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Ryan, Boston College outlast Army

Sep 23, 2007 - 12:15 AM By Mike Petraglia PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

CHESTNUT HILL, Massachusetts (Ticker) -- It took a while, but Matt Ryan and Boston College finally put away Army.

Ryan threw three touchdown passes while becoming the third-most prolific passer in school history as the 14th-ranked Eagles dispatched Army, 37-17, on Saturday.

The Atlantic Coast Conference preseason player of the year, Ryan completed 35-of-51 passes for 356 yards, giving the him 6,147 for his career. Only Doug Flutie (10,579) and Glenn Foley (10,039) have more.

A senior, Ryan has thrown for 35 touchdowns in his time at Boston College. He was intercepted twice - including once by Brian Chmura, who returned 11 yards for a touchdown. Moments later, Andre Callender's 66-yard touchdown run put the game away midway through the fourth quarter.

"I think we can play better," Ryan said. "I think we can play better and I think there's room for improvement. We're happy to have the victory, no question, against a bunch of really tough guys who played their hearts out today. They play really hard, so we'll take the win and get back to work."

Boston College (4-0) held a dominant advantage everywhere but the scoreboard in the first half, outgaining the Black Knights, 282-157, while collecting 18 first downs to just three for Army (1-3).

"I told our football team all week that these guys at Army would never quit. And those guys didn't," B.C. coach Jeff Jagodzinski said. "Our first half was as sloppy as we've played all year and we need to be a lot better."

The Eagles used an early Army turnover to get on the scoreboard first.

Linebacker Mark Herzlich intercepted Carson Williams and returned it to the Army 47-yard line. The Eagles drove to the Army 8 before the drive stalled, ending with Steve Aponavicius' 25-yard field goal.

Boston College used its first sustained drive of the first half to score its first touchdown, a six-play, 70-yard march that ended with Ryan's one-yard keeper. The extra point was blocked, as B.C. led, 9-0.

The Eagles appeared ready to pull away when Rich Gunnell hauled in Ryan's 33rd career touchdown pass, an 11-yard strike over the middle, for a 16-0 advantage.

But a trick play helped Army respond on the ensuing drive. On 4th-and-5 at the B.C. 31 and the Knights set up to attempt a 48-yard field goal, holder Andrew Reinhart flipped to Mike Evans for a 24-yard gain.

Wesley McMahand finished the drive with a seven-yard scamper around right end to bring Army to within 16-7.

"I'm never going to apologize for a win because that's what this whole thing is about, winning football games here," Jagodzinski said. "But we need to play a lot better than what we did today."

Kevin Opoku intercepted Ryan early in the third quarter, helping to set up a 26-yard field goal from Owen Tolson, as the Black Knights drew to within 16-10.

But Boston College responded with a seven-play, 67-yard drive, capped by Ryan's second touchdown pass of the day, an eight-yard strike to tight end Ryan Purvis.

"We were a little sporadic today but at times we got it going and got into a good rhythm," Ryan said. "We put some points up, and I think we just need to get back to work and make sure we prepare well again for next week."

Callender rushed for 87 yards on just nine carries while L.V. Whitworth chipped in 57 yards on the ground. Kevin Challenger hauled in nine receptions for 104 yards for the Eagles, who finished with 573 yards of total offense.

Williams completed 15-of-32 passes for 191 yards for Army while Jeremy Trimble had three catches for 81 yards.