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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, December 2, 2007

Campbell runs wild in Navy's rout of Army

By David Ginsburg
Associated Press

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Navy's Reggie Campbell returned a kickoff a school-record 98 yards for a touchdown and a 14-3 lead over Army in the second quarter.

GAIL BURTON | Associated Press

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BALTIMORE — How appropriate that Reggie Campbell ended his glorious afternoon by conducting the Navy band in the playing of the school's alma mater.

Given the versatility he displayed on the football field, why not let him try his hand at something else?

Campbell had a school-record 98-yard kickoff return, amassed 73 yards on punt returns and scored a rushing touchdown to lead the Midshipmen past mistake-prone Army, 38-3, yesterday.

On a day in which Navy reached several milestones, the Midshipmen put a lopsided slant on college football's biggest rivalry by becoming the first team to win six straight.

"I'm really proud of our football team. Today they did something that had never been accomplished in the history of the Army-Navy series," coach Paul Johnson said.

"Thirty-eight to three is not much of a rivalry," Army coach Stan Brock conceded.

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

Campbell accounted for 227 yards. His kickoff return made it 14-3 in the second quarter, and the 5-foot-6 senior returned a punt 46 yards to set up a 51-yard field goal on the last play of the first half that put Navy up 24-3.

"I thought that was a huge play in the game from a momentum standpoint," Johnson said.

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

"It means a lot," Campbell said. "The seniors of the past couple of classes laid the foundation, and we're just kind of trying to keep it going."

Campbell, whose 12-yard run made it 31-3 with 10:18 left, was much smoother on the field than as a band leader.

"I didn't know what I was doing," he said, sheepishly. "There was a girl in front of me trying to show me, but it wasn't helping."

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

Navy quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada, a Kapolei High alum, ran 14 times for 27 yards and completed 2 of 5 passes for seven yards.