Fischer leads Blue Devils on game-winning drive

WEST POINT, N.Y -- What appeared to be a nightmare turned out to be a storybook ending.

Senior placekicker Tom Cochran hit a 28-yard field goal with four seconds left in the game to give Duke a 23-21 win over Army at Michie Stadium Saturday afternoon.

Cochran's kick saved the Blue Devils (2-1) from losing a game that they had led early, but let slip away in the second half. Having missed four previous attempts at game-winning kicks, Cochran shed any demons he had lurking in his closet with the boot, which sailed almost directly down the middle.

"I've been in the situation before,'' Cochran said. "I just had to focus. I knew it was right down the middle, and I've made that kick hundreds of times before. So I was really confident about the situation.

"I've definitely had my share of down times in the kicking business. I've had my opportunities to be a hero, but a lot of times I've come up a little short--literally.''

But this time he didn't, and Duke snuck out of West Point with a victory that for much of the last 15 minutes looked like it would slip away. Cochran's kick finished off an eight-play, 35-yard drive, as Duke's offense took advantage of its final opportunity, moving the ball downfield in the two-minute offense.

"You've got to feel like [the game is] yours to lose when you walk out onto the field,'' Blue Devil quarterback Spence Fischer said. "And that's what we did.''

Fischer had one of the best passing days of his Duke career, throwing for 362 yards and two touchdowns on 32-of-50 passing. But it was his legs, and not his arm that carried the Blue Devils on the key play of the game.

The Army crowd furthered their attempts to rattle Cochran's nerves with chants of "Kill.'' But Cochran never let any of that affect him as he lined up the kick.

"At first, I was just trying to relax myself because everything happens so quickly when you first go out there,'' Cochran said. "I have to say that Jeff Hodrick was the biggest relaxer out there. Everytime there was another time-out he would get more and more excited. He was like a little kid out there, and he was real relaxing.

"I treated everything just like practice. Because as soon as you let everything else creep in, you start to lose your focus and you get nervous. I think my experience over the years really helped me today.''

Cochran may have been the only one not affected by the pressure.

"Oh, I was praying now,'' Goldsmith said. "For crying out loud, nothing's automatic. But I felt a lot better with it when we got to the 10 than I would have at the 20 [yard-line].''

"I wasn't worried at all, OK maybe just a little bit,'' Fischer said. "Just because of the pressure, not because of Tommy.''

Cochran had already nailed two field goals earlier in the game when the Blue Devils offense stalled deep in Army territory.

The field goal unit was the only part of Duke's special teams that shined. The Blue Devil kickoff coverage, which had been strong all year, almost single-handedly gave the game to Army.

Late in the first half after Cochran hit a 24-yard field goal to put Duke up 10-6, the kicoff coverage allowed Army's Ron Thomas to break a 52-yard return. The Cadets capitalized four plays later when freshman J. Parker, with 27 seconds left in the first half, drilled a career-long 48-yard field goal to pull Army with one point at halftime, 10-9.

"Our kickoff team--I've bragged on them too much,'' Goldsmith said. "Army dominated that part of the kicking game.''

Despite being outgained by nearly 80 yards in the half, Army only trailed by one point--thanks to three Parker field goals. The Cadets controlled possesion of the ball in the first half with their running game.

But Duke came out strong to start the second half, driving 73 yards in nine plays. The drive saw Fischer complete passes to three wide receivers--Marc Wilson, Corey Thomas and Joe Opalenick. It was capped when Fischer connected with Opalenick on a slant over the middle for a 13-yard touchdown pass. Duke held a 17-9 lead and appeared ready to take control of the game.

"You ask your kids to go take the third quarter against the wind,'' Goldsmith said. "We won the first five minutes with a big drive, and we score. But doggone it, if they don't run the kickoff back on us.''

Kicking into the wind Cochran hit the ball high and short. Army's Abel Young fielded it on the 18-yard line, and was never touched as he streaked down the left side to score. A failed Cadet two-point try left the score 17-15 with Duke in the lead.

Duke responded with yet another long drive. This one was 13 plays, covering 67 yards in 4:47. But yet again it failed to put away the Cadets, settling for a 22-yard Cochran field goal.

Eight minutes into the second half, the defense still had yet to take the field. But when it did injuries became a problem for the Blue Devils.

On its first defensive play of the second half, Duke lost linebacker Billy Granville to an injury and then lost defensive end James Kirkland on the following play. With both of them off the field, Army's quarterback Adam Thompson kept the ball on an option to the left for 56 yards, putting Army in position to score its first touchdown of the game.

When Cadet fullback John Conroy burst up the middle two plays later from the Duke four-yard line, Army had its first lead of the day, 21-20. Even though it missed the two-point try, the Cadets would hold the lead until Cochran's field goal at the end.

Thompson was forced into action early in the first half when starting quarterback Ronnie McAda was knocked out of the game with a head injury. The two combined for only four passing attempts all game. In fact, Duke outgained Army through the air 362-2.

But it was a dogfight until the end for the Blue Devils. They battled all game long, trailing for almost the entire fourth quarter. All except four seconds.

"This is the type of win you need to have, if you're going to have a great season,'' Cochran said. "There's going to naturally be ups and downs, but I think we were able to rise up and fight through them and get the victory today. That will definitely help us down the road.''

But this time he didn't, and Duke snuck out of West Point with a victory that for much of the last 15 minutes looked like it would slip away. Cochran's kick finished off an eight-play, 35-yard drive, as Duke's offense took advantage of its final opportunity, moving the ball downfield in the two-minute offense.

"You've got to feel like [the game is] yours to lose when you walk out onto the field,'' Blue Devil quarterback Spence Fischer said. "And that's what we did.''

Fischer had one of the best passing days of his Duke career, throwing for 362 yards and two touchdowns on 32-of-50 passing. But it was his legs, and not his arm that carried the Blue Devils on the key play of the game.

Facing third-and-nine from the Cadet 28-yard line with under two minutes left in the game, Fischer scrambled for nine yards up the middle of the field. The run gave Duke a first down and, more importantly, kept the drive alive.

"That was big,'' Blue Devil head coach Fred Goldsmith said. "I wish he'd waited another yard before going down, so I wouldn't have had to hold my breath on the spot. I was real pleased to see that because I was fixing to have make a call on whether to kick a 46-yard field goal or to go for it on fourth down and very, very short. So Spence saved my meager brain a little bit.''

On the next play sophomore running back Laymarr Marshall skirted around left end for eight more yards. One more Marshall run up the middle brought the ball to the 10-yard line, where Duke used its final timeout with eight seconds left in the game.

Cochran trotted on for the kick, but Army still had two timeouts left. Two times he lined up for the attempt, only to have the Cadets call timeout at the last possible instant.

The Army crowd furthered their attempts to rattle Cochran's nerves with chants of "Kill.'' But Cochran never let any of that affect him as he lined up the kick.

"At first, I was just trying to relax myself because everything happens so quickly when you first go out there,'' Cochran said. "I have to say that Jeff Hodrick was the biggest relaxer out there. Everytime there was another timeout he would get more and more excited. He was like a little kid out there, and he was real relaxing.

"I treated everything just like practice. Because as soon as you let everything else creep in, you start to lose your focus and you get nervous. I think my experience over the years really helped me today.''

Cochran may have been the only one not affected by the pressure.

"Oh, I was praying now,'' Goldsmith said. "For crying out loud, nothing's automatic. But I felt a lot better with it when we got to the 10 than I would have at the 20 [yard-line].''

"I wasn't worried at all, OK maybe just a little bit,'' Fischer said. "Just because of the pressure, not because of Tommy.''

Cochran had already nailed two field goals earlier in the game when the Blue Devils offense stalled deep in Army territory.

The field goal unit was the only part of Duke's special teams that shined. The Blue Devil kickoff coverage, which had been strong all year, almost single-handedly gave the game to Army.

Late in the first half after Cochran hit a 24-yard field goal to put Duke up 10-6, the kickoff coverage allowed Army's Ron Thomas to break a 52-yard return. The Cadets capitalized four plays later when freshman J. Parker, with 27 seconds left in the first half, drilled a career-long 48-yard field goal to pull Army with one point at halftime, 10-9.

"Our kickoff team--I've bragged on them too much,'' Goldsmith said. "Army dominated that part of the kicking game.''

Despite being outgained by nearly 80 yards in the half, Army only trailed by one point--thanks to three Parker field goals. The Cadets controlled possession of the ball in the first half with their running game.

But Duke came out strong to start the second half, driving 73 yards in nine plays. The drive saw Fischer complete passes to three wide receivers--Marc Wilson, Corey Thomas and Joe Opalenick. It was capped when Fischer connected with Opalenick on a slant over the middle for a 13-yard touchdown pass. Duke held a 17-9 lead and appeared ready to take control of the game.

"You ask your kids to go take the third quarter against the wind,'' Goldsmith said. "We won the first five minutes with a big drive, and we score. But doggone it, if they don't run the kickoff back on us.''

Kicking into the wind, Cochran hit the ball high and short. Army's Abel Young fielded it on the 18-yard line, and was never touched as he streaked down the left side to score. A failed Cadet two-point try left the score 17-15 with Duke in the lead.

Duke responded with yet another long drive. This one was 13 plays, covering 67 yards in 4:47. But yet again it failed to put away the Cadets, settling for a 22-yard Cochran field goal.

Eight minutes into the second half, the defense still had yet to take the field. But when it did injuries became a problem for the Blue Devils.

On its first defensive play of the second half, Duke lost linebacker Billy Granville to an injury and then lost defensive end James Kirkland on the following play. With both of them off the field, Army's quarterback Adam Thompson kept the ball on an option to the left for 56 yards, putting Army in position to score its first touchdown of the game.

When Cadet fullback John Conroy burst up the middle two plays later from the Duke four-yard line, Army had its first lead of the day, 21-20. Even though it missed the two-point try, the Cadets would hold the lead until Cochran's field goal at the end.

Thompson was forced into action early in the first half when starting quarterback Ronnie McAda was knocked out of the game with a head injury. The two combined for only four passing attempts all game. In fact, Duke outgained Army through the air 362-2.

But it was a dogfight until the end for the Blue Devils. They battled all game long, trailing for almost the entire fourth quarter. All except four seconds.

"This is the type of win you need to have, if you're going to have a great season,'' Cochran said. "There's going to naturally be ups and downs, but I think we were able to rise up and fight through them and get the victory today. That will definitely help us down the road.''