Aztecs Top Navy In Season Opener

Brunch time quickly turned to big-play time for San Diego State.

Kevin McKechnie, a senior making his first college start, threw for four touchdowns and scored one himself as the Aztecs beat Navy 45-31 in a wild season opener under the midday sun Friday. Az Hakim returned a kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown and caught scoring passes of 40 and 47 yards.

“I started out a little shaky, but my team pumped me up, got me going,” said McKechnie, whose first pass was picked off.

McKechnie was one of the unknown quantities with the Aztecs, who graduated all their skill-position starters except Hakim after going 8-3 in 1996.

But he threw the ball “with authority,” said tackle Kyle Turley, one of five returning offensive line starters.

McKechnie, who kept playing after spraining his left ankle in the third quarter, also threw touchdown passes of 78 yards to Taj Johnson and 18 yards to Damon Gourdine. He completed 16 of 20 passes for 371 yards with one interception, and also scored on a 4-yard bootleg just before halftime.

He was taken for X-rays after the game, and his status for next week’s game at No. 4 Washington was unknown.

Hakim caught six passes for 172 yards in his first action since the seventh game of 1996, when a broken left leg kept him from a shot at a second straight 1,000-yard season. Johnson had six catches for 163 yards.

The Aztecs beat Navy 56-14 in the 1994 season opener.