Blue Devils rally, then pull away to victory over Black Knights

WEST POINT, N.Y.

Duke coach David Cutcliffe knew he was going to play quarterback Sean Renfree at some point.

But Renfree didn't know when until the Blue Devils recovered a fumble at the Army 19 and he was sent out onto the field.

Two plays later Renfree connected on the first pass of his college career, a 17-yard touchdown pass that put the Blue Devils ahead on their way to a 35-19 win over the Black Knights.

"I just ran in there, threw that, and just all you can do is be the happiest kid ever and run down there and go celebrate with my team," said Renfree, a redshirt freshman.

Renfree replaced starter Thaddeus Lewis, who completed 5 of 16 passes for 60 yards. Lewis completed his 50th career touchdown pass, becoming the 14th ACC quarterback to reach that milestone, to bring the Blue Devils to 10-7 with 5:52 remaining in the first half.

It stayed that way until Renfree's opportunity.

"I had intended to play him last week and didn't, and I made my mind up we would play him regardless of circumstance," Cutcliffe said. "It's not any kind of statement or anything other than just confidence in Sean. ... I had decided I wanted Sean in there in that series, unless we're backed up."

Leon Wright sealed the game for Duke by returning two interceptions in a 16-second span for touchdowns of 51 and 33 yards in final 1:48 to end any hopes of a comeback by the Black Knights.

Patrick Mealy led Army with 99 yards rushing on 10 carries. The Black Knights outgained the Blue Devils 385 yards to 236.

"Give Army some credit -- pretty nasty scheme defensively," Cutcliffe said.

Renfree gave the Blue Devils a 21-13 advantage on a 31-yard touchdown pass to an open Donovan Varner to start the fourth quarter.

Army (1-1), in Coach Rich Ellerson's Michie Stadium debut, got a quick touchdown with its triple-option offense. But the Black Knights didn't score another touchdown until time expired.

Army backup Carson Williams completed 8 of 18 passes for 91 yards, all in the fourth quarter, and hit Alejandro Villanueva for the final score.

"You take away those two interceptions, it's 21-19 and we're going for 2 to tie the game," Army linebacker Stephen Anderson said.

"It's a game of inches, and we fell a little short. We know what it feels like to be on the other side, but that's not going to keep us from fighting back."

Army closed to 14-13 on Alex Carlton's 31-yard field goal late in the third before Duke's 78-yard drive was capped by Renfree's pass to Varner.

Mealy ran 55 yards to the Duke 24 on Army's first offensive play of the game. The Black Knights needed only four more plays to score on quarterback Trent Steelman's 2-yard keeper, capping a 79-yard drive.

"They threw a play we've never seen before," Duke linebacker Vincent Rey said. "They ended up scoring on that drive. But the main thing was for us to recuperate."

Marcus Hilton's fumble recovery at the Duke 42 set up Carlton's 43-yard field goal for a 10-0 Black Knights lead 1:22 into the second quarter.

Mike Krzyzewski, Duke's basketball coach -- and 1969 West Point grad --was in attendance. Krzyzewski, a former Black Knights coach, was inducted into Army's Hall of Fame on Friday.

"I think he was pulling for us -- I'll have to ask him," Cutcliffe said.

Duke 0 7 7 21 -- 35


Army 7 3 3 6 -- 19

First Quarter

Army--Steelman 2 run (Carlton kick), 10:07.

Second Quarter

Army--FG Carlton 43, 13:38.

Duke--Vernon 14 pass from Lewis (Snyderwine kick), 5:52.

Third Quarter

Duke--Huffman 17 pass from Renfree (Snyderwine kick), 7:44.

Army--FG Carlton 31, 3:42.

Fourth Quarter

Duke--Varner 31 pass from Renfree (Snyderwine kick), 14:52.

Duke--Wright 51 interception return (Snyderwine kick), 1:48.

Duke--Wright 33 interception return (Snyderwine kick), 1:32.

Army--Villanueva 8 pass from Ca.Williams, :00.

A--25,698.

TEAM STATISTICS

Duke Army

First downs 14 20

Rushes-yards 32-70 57-266

Passing 166 119

Comp-Att-Int 12-24-0 10-24-2

Return Yards 100 8

Punts-Avg. 7-36.3 6-38.8

Fumbles-Lost 2-2 3-2

Penalties-Yards 5-45 5-51

Time of Possession 23:56 36:04

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--Duke, Boyette 21-48, Hollingsworth 5-24, Lewis 5-0, Team 1-(minus 2). Army, Mealy 10-99, Steelman 17-75, Carter 14-33,

I.Smith 6-27, Ehie 5-17, Bulls 1-12, Fletcher 2-7, Hunter 1-2, McDaniel 1-(minus 6).

PASSING--Duke, Lewis 5-16-0-60, Renfree 7-8-0-106. Army, Ca.Williams 8-18-2-91, Steelman 2-6-0-28.

RECEIVING--Duke, Boyette 2-35, Kelly 2-29, Vernon 2-23, Williams 2-18, Watkins 2-13, Varner 1-31, Huffman 1-17. Army, Villanueva 4-68, Hunter 3-27, Barr 2-16, Carter 1-8.