Campbell Conducts Himself Perfectly
Senior Scores Two Touchdowns to Lead Midshipmen to Sixth Straight Win Over Army
Navy's Reggie Campbell heads into the end zone for the second of his two touchdowns yesterday; the first one was on a 98-yard kick return. Campbell had 227 yards in the Midshipmen's win.
(By Joe Elbert -- The Washington Post)
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Sunday, December 2, 2007
BALTIMORE, Dec. 1 -- By the end of the 108th Army-Navy game on Saturday in Baltimore, 5-foot-6 senior Reggie Campbell was towering over the proceedings. Campbell finished with 227 total yards and two touchdowns in Navy's 38-3 victory before a sellout crowd of 71,610 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]His performance was such that he was given the rare duty of conducting the Navy drum and bugle corps in the alma mater after the game. So after the traditional playing of Army's alma mater, Campbell climbed a six-foot podium and led "The Navy Blue and Gold" in front of the Brigade of Midshipmen.
"I didn't know what I was doing," Campbell said. "There was a girl in front of me, she was trying to help me, but it wasn't working."
The victory was the sixth in a row for the Midshipmen over Army, the longest winning streak for either team in the series.
Though he struggled as a conductor, Campbell was much more comfortable during the game. His first touchdown came on a 98-yard kickoff return after Army had closed to 7-3 midway through the second quarter.
That touchdown gave the Midshipmen (8-4) a 14-3 lead and began a seven-plus-minute stretch that effectively decided the game.
The Black Knights (3-9) fumbled on the first play following Campbell's kickoff return; senior Irv Spencer recovered at the Army 6-yard line.
Three plays later, junior Shun White scored on a one-yard run and Navy led 21-3.
It got worse for Army in the final seconds of the half. On second and eight from its 28, quarterback Carson Williams scrambled for at least seven yards and appeared to be close to a first down; the officials ruled he was short and, with the clock running, Army did not ask for a measurement.
The lack of a measurement became important after Williams threw incomplete on third down. Facing fourth and one, Army punted. Campbell caught the ball at the 20, hesitated briefly, then raced down the sideline. His return gained 46 yards, to the Army 34; when he got up, he saw that one second remained.
On the sideline, Coach Paul Johnson debated whether to try a 51-yard field goal into the wind or to try a long pass for a touchdown. He let senior Joey Bullen attempt the field goal -- and the kick bounced on the crossbar and went over to give Navy a 24-3 lead. It was the second-longest field goal in school history.
It didn't get much better for Army in the second half. Their long day was epitomized by senior wide receiver Jeremy Trimble (O'Connell) and senior fullback Mike Viti.
