback Marv Spence intercepted Alton Grizzard’s pass at the Notre Dame 35 on the next possession. Notre Dame quarterback Tony Rice passed to Brown for a 44-yard gain, and Mark Green ran 21 yards for a touchdown.

After a 48-yard field goal by Theodore Fundoukos gave Navy its first points, Notre Dame drove 69 yards in 5 plays with Johnson scoring from the 1 to take a 28-3 lead.

Fundoukos kicked a 31-yard field goal to make it 28-6 before the Irish answered with Brown’s 51-yard pass-play touchdown.

The Irish needed only 4 plays to move 53 yards in their opening possession of the second half, with Johnson scoring from the 2.

Notre Dame wrapped up its scoring on a six-yard run by Ricky Watters and a four-yard run by Tony Brooks, both freshmen tailbacks. Brooks ran for 13 yards and caught a pass for 27 yards to set up his touchdown run, which came with 10:20 left.

Aided by a pass interference call, Navy got its touchdown with 37 seconds remaining when Derick Sims scored on a four-yard run.