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Boston College Routs Army, 55-17
Sept. 9, 2000
By RIK STEVENS WEST POINT, N.Y. - Once Dedrick Dewalt streaked down the middle and hauled in Tim Hasselbeck's bomb, Boston College could not be caught. Dewalt caught a 75-yard touchdown pass from Hasselbeck on the first play of the second half and Boston College broke away to rout Army 55-17 Saturday. "Coming out in the third quarter we got control of the game and then it became a long game," Eagles coach Tom O'Brien said. Boston College (1-1) scored 28 points in the third quarter after leading 20-10 at halftime. The 38-point loss matched the worst home defeat ever for Army (0-2). The Cadets were beaten 45-7 by Pittsburgh in 1980. "We played a decent first half. We're still inconsistent," said Army coach Todd Berry, who made his Michie Stadium debut. "The second half, we had some bad things happen right off the bat and basically, we kind of went in the tank a little bit mentally," he said. On the first play after Dewalt's long score, Army quarterback Chad Jenkins was pressured and rolled hard to his left. Jenkins threw back across the field into the hands of Boston College linebacker Curtis Bolden, who made the interception and raced untouched 22 yards for the score. Only 37 seconds into the second half, Boston College led by 24 and the stands at Michie Stadium started to thin. Dewalt scored again in the third quarter on a 38-yard pass. He caught three passes for 122 yards, while Hasselbeck finished 14-of-21 for 256 yards and three touchdowns. The Eagles bounced back from a 34-14 loss to West Virginia in which they had just 206 total yards and threw three interceptions. "We made a conscious effort to be a physical football team," O'Brien said.
"This couldn't have come at a better time for us."
Army was plagued by mistakes in the second half, including two fumbled snaps that gave the Eagles the ball back at their own 38-yard line in the third quarter. Boston College took 12 plays to go 62 yards, scoring when Hasselbeck hit Keith Hemmings with a 5-yard pass. Army scored first, going 80 yards in nine plays and culminated by Josh Holden's 28-yard run over the right side. Boston College came right back as William Green took the ensuing kickoff 84 yards to the Army 8. On the first play, Cedric Washington broke two tackles and scooted into the end zone. Washington ran for 100 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. For Army, Michael Wallace ran for 110 yards on 15 carries. Jenkins finished 9-of-16 for 77 yards and two interceptions before leaving in the third quarter with what appeared to be an injured left ankle. X-rays were negative and his status for the upcoming week was not certain. "When you go out there with one play turnovers, it depletes not only the offense but the defense and the fans," he said. Boston College took a 20-10 lead on a 24-yard field goal by Mike Sutphin on the final play of first half. The lead could have been more if not for a disputed call in the end zone. With nine seconds left, Hasselbeck lofted a touch pass to Jamal Burke, who caught the ball over Army defensive back Brent Dial and landed on the white stripe. One official signaled touchdown, but he was overruled by another official who judged that Burke landed out of bounds. |
