Matre

ANNAPOLIS -- Sophomore quarterback Jason Van Matre may have stepped into the forefront of Navy's quarterback battle, as he led two scoring drives during the team's final preseason scrimmage last night at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.Van Matre, a tailback and kick returner last year, connected with B.J. Mason for a 28-yard touchdown and scored on runs of 3 and 28 yards, as the Midshipmen prepared for Saturday night's opener against Ball State.Navy coach George Chaump is expected to name a starting quarterback Thursday.

A Navy panel recommended yesterday that 29 senior midshipmen be expelled for their part in the largest cheating scandal in the 149-year history of the U.S. Naval Academy.Forty-two others were recommended for punishments short of expulsion, while another 35 were exonerated of violating the academy's strict honor concept, which states: "Midshipmen are persons of integrity: They do not lie, cheat or steal."In a related move, the Pentagon will recommend today that the White House appoint Adm. Charles R. Larson, commander in chief of U.S. Pacific Forces and a former academy superintendent, as the next superintendent, replacing Rear Adm. Thomas C. Lynch, who is to complete his tour of duty this summer, a Defense Department source said.

ANNAPOLIS -- Simply because Jason Van Matre underwent knee surgery nine days ago, it doesn't mean Navy coach George Chaump will tolerate words like "probable" or "questionable.""Probable, hell," Chaump snorted when asked about Van Matre's availability for 0-9 Navy's game against Wake Forest (2-8) Saturday at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium. "Jason is a must."Van Matre, a sophomore who has started six games at quarterback and one at tailback, leads Navy in rushing with 447 yards and in passing with 449.He submitted to arthroscopic surgery for removal of torn cartilage in his right knee after injuring it early in the Notre Dame game and being limited to only a few plays the following week against Tulane.

The frozen image of Navy freshman Ryan Bucchianeri, looking far too young to be in a college uniform, staring disconsolately at the spot on the turf of Giants Stadium where he had attempted his game-winning field goal in the closing seconds Saturday, was a picture that required no explanation."

ANNAPOLIS -- In just the second game of his college career, Jason Van Matre came to realize -- as he watched the beating taken by quarterback Alton Grizzard in Navy's 56-14 loss at Virginia last year -- just how punishing major college football could be."I was feeling for him, because a few times he got really pounded," said Van Matre, then a plebe tailback who watched the game from the bench. "He got rocked so much, I didn't think he was going to get up a couple of times. He really showed what he was made of to finish the game."

ANNAPOLIS -- Jason Blake Van Matre. Sounds like some spoiled kid from a snooty boarding school, right?Well, Navy's Jason Van Matre is a far cry from that.Smallish but tough and dedicated, Van Matre is the quintessential Naval Academy football player except for one thing: he probably has more talent than anyone who has played here in recent years.Though only 5 feet 10 and 185 pounds, Van Matre can do just about anything on a football field.He's the co-captain, with linebacker Javier Zuluaga, of this year's team, which opens its season Saturday at Virginia, ranked No. 14 in the nation.

During halftime of Navy's 31-3 rout of Colgate on Saturday, an irate woman, dressed in Navy blue, was venting her anger at the public address announcer."

Two months ago, when Navy players still had high expectations for this season, Jason Van Matre was saying how much he was looking forward to playing one position, after shifting from quarterback to tailback the season before."

PHILADELPHIA -- In their hotel room Friday night, Navy's Jason Van Matre said he and roommate Jim Kubiak "were so wired" they couldn't sleep. Sleep came, finally, after they smoked cigars."

ANNAPOLIS -- Jim Kubiak is gone, possibly for the season Brian Ellis is gone, definitely for the season. So, with its top two quarterbacks out with injuries and its offense sputtering after two games, there are questions galore surrounding the Navy football team:Will third-string quarterback Steve Seoane get the start, or does the nod go to first-team tailback Jason Van Matre, the starting quarterback for part of last season? And will the Midshipmen run an option attack, or continue with the pro-style set that's preferred by coach George Chaump?

Navy (4-6) vs. Army (5-5)Site: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J.Time: NoonTV: Channels 13, 7Radio: WMAL (630 AM) and WNAV (1430 AM)Series: Tied 43-43-7Line: Pick 'emOutlook: The Midshipmen, seeking to rebound from consecutive trouncings by Vanderbilt and Southern Methodist in their past two games, have a chance to win the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy by beating Army. The Cadets, idle since beating Lafayette, 35-12, Nov. 13, are looking to conclude their first winning season in three years.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- A Navy team in mourning for its former co-captain, Alton Grizzard, plays Army today in the 94th meeting of the service academies at Giants Stadium.Passions always run high in this annual season-ending game. But the Midshipmen will play with a different kind of emotion this year. The seniors are dedicating the game to Grizzard and wearing stickers with the name "Griz" on their helmets.An all-purpose quarterback from 1987 to 1990, Grizzard holds the academy record for total yardage (5,666)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- For Navy this 1993 football season, it has been pass, pass, pass. For Vanderbilt, it has been run, run, run.Which strategy is more successful will be determined today when the teams play at Vanderbilt Stadium.Navy's junior quarterback Jim Kubiak is enjoying TC record-breaking year, with his pass completions (192) and yardage (2,096) setting single-season records with three games left.A year ago, when converted running back Jason Van Matre did most of the passing, the Midshipmen totaled 2,126 yards in the air and 2,249 yards on the ground.

During halftime of Navy's 31-3 rout of Colgate on Saturday, an irate woman, dressed in Navy blue, was venting her anger at the public address announcer."

Navy drove 48 yards to Brad Stramanak's 1-yard touchdown run with 5:20 left in the game and defeated Bowling Green, 27-20, before a homecoming crowd of 25,732 yesterday at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis.It is the first time the Midshipmen have won a homecoming game since they beat Yale, 41-7, in 1988, and the first time they have won back-to-back games since beating Toledo and Delaware in 1990.A week ago, Navy (2-1) defeated Eastern Illinois, 31-10.Even after Stramanak's go-ahead touchdown, the drama continued.

Navy football enthusiasts look forward to visits to Annapolis later this season by the Air Force Academy, a traditional rival for the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy, and Southern Methodist University, an old nemesis from the Southwest Conference, who the Mids first played in 1930 and have defeated once in six games.They may be overlooking one of the most interesting games of the season when Bowling Green comes to town tomorrow for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff.Coach Gary Blackney's two-year record with the Falcons is 21-3.

Navy coach George Chaump was saying yesterday that "big plays are made by big-play people" when the inevitable question was asked:Do the struggling Midshipmen, looking to avoid their fourth straightshutout at North Carolina on Satur day, have any big-play people?Chaump paused. "We're not prepared to make the big plays," he said. "We have young people who are just not experienced."The lack of big plays for the winless (0-3) and scoreless (0-121) and nearly quarterback-less (four injuries) Midshipmen is clear when one compares offensive plays for Navy and its opponents: In three games Navy has four offensive plays covering more than 20 yards, and its opponents have 16."

ANNAPOLIS -- Navy football coach George Chaump has had nothing but praise for his team's aggressiveness since spring practice began three weeks ago, and nowhere was that aggressiveness more evident than during the team's full-contact scrimmage Saturday."

As Navy defensive back Grover Favors fielded one question after another about how a team with two wins in two seasons could possibly be confident going into a game, quarterback Jim Kubiak apparently had heard enough. Seated across the table, Kubiak put down his sandwich."We are not going to lose," said Kubiak, who then picked up his sandwich and continued to eat.That type of attitude is what Navy (0-1) will carry onto the field tonight when it plays host to Eastern Illinois (1-1) at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- There had to be an anxious moment on the Navy sidelines yesterday on the game's second play from scrimmage when Jim Kubiak was sacked by 249-pound Virginia defensive end Matt Mikeska.It had been almost a full year since Kubiak was last hit during a game. That was also against Virginia, when he was knocked out with a separated shoulder in the third quarter of a 53-0 loss.Yesterday, Kubiak was able to get up. More importantly, he withstood the heat from an aggressive Virginia team and finished the game.