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Navy makes it 6 straight over Army

BALTIMORE — A milestone afternoon for Navy ended with the sweetest accomplishment of all: an unprecedented sixth straight win over Army.

Reggie Campbell had a school-record 98-yard kickoff return, and Navy defeated mistake-prone Army 38-3 Saturday to put a lopsided slant on college football's biggest rivalry.

The Midshipmen improved to 52-49-7 against Army, their biggest lead in a series that began in 1890. No team had ever won six in a row, though the Black Knights once registered eight successive wins around a pair of ties.

Navy (8-4), which earlier this year ended a 44-game losing streak to Notre Dame, capped a memorable regular season with another blowout against Army (3-9). The Midshipmen have outscored the Black Knights by 169 points during their six-game streak.

Campbell accounted for 227 yards, including 73 on punt returns, and scored two touchdowns. His 12-yard run made it 31-3 with 10:18 left.

Although Navy's potent offense was limited to a 294 yards, the Midshipmen set a school record for points in a season (479), breaking the mark of 442 set in 1917.

Campbell's kickoff return gave the Midshipmen a 14-3 lead in the second quarter. It was 21-3 when he took a punt 46 yards to set up a 51-yard field goal by Joey Bullen on the last play of the half, giving Navy a 21-point cushion.

That was more than enough to beat an Army team that dropped several passes, fumbled three times, missed a short field goal and had a punt blocked.

The Black Knights had a chance to cut into a 21-point deficit in the third quarter, but Mike Viti lost a fumble on the Navy 1.

Army junior Tony Dace set career marks with 28 carries for 104 yards. But the run-oriented Knights couldn't rally behind sophomore Carson Williams, who went 12-for-21 for 117 yards before being replaced midway through the fourth quarter.

It was the fewest points scored by Army in the series since 1991.

Dace and Williams will have another chance to beat Navy, but Army's seniors will graduate without ever having experienced the feeling.

Army took the opening kickoff and launched an impressive drive that included a successful fourth-and-1 gamble at the Navy 11. But on third down Corey Anderson dropped a pass in the end zone, and Owen Tolson missed a 28-yard field goal try.

Another misplay by the Army special teams set up the game's first score. A 23-yard punt into the wind gave Navy the ball near midfield, and four plays later Zerbin Singleton took off around end on a 38-yard touchdown run.

Tolson got Army to 7-3 with a 28-yard field goal midway through the second quarter, but Campbell took the ensuing kickoff the distance. Campbell, who also returned a kickoff for a touchdown against North Texas, became the first Navy player to score twice on kickoff returns in a single season.

On the next play from scrimmage, Wesley McMahand lost a fumble at the Army 6. On third down, Shun White scored from the 1 to make it 21-3.