Air Force Academy
Army
Falcons' Football Edges Army, 34-24
11/3/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov 3, 2001
By AARON J. LOPEZ
AP Sports Writer
AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. - A B-2 stealth bomber gracefully traced a path over the stadium at halftime. Helicopters roared overhead as the Air Force and Army bands played in unison 30 minutes after the game.
With the nation at war, reminders of the military's spirit were not limited to the field.
After receiving a pregame visit from Air Force chief of staff Gen. John P. Jumper, Air Force continued its service academy dominance with a 34-24 victory over Army on Saturday.
"It's real close to home, you better believe it," Air Force coach Fisher DeBerry said. "Our hearts go out. It makes football seem somewhat trivial whenever you see families that are going to be separated and you don't know for how long."
In times of war and times of peace, DeBerry and Air Force (5-3) always seem to give their present and former cadets bragging rights over Army (2-6) and Navy.
Coupled with their victory over Navy four weeks earlier, the Falcons retained the Commander-in-Chief's trophy for the fifth consecutive year and the 11th time since 1989. The trophy is awarded each year to the service academy that sweeps its two rivals.
Though the three academies share a unique bond this year, Air Force wide receiver Brian LaBasco was able to put any brotherly loyalty aside for the game.
"I treat it like any other game," LaBasco said. "I want to kill them. So whatever it takes to do that, we're going to do that."
LaBasco had a crucial 22-yard catch on third-and-13 in the fourth quarter, and Larry Duncan returned an interception 95 yards for a touchdown to help Air Force prevent Army from winning consecutive games for the first time in four years.
Duncan's interception was one of four turnovers for Army, which finished with 154 more total yards than Air Force and had a 10-minute advantage in time of possession.
"We shot ourselves in the foot and they didn't," Army quarterback Chad Jenkins said. "Usually who wins the turnover battle wins the game."
After being shut out in their previous two trips to Colorado, the Black Knights were rolling offensively until Duncan stepped in front of a pass by Jenkins and sprinted down the left sideline for the longest interception return in school history.
The play was a huge momentum swing, giving Air Force a 31-17 lead with 1:33 left in the third quarter.
"Only a coach could appreciate all the lost opportunities," Army coach Todd Berry said. "A ball thrown here instead of there all of a sudden results in a touchdown."
Jenkins rebounded quickly, driving Army 80 yards on the ensuing drive, and C.J. Young scored from 2 yards out with 10 minutes remaining.
Army got the ball back less than four minutes later but was forced to punt, and Air Force put the game out of reach when Brooks Walters kicked a 46-yard field goal with 2:36 left. The ball went through after bouncing off the left upright.
"It was just bouncing the right way today," Walters said. "I don't hit the goal post very often. I was just lucky. I'm was happy to see it go through."
Air Force needed some good fortune after another big offensive day by its opponent.
After surrendering 115 points and 1,231 total yards in losses to Brigham Young and New Mexico, Air Force gave up 436 yards to Army. The most important number came on the scoreboard.
"I can't tell you have good this win was after the disappointments we've had on the road the last two weeks," DeBerry said.
Air Force was void of any superlative stats. Keith Boyea threw for 132 yards and Todd Leslie led the Falcons with 36 yards rushing to help the senior class finish 8-0 against Army and Navy.
"Yeah, I'm going to brag about beating them four times," senior defensive lineman Zach Johnson said. "If you only beat them three times and lose once, you can't brag about that."
Trailing 17-10 at halftime, Army tied the game on Clint Dodson's 22-yard touchdown catch 5:30 into the third quarter.
Air Force countered with a 75-yard drive capped by Leslie's 2-yard touchdown run, setting the stage for Duncan's crucial interception.
"I saw the receiver running a drag route," Duncan said. "I cut in front and just took it to the house."
