WEST POINT, N.Y. - The halls of the U.S. Military Academy exude discipline.
Cadets keep their uniforms in spotless condition, learn course material before it's presented in class and march to football games in unison. They live under the watchful eyes of George Washington, Douglas MacArthur and Dwight D. Eisenhower.
After two games marred by penalties and turnovers to open the season, Ball State University football fans might have hoped that some of that discipline would rub off before Saturday's game at Army.
That prayer went unanswered as the Cardinals were intercepted four times, missed a field goal and were penalized three times in a 24-17 loss.
"We got better in a lot of areas [Saturday]," coach Stan Parrish said. "But critical errors in critical junctures, we didn't."
The game was tied at 17 until Army's Donovan Travis intercepted quarterback Kelly Page's pass and returned it 18 yards for a touchdown with 6:41 to play in the game. Parrish said Page should have thrown the ball away.
"You gotta take care of the ball and know where you're at, at what end of the field you're on" Parrish said. "You're not going to force it back into the middle of the field down there."
The interception was the third of the day for Page. Backup quarterback Tanner Justice also threw one.
Earlier in the week Parrish said Justice would play to help slow the game down for Page. Justice directed four series, including one that led to a 30-yard field goal. In the senior's first significant career playing time, Justice completed seven of his 11 passes for 100 yards.
"I thought he played OK," Parrish said. "The one pick he threw he got hit on and never had a chance."
Army scored 17 points off turnovers, including two touchdowns at critical points in the game. In addition to the touchdown return, the Black Knights took a seven-point lead into halftime after driving 53 yards with 1:21 left in the first half.
Ball State had an opportunity to cut the lead after Page directed a drive to the Army 12-yard line, but Ian McGarvey missed a 30-yard field goal. Parrish said the Cardinals missed on a chance to get momentum back.
"We can't get any momentum, can we?" Parrish said.
While Army fumbled six times, Ball State was able to recover one of them. Two plays after safety Sean Baker came up with the loose ball on the 15-yard line, Page ran the ball in for his first rushing touchdown.
Linebacker Davyd Jones said not recovering the fumbles was frustrating.
"The past couple games we've caused fumbles," Jones said. "We haven't been able to recover them."
The Cardinals were largely able to keep the Black Knights' triple-option offense under control. Army rushed for 207 yards, but was unable to break any big runs.
"We came to play," Jones said. "Everyone got our assignments down. There were a couple lucky plays."
Army's offense came largely in the passing game. On a 3rd-and-20 in the second quarter, wide receiver Ali Villanueva used his entire 6-foot-10-inch frame to haul in a 22-yard pass. He would score an easy touchdown two plays later on a blown coverage.
The loss dropped Ball State to 0-3, its worst start since 2005, when the Cardinals lost their first four games. Army, meanwhile, improved to 2-1, its second winning record since 1996. The other came after week one this year, when the Army defeated Eastern Michigan University.
The Cardinals said they feel like they're close to breaking through.
"All we need is a win," Jones said. "As a group we are getting better, but a win would definitely put us over the hump."
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