WEST POINT, N.Y. (AP) _ Linebacker Corey Nelson scored on a 68-yard interception return on the second play of the fourth quarter and David Adams kicked four field goals as Air Force held off Army 41-27 on Saturday.

It was the 10th victory for the Falcons (6-3) in their last 11 games against Army (1-7), and it gave them the Commander in Chief's Trophy, symbolic of supremacy among the three service academies, for the 14th time in 19 years. Air Force beat Navy 27-13 last month.

Despite Air Force's long success against Army in the 17-year tenure of coach Fisher DeBerry, the Falcons were hard-pressed to win this one because of Army tailback Michael Wallace, who gained 201 yards on 23 carries and scored three touchdowns.

Wallace injured his collar bone late in the fourth quarter and was taken to a hospital for X-rays.

Wallace became the first Army runner to register two 200-yard games in a career and the seventh to surpass the 2,000-yard mark. He finished the game with 2,034.

Leading 26-20, the Falcons were in danger of falling behind for the second time in the game as the Black Knights drove to the Air Force 17-yard line on the final play of the third quarter. But Nelson saved the Falcons, picking off a pass by Joe Gerena on a third-and-20 play and weaving his way back up the field for the demoralizing score.

Held to just 83 yards rushing in the first half, the Air Force option attack got rolling in the third quarter. An 11-yard run by Scotty McKay and a 16-yard quarterback keeper by Mike Thiessen had Army quickly reeling. Thiessen followed that with completions of 16 yards to Brian LaBasco and 14 to Ryan Fleming, setting up Nate Beard's 1-yard scoring run.

And when the Air Force offense stalled, the right foot of Adams bailed out the Falcons. He hit a 53-yard field goal on the final play of the first half to tie it at 13 and nailed a 54-yarder midway through the third to give the Falcons a 23-13 lead. It was the longest field goal of his career and the longest in the storied history of Michie Stadium.

But the 10-point lead was short-lived. On Army's next play from scrimmage, Wallace stunned the Falcons with a 76-yard touchdown run to make it 23-20.

A 43-yard field goal by Adams upped the Air Force lead to 26-20 with 3:57 left in the third.

Thiessen scored on a 1-yard run with 5:51 to play to boost the Air Force lead to 41-20. Omari Thompson scored for Army on an 86-yard punt return with 4:16 left.

It seemed like the Falcons' day right away. After driving 64 yards to the Army 16 on their first possession of the game, things initially looked bleak when Adams was wide right on a 33-yard field goal attempt.

But the Black Knights were called for illegal contact with the snapper on the play, giving the Falcons new life, and McKay scored on an 8-yard run on the next play for a 7-0 lead.

The Falcons kept up their early pressure as soon as Army got the ball back. Cornerback Jeff Overstreet intercepted a pass by Gerena at the Army 28, but this time the Black Knights stiffened on defense. Thiessen was sacked for a 2-yard loss at the Army 10 and the Falcons had to settle for a 32-yard field goal by Adams.

Army, which had lost the three previous games to the Falcons by a combined 87-7, finally broke out of its long slump when it got the ball back.

Facing a fourth-and-2 from inside the Air Force 10, Army went for it after trying to draw the Falcons offsides, and Wallace scored on a 7-yard run. Nelson blocked the extra-point attempt and Air Force led 10-6 with 13:23 remaining in the first half.

The Army defense kept up its inspired play, forcing Air Force to punt after three downs, and the new spread offense scored again with the help of a trick play.

Facing a fourth-and-4 from the Air Force 38, the Black Knights lined up to punt but instead hiked the ball to linebacker Derrick Goodwin, and he gained 11 yards on his first career carry for a key first down.

A 13-yard run by Wallace and Gerena's 16-yard pass to a wide-open Thompson over the middle set up Wallace's 11-yard touchdown run on an old familiar option right and Army led 13-10 with 6:22 left in the second quarter.

It was the first time the Black Knights had led in the series since their 23-7 win here in 1996.