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Navy Comes Back To Beat Air Force 27-24
Joey Bullen kicked a 46-yard field goal with 0.4 seconds left to give Navy the win.
Oct. 8, 2005 ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - Joey Bullen kicked a 46-yard field goal with 0.4 seconds left, capping a stunning comeback that carried Navy past mistake-prone Air Force 27-24 Saturday. Navy (2-2) trailed 24-17 before Reggie Campbell tied it with a 40-yard run with 2:22 left. Then, after a shanked 9-yard punt by Air Force's Donny Heaton, the Midshipmen moved 7 yards to set up Bullen's game-winner. Air Force (2-4) has lost four straight, and this one - against its archrival - surely hurt more than the rest. The Falcons never trailed until Bullen's low-flying kick sailed through the upright. The victory gives Navy a leg up in its quest to retain the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy, awarded to the team with the best record in games between the three major service academies. Navy won it in 2003 and 2004, and will retain the trophy unless Army beats Air Force and Navy. Jason Tomlinson had four catches for 114 yards and a touchdown for Navy, which has three straight wins over Air Force for first time since 1977-79. Shaun Carney threw two touchdown passes and ran for 71 yards for the Falcons, who led 24-14 in the third quarter. Down by 10 at the half, Navy closed to 17-14 on a 61-yard touchdown pass from Lamar Owens to Tomlinson early in the third quarter. Air Force answered with a 7-yard TD run by Justin Handley, but Navy made it 24-17 when Tomlinson's 37-yard catch led to a field goal by Bullen with 5 seconds left in the third quarter. The Midshipmen didn't get into Air Force territory again until Campbell caught a 29-yard pass one play before his touchdown run. A driving rain let up before the start of the game, but the wet field contributed to five fumbles during a sloppy first half that ended with Air Force up 17-7. After Navy's opening possession ended with an interception, Air Force peeled off 12 straight runs, half of them by Jacobe Kendrick, to set up a 20-yard field goal by Scott Eberle. Two plays later, Air Force linebacker Aaron Shanor recovered a fumble on the Navy 27, and the Falcons went up 10-0 on an 8-yard touchdown pass from Carney to halfback Chad Smith. Air Force moved to the Navy 17 on its next possession, but the drive was cut short by Keenan Little's interception in the end zone. The Midshipmen then closed to 10-7 when Karlos Whittaker scored on a 3-yard run to cap a 16-play drive that consumed nearly eight minutes. The touchdown came with 66 seconds left in the half, but Air Force wasn't done. Carney rolled to his right and threw long down the middle to a wide-open Greg Kirkwood, who caught the ball inside the 5 and squeezed into the end zone with 6 seconds left.
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