He goes to great lengths

Tony Gonzalez seems to have developed quite a flair for making the big play for Boston College's offense. In yesterday's 44-7 victory over Army at Alumni Stadium, Gonzalez, a 5-foot-11-inch, 190-pound junior from Framingham, broke a 7-7 tie when he hauled in a 31-yard touchdown pass from Quinton Porter to give the Eagles a 13-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.

It was Gonzalez's first touchdown of the season and third of his career.

There has been, however, one common denominator in all three of his career TDs.

They've all come on passes of more than 30 yards.

Gonzalez's first TD came two seasons ago when he hauled in a 37-yard TD from Porter in 27-14 victory at Penn State. Then, last year, Gonzalez highlighted BC's 24-23 victory at Notre Dame when he made a diving 30-yard catch of a Paul Peterson pass for the winning score.

Then came yesterday's TD, on a fourth-and-9 attempt that gave the Eagles the lead for good.

That's three touchdowns in three years on three big catches.

''I just get really excited," said Gonzalez, who made three catches for 75 yards. ''My eyes light up anytime my number's called. I know I'm going to get a chance to do something and I'm going to do whatever I can to make a play."

Timing it right

BC athletic director Gene DeFilippo saluted the Alumni Stadium crowd of 40,166 that adhered to the school's new tailgate policy and arrived on time for yesterday's 12:30 kickoff. ''There were more people in here at kickoff than most any time in recent memory," DeFilippo said. ''I think the plan worked exceptionally well, opening the lots 2 1/2 hours before kickoff and sweeping the field with police [30 minutes before kickoff]. We're going to do it again next week and we're going to really ask the fans to be in their seats when those Seminoles come out and give our team a home-field advantage." . . . How shocking was it to see Mathias Kiwanuka get benched for two plays on Army's opening drive after committing a pair of penalties (roughing-the-passer, offside) on consecutive plays? ''That's the one thing coach [Tom] O'Brien does," said senior linebacker Ray Henderson. ''He doesn't care how good you are, what press clippings you're getting or anything. If you're making mistakes, he's going to sit you down until you clear your head and get back in there and play the way you're supposed to play. He doesn't give anybody passes, just because they are who they are, you know? He just sat Kiwi down and told him, 'Get your mind right, get ready, and get back in there.' " Kiwanuka finished the game with three tackles . . . BC senior linebacker Ricky Brown, who was listed as questionable after undergoing surgery Thursday to repair a broken bone in his right hand in last Saturday's 20-3 victory at BYU, made an appearance in the first quarter.

Forcing the action

BC freshman safety Paul Anderson made quite a debut in his home opener with a forced fumble (recovered by Robert Francois and resulting in Will Blackmon's 41-yard TD) and a 15-yard interception return out of BC's end zone that thwarted a late Army scoring threat . . . DeJuan Tribble recorded the third interception of his career with an over-the-shoulder grab of a Zac Dahman pass intended for Jacob Murphy with 4:07 left in the third quarter . . . Junior running back Survival Ross, who was an on-again, off-again starter last season, came off the bench to punctuate the victory with the first TD of his career on a 17-yard run that came after a 12-yard score had been nullified by an illegal procedure call. ''I thought I was going to have a heart attack when that happened," Ross said. ''But thank God the second one worked as well." . . . Former BC sports information directors Eddie Miller (1960-74) and Reid Oslin (1974-97) were recognized with replica plaques that will adorn the entrance of Alumni Stadium's press box during a halftime ceremony . . . Former BC High football coach Jim Cotter was recognized at the start of the second quarter . . . Doug Flutie, enjoying a day off from his work with the Patriots, took in yesterday's game from the sidelines.