SportsDirect Inc. staff
Nov 3, 2012
Army 41, Air Force 21: Quarterback Trent Steelman ran for 101 yards and two scores as the host Black Knights surprised the Falcons to snap a six-game losing streak in the series.
Larry Dixon and Raymond Maples also had rushing touchdowns for Army (2-7), which owned a 314-103 edge on the ground in a matchup of the nation's top two rushing offenses. Army, which had dropped 14 of its last 15 to the Falcons (5-4), will win its first Commander-in-Chief's trophy since 1996 if it can beat rival Navy on Dec. 8.
The Black Knights set the tone on the game's opening possession, running through the Air Force defense on all 13 plays of a 66-yard scoring drive, capped by Steelman's 4-yard run. They added the exclamation point with a late fumble recovery touchdown for their final points in ending an overall three-game skid.
Army forced three first-half turnovers and converted a pair of interceptions into 10 points during the last five minutes to grab a 20-7 halftime advantage. Dan Grochowski booted his second field goal of the half, a 36-yarder, with 3 ticks left.
The Black Knights induced three-and-outs on the Falcons' initial two possessions of the second half and turned their ensuing drives into scores both times to make it 35-7. Air Force, after being outgained 116-6 in the third quarter, cut the gap to 35-21 with rushing scores from Jon Lee and Connor Dietz in the fourth.