Cardinal hold off stubborn Army

By Daniel Dullum

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Army was a 30-point underdog in Saturday’s non-conference football contest against visiting Stanford. The undefeated, No. 5-ranked Cardinal eventually prevailed at West Point, N.Y., after a difficult first half.

After taking a seven-point lead into halftime, Stanford asserted itself in the second half and defeated the Black Knights 34-20. Cardinal quarterback Kevin Hogan threw for three touchdowns and Tyler Gaffney added two touchdowns plus 132 rushing yards.

Army (1-2), decades removed from its day as a college football power, was looking for its first win over a ranked team since defeating Air Force 17-14 on Nov. 4, 1972.

A 23-yard touchdown pass from Hogan to Gaffney extended Stanford’s lead to 27-13 late in the third quarter.

Ty Montgomery caught six passes for 130 yards and a touchdown, while Hogan finished the day 11 of 18 for 188 yards for the Cardinal (2-0).

Army quarterback A.J. Schurr completed four of five passes for 25 yards and one touchdown. Terry Baggett led the Black Knights with 96 rushing yards on nine carries. Raymond Maples and Larry Dixon, two of Army’s top running backs, were injured during the game and played little.

The momentum shifted to Stanford for good in the third quarter. Army, trailing 20-13 and looking to tie the score, lost the ball when quarterback Angel Santiago made a bad third-down handoff after driving into Cardinal territory. James Vaughters recovered the fumble for Stanford, setting up Gaffney’s TD catch.

In the fourth quarter, Army gambled on fourth-and-1, failing to pick up a first down inside its own 30. The Cardinal then put the game away on Gaffney’s 1-yard touichdown run.

Next Saturday, the Cardinal kick off their 2013 Pac-12 season by hosting Arizona State. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. 628x471