Army's Win Marred By Accident

The Army-Navy game is always a thrilling, raucous ride, with the action in the stands just as important as the game on the field.

On Saturday, a loose railing in 27-year-old Veterans Stadium gave way, sending fans spilling onto the field in an accident that marred Army's 34-30 victory.

"We are going to do something for them for selling out for us," said Army quarterback Joe Gerena, voted MVP after rushing for 92 yards including a 69-yard touchdown run. "We asked them to come out and give us all they had. We wanted them to make it loud down there. Unfortunately, somebody got hurt."

The accident occurred after Ty Amey's 70-yard touchdown run gave Army a 31-30 lead. Nine Army cadets and prep students, celebrating for TV cameras after the score, fell about 15 feet onto the field. Eight were expected to be released, but one person needed more tests, said Lt. Col. Bill Harkey, director of public affairs for the U.S. Military Academy.

After a 31-minute delay, Eric Olsen's 26-yard field goal provided the final margin as Army (3-8) avenged last year's 39-7 loss to Navy (3-8) at Giants Stadium.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to them," Army coach Bob Sutton said. "At Army, we try and operate not just as a football team. We are the corps, community and Army all together as one."

"When those guys were injured, it's like one of your own guys going down."

The 64 points broke the previous record of 55, reached in 1959 and 1983. Army took a 48-44-7 lead in the series, which began in 1890.

Army came back from a 30-19 deficit at the start of the fourth quarter, preventing the Midshipmen from winning consecutive games in the series for the first time since 1982-83. It was Army's sixth victory in the last seven years, and the sixth game in the 1990s decided by fewer than five points.

"That's what you expect from Army-Navy," said Army fullback Craig Stucker, who had 70 of his 106 rushing yards on a TD run that cut it to 24-19 with 5:37 left in the second quarter. "It's always a big game for the seniors. We know it's our last game."

G erena steadied the cadets after senior Johnny Goff fumbled on the first two possession.

"I wasn't sure how much I was going to play," Gerena said. "I knew I was going to do what I could."

The Cadets' decisive touchdown followed Navy's Matt Harden fumbling at the goal line with 8:51 left. Army's Tony Coaxum atoned for getting burned for an earlier touchdown with an interception that stopped Navy's desperation drive with three seconds left.

But the scary accident cast a somber tone over the postgame celebration.

"I think it affected both teams," Navy coach Charlie Weatherbie said. "I have children of my own. I wouldn't want that to happen to anybody's children."

The uniformed fans were celebrating after Army took a 31-30 lead on Amey's 70-yard TD run with 7:33 left in the game. A railing in the first row of the east end zone gave way, causing the fans to fall.

The game was suspended for 31 minutes as four ambulances carted the injured off the field.

The injured were four cadets from the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., and five students from academy prep school in Fort Monmouth, N.J., Harkey said.

Gerald Ravitz, father of Army co-captain Neil Ravitz, was on the field and said he saw the first person to hit the ground.

"It could have been my kid in the stands," said Ravitz, in tears.

Witnesses said the railings in the temporary stands, used only for football, were held together by duct tape. The accident happened in the same spot where Midshipmen had sneaked beneath the stands to tear apart an Army banner earlier in the game.

It wasn't known whether the incidents were related. However, as cadets and midshipmen fought over the banner earlier, one cadet fell out of the stands but landed on his feet.

Other antics included brief fisticuffs between academy members before kickoff, when they line the field for the arrival of the teams.

"I don't think it was anything out of the ordinary," Harkey said of the rowdy atmosphere. "It's always a very exciting, intense, emotional game."

Amey rushed 13 times for 134 yards for Army, whose No. 1-rated rushing offense amassed 401 yards.

Leading 30-25, Navy drove all the way to the Army 4 midway through the fourth and might have put the game away with a touchdown. But Harden lost the ball as he surged toward the goal line, and Army's Jason Walker recovered in the end zone with 8:51 remaining.

"I was falling down as the ball came loose," Harden said. "I ended up in the end zone. We should have scored, but we didn't."

The comeback and the collapsed railings overshadowed a record-breaking performance by Navy's Ryan Read, whose 128 receiving yards were the most ever in the series.

Read's 69-yard TD reception from Brian Broadwater in the second quarter was the longest pass play in series history. It was Navy's longest pass play in this game since Roger Staubach hit Nick Markoff for 65 yards in 1962.

Read's three catches for 128 yards broke an 84-year-old record held by Army's Lu Merillat, who had 115 yards in the 1914 game.

Broadwater, 7-for-17 for 188 yards, hit Read for a 49-yard touchdown to make it 17-13 Navy with 6:31 left in the first half. Coaxum got faked out of his shoes and slipped during a brief rainy period, and Read sidestepped Kenny Dale Rowland along the sideline to get into the end zone.

After Army punted, read ran right by Andrew Burke to get wide open, caught Broadwater's pass and ran down the sideline for his 69-yard reception and a 24-13 lead with 6:31 left in the first half.

The accident called into question the safety of the stadium, a multipurpose facility built in 1971 that hosts pro and college football and major league baseball games. It was hosting the Army-Navy game for the 15th time.

It was the second mishap at the Vet in three days, following the malfunctioning of the play clocks in the NFL game between Philadelphia and St. Louis on Thursday.

The Army-Navy game is under contract to play at the Vet through 2002. Harkey wouldn't comment on the state of the facility.

"I expect we will address it," Harkey said.

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