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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Notre Dame Inches Past Army, 28-27

Associated Press

In the last-minute confrontation that decided the game between No. 17 Notre Dame and Army, the big play came from one of the smallest people on the field.

Ivory Covington, a 161-pound backup cornerback, tackled Army’s Ron Leshinski, weighing 240 pounds, inches from the goal line on two-point pass attempt with 39 seconds to play. The play saved Notre Dame from its second stunning loss of the season and preserved a 28-27 victory over Army on Saturday.

“After the game, we just sat in the locker and said: ‘Wow, we got lucky,”’ Notre Dame offensive tackle Dusty Zeigler said after the Irish (5-2) averted their first loss to Army (1-3-1) since 1958. “Because, that’s exactly what it was. We were lucky.”

The Cadets rallied from a 21-point second-half deficit and nearly pulled another Northwestern-type surprise on the Irish, only to fall just short when Covington, the fourth-smallest player on Notre Dame’s roster, pushed Leshinski out near the endzone pylon.

“When he caught the ball, I knew he was a little outside the end zone and I knew I just had to stay low,” Covington said. “My momentum was forward and he was going to the side and I knew I just had to hold him up and keep him out.”

Seconds earlier, Army had gotten within a point on a 7-yard scoring pass from Ronnie McAda to Leon Gantt, and coach Bob Sutton didn’t hesitate going for the win.

“When you play that hard and you come back, I would never sell them short, not give them the chance,” said Sutton, who had no timeouts left and didn’t have time to discuss the two-point attempt.

The call was an option rollout in which McAda could either run or throw to one of two receivers. He took the snap, rolled right and saw Leshinski open near the goal line. The pass got there, but Covington came up quickly and made the stop.

Sutton said Leshinski was supposed to be either in the end zone or running along the goal line, but he lost his bearings after being knocked around coming off the line.

“I didn’t know exactly where I was, but I knew I was close and I had to turn and somehow get in,” Leshinski said. “It’s a heartbreak.”

The heartbreak was apparent on the face of Army senior safety Jimmy Cantelupe, whose eyes welled with tears talking about how he always dreamed of beating Notre Dame.

“That was a game of inches,” he said. “Coach always tells us it’s a game of inches, and they won that last inch.”

“Army deserved a better fate,” said Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz, who watched the game in the press box because of recent neck surgery.

Notre Dame, stunned by Northwestern in its season opener, came very close to handing the game to the Cadets as quarterback Ron Powlus turned the ball over twice in the final 6:10.

An interception by Ray Tomasits set up fullback John Conroy’s 3-yard touchdown run with 4:17 to play, getting the Cadets within 28-21.

The Irish then gambled on fourthand-1 from their 40, and Army, a 22-point underdog, got the ball when Powlus fumbled on a sneak in which it he never seemed to control the snap.

Holtz wanted the Irish to call timeout, but he couldn’t get word down to the field because he lost contact with his offensive coordinators.

“I was the most shocked person in the world when the ball was snapped,” Holtz said.

McAda then drove the Cadets 42 yards in seven plays, hitting Gantt for the score along the right sidelines.

Covington then prevented the underdogs from winning another one in a college football season marked by upsets.

Army, whose last win over a ranked team was in 1972 against Air Force, has now lost three games this season by a combined 11 points.

“It seems like this happens to us every week,” said McAda, who helped Army gain 407 yards in total offense and control the clock for 36 minutes. “It’s frustrating. We know we can play with these people.”

Notre Dame, also a big favorite against Northwestern, handled Army’s onside kick and then ran out the clock.

“We had a lot of problems,” said Powlus, who was 8-of-19 for 189 yards. “They were giving our defense fits and that’s to their credit. But it shouldn’t affect us. We really hurt ourselves with drops, bad passes and fumbles.”

Freshman Autry Denson, making his first start, paced the Irish by rushing for 111 yards and two short touchdowns. Fullback Marc Edwards also tallied on a 2-yard run and caught a 46-yard screen pass for a TD for the Irish, who scored on three of their first four possessions.

The touchdown pass on the first series of the second half put the Irish ahead 28-7. Army got within 28-14 on a 5-yard run by Conroy midway through the third quarter.

Notre Dame only had to go 42 yards for its opening score after Ron Thomas, who carried 15 times for 157 yards, gave Army bad field position returning the opening kickoff from 4 yards deep in the end zone. Eight plays later, Denson scored.