ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) Zac Larrier threw a 94-yard touchdown to Dane Kinamon - the longest pass in Air Force history - and the 22nd-ranked Falcons defeated Navy 17-6 on Saturday in front of a record crowd of 38,803 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

"First of all, hats off to Air Force," said Navy head coach Brian Newberry. "That is a heck of a football team, and we knew that going into the game. They really played lights out on defense today. It is what is is. We got our butts kicked on that side of the ball today. For them offensively, outside of the long touchdown pass, which can't happen in these games, I think they struggled to run the ball and only had eight first downs. Our defense did enough today to give us a chance to win."

Air Force (7-0) gained almost as many yards on that one play as Navy (3-4) did in the entire game. The Falcons seemed to back off defensively late, allowing the Midshipmen to drive 78 yards for their only touchdown. They finished with 124 yards of total offense.

Larrier, whose availability for this game was a surprise after coach Troy Calhoun said earlier in the week the injured quarterback would be out for a while," completed only four passes, but they went for a total of 151 yards.

Larrier threw a 34-yard pass to Jared Roznos in the first quarter that Navy was fortunate wasn't a longer gain. That drive ended in a missed field goal.

On the first play of the second quarter, with the Falcons facing second-and-10 from their own 6, Larrier found Kinamon up the right sideline. None of the Midshipmen could catch him.

After that it was a pretty typical run-heavy game between the two military academies. Now the Falcons can win the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy for a second straight year if they beat Army in two weeks.

Navy freshman Braxton Woodson relieved injured quarterback Tai Lavatai in a win over Charlotte last weekend, and Woodson started this game. But after the Midshipmen managed only 11 yards and one first down through three quarters, Lavatai took over in the fourth.

"The decision to start Braxton Woodson was made because Tai Lavatai was injured last week against Charlotte and Braxton had a good week of practice," said Newberry. "With the time invested in Braxton, working him with the first team, I was excited about the progress he was making."

Navy finally started moving the ball with Lavatai before a third-down penalty derailed the drive. He also was intercepted twice during that final period. The second of those turnovers was returned 18 yards for a touchdown by Alec Mock.

"The decision to bring Tai (Lavatai) into the game was based on the flow of the game and trying to find a spark and some momentum," said Newberry. "I felt like we needed to start throwing the football at that time and Tai has been pretty good in those situations."

Lavatai threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Eli Heidenreich in the final minute to deny Air Force its first shutout against Navy. The only shutout in series history was a 17-0 win by the Midshipmen in 1975.

"The first leg of the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy means the world to us, so this is devastating," said Newberry. "The Secretary of the Navy was in the locker room after the game and talked about how there are a lot of things going on in the world, so we have to put this in perspective. We have a lot to be grateful for. I love our players. There is no place I would rather be. You can never let success go to your head or failure get too close to your heart. We have a lot left to play for. How we respond after the upcoming bye week will tell you everything you need to know about our football team."

THE TAKEAWAY

Air Force: Thanks to that final drive, the stats didn't totally reflect how dominant the Falcons were defensively. They did hold Navy to 3 of 17 on third down.

Navy: Give the Midshipmen credit defensively for mostly stopping an Air Force team that has reached 30 points in five of its seven games. 

POLL IMPLICATIONS

After entering the Top 25 last weekend, Air Force probably didn't earn many style points in this win, but that's not what these rivalry games are about.

UP NEXT

Air Force: The Falcons play at Colorado State next Saturday night.

Navy: The Midshipmen have a weekend off before visiting Temple on Nov. 4.

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