Army Beats Air Force to Remain Undefeated

Undefeated Army ended a string of seven consecutive losses to Air Force with a 23-7 victory Saturday at West Point, N.Y.

Army (9-0) has its best record since Coach Earl “Red” Blaik’s 1949 team finished 9-0 and the Black Knights have won 11 in a row. But Air Force (5-4) is only the second opponent this season with a winning record.

Army can win the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy, emblematic of service-academy supremacy, for the first time since 1988 by beating Navy on Dec. 7.

Against Air Force, fullback Joe Hewitt, with 29 carries, rushed for a career-best 161 yards and two touchdowns. Air Force’s all-everything quarterback Beau Morgan, who was averaging 148 rushing yards per game, was held to six in 11 carries.

*

Chad Johnston threw three touchdown passes in the first 23 minutes and West Virginia (8-2, 4-2) built a 38-0 halftime time on its way to a 55-14 Big East victory over Rutgers (1-7, 1-5) at Piscataway, N.J. . . . Chris McCoy ran for 201 yards and Navy (6-2), off to its best start in 17 years, pulled away from Division I-AA Delaware (7-3) in the second half for a 30-14 victory at Annapolis, Md.

Jon Aljancic ran for one touchdown and passed for two as Dartmouth (8-0, 5-0) took charge in the first half at Hanover, N.H., and went on to a 40-0 Ivy League victory over Columbia (6-2, 3-2), which lost its second in a row after a 6-0 start. . . . Cornell tailback Chad Levitt, with 218 yards in 39 carries, moved within 85 yards of Ed Marinaro’s school record of 4,715 as the Big Red (3-5, 3-2) recorded a 28-20 Ivy League victory over Yale (2-6, 1-4) at West Haven, Conn.

SOUTH

No. 25 Virginia Tech overcame a week of turmoil caused by player suspensions and a night of finger-numbing weather to defeat East Carolina, 35-14, at Blacksburg, Va. Jim Druckenmiller passed for 268 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Hokies (7-1) over the Pirates (5-3). Virginia Tech played without All-America defensive end Cornell Brown, who along with five reserves was suspended last week after being charged with beating up a member of the track team. . . . Donovan McNabb passed for 271 yards and three touchdowns to lead No. 24 Syracuse (6-2) to an 31-7 nonconference victory over Tulane at New Orleans for the Orangemen’s sixth consecutive victory.

SOUTHWEST

Antowain Smith scored six touchdowns, the last on a 12-yard run in overtime, to lead Houston (6-4, 3-1) to a 56-49 Conference USA victory over No. 20 Southern Mississippi (8-2, 4-1) at Houston.

WEST

Chris Lemon caught two touchdown passes from John Dutton and Matt Lasker scored three short-yardage touchdowns as Nevada (7-3, 4-1) earned a berth in the Las Vegas Bowl with a 54-27 Big West victory over Utah State (6-5, 4-1) at Logan, Utah. Nevada will play the champion of the Mid-America Conference on Dec. 19. . . . Jeff Graham’s 33-yard field goal with two seconds left rallied North Texas (4-6, 2-2) to a 30-27 Big West victory over Boise State (1-9, 0-3) at Boise, Idaho. . . . Cal State Northridge scored 35 points in the second quarter, when Aaron Flowers threw for two touchdowns--including one on a 90-yard play to David Romines--but the Matadors (5-5, 3-3) barely managed a 42-40 Big Sky victory over Idaho State (3-6, 1-5) at Pocatello, Ida. . . . Sean Laird threw for 282 yards and five touchdowns to lead Division I-AA St. Mary’s (6-3) to a 42-29 victory over Division III Chapman (6-2) at Moraga, Calif.

Anthony Rice ran for 154 yards and one touchdown as La Verne (7-1) rolled to a 37-16 nonconference victory over Menlo (5-3) at La Verne. . . . Jack Ramirez passed for five touchdowns as Pomona-Pitzer (6-2) breezed to a 63-7 victory over Claremont-Mudd (2-7) at Pomona. Ramirez completed 12 of 16 passes for 242 yards. . . . San Diego (4-5) led 27-3 after Jeb Dougherty returned the second-half kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown, then held on for a 44-34 victory over Azusa Pacific (7-2) at Azusa. Azusa Pacific, ranked No. 13 in the NAIA, tied the game 27-27 three touchdowns and three two-point conversions in seven minutes. . . . Rob Compson threw for 261 yards and four touchdowns as Montana State (5-4) rolled to a 37-20 victory over Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (5-5) at Bozeman, Mont.