Air Force Takes Back Commander In Chief Trophy

Kale Pearson hit tight end Garrett Griffin for a 54-yard touchdown early in the third quarter to break open a tense game, Will Conant kicked three field goals, and Air Force beat Army 23-6 on Saturday to win the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy for a record 19th time.

Air Force (6-2) has won five of six, including a triumph over Navy, which put the Falcons in position to capture the trophy on Saturday. The Falcons beat Navy 30-21 a month ago.

Army (2-6) hasn’t captured the coveted hardware, emblematic of supremacy among the three service academies, since it won its sixth in 1996.

It was the 49th meeting between the service-academy rivals, who rely on the run game. The Falcons lead the series against Army 34-14-1 and have won 16 of the last 18 in the series. The Falcons are 31-12 in Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy games against Army dating to the beginning of the round-robin competition in 1972 and have a series-best 56-30 overall record against Army and Navy.