WASHINGTON — Riley Skinner found a perfect way to open the bowl season and redeem himself for a flawed September performance against Navy.

Skinner went 11-for-11 and threw the go-ahead touchdown pass to Ben Wooster with 7:52 left, leading Wake Forest to a 29-19 comeback victory over the Midshipmen in the inaugural EagleBank Bowl yesterday.

The previous school record for accuracy was a 12-for-14 effort by Mike McGlamry in 1975. Skinner passed for 166 yards and added a completion on a conversion attempt.

"I was really impressed with Riley today," Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe said. "There were very few decisions he made that were wrong."

It was a rematch of a Sept. 27 game at Wake Forest, when Navy took advantage of five turnovers by Skinner — four interceptions and a fumble — in a 24-17 upset.

"I think any quarterback who plays a football game like I had last time we played them, if you're competitive, you want to come out and play them again and get revenge," said Skinner, voted the game's Most Valuable Player. "You don't want the last thing you think about when you think of Navy to be that game and the performance we had."

Said Grobe: "He obviously didn't have his best game the first time around. Today in the rematch, I don't know if he could have played any better."

The Midshipmen scored the first 17 points in the first meeting, and this time a 50-yard fumble return by Rashawn King helped Navy bolt to a 13-0 lead.

But Skinner didn't flinch. He directed Wake Forest (8-5) to a touchdown in the final minute of the first half and opened the third quarter with a 73-yard drive that ended with a 5-yard run by Josh Adams for a 14-13 lead.

Navy (8-5) went back in front when Kapolei High alum Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada scored on a 2-yard run with 12:30 to go, but Skinner went 4-for-4 for 69 yards in an 80-yard drive that ended with his 8-yard pass to Wooster. Skinner then hit Devon Brown in the back of the end zone for the conversion that made it 22-19.

Rich Belton added a 35-yard touchdown run with 54 seconds left.

The first bowl game held at 48-year-old RFK Stadium drew a crowd of 28,777, many of them Navy fans who made the short drive from nearby Annapolis, Md.

The Midshipmen gave their backers an early thrill, but the momentum shifted when Alphonso Smith intercepted a pass at the Wake Forest 2 with Navy up 13-0.

"We tried to jump on them early, just like last time," said Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo, a Radford High and University of Hawai'i alum. "I thought we were doing good ... but Alphonso made a good play. It's not a surprise; he's done that against a lot of guys. He's had a ton of picks."

WAKE FOREST 0 7 7 15—29

NAVY 10 3 0 6—19

FIRST QUARTER

Navy—FG Harmon 40, 10:14.

Navy—R.King 50 fumble return (Harmon kick), 7:51.

SECOND QUARTER

Navy—FG Harmon 47, 12:32.

Wake—Adams 4 run (Swank kick), :36.

THIRD QUARTER

Wake—Adams 5 run (Swank kick), 5:50.

FOURTH QUARTER

Navy—Kaheaku-Enhada 2 run (pass failed), 12:30.

Wake—Wooster 8 pass from Skinner (Brown pass from Skinner), 7:52.

Wake—Belton 35 run (Swank kick), :54.

A—28,777.

               Wake Navy

First downs 18 12

Rushes-yards 48-239 48-221

Passing 166 32

Comp-Att-Int 11-11-0 2-7-1

Return Yards 25 1

Punts-Avg. 4-40.3 3-42.3

Fumbles-Lost 2-1 2-1

Penalties-Yards 6-55 3-20

Time of Possession 30:07 29:53

RUSHING—Wake Forest, K.Harris 24-136, Belton 5-46, Skinner 7-29, Adams 7-13, Rinfrette 3-12, A.Smith 1-4, Team 1-(minus 1). Navy, Kaheaku-Enhada 15-83, S.White 14-71, Kettani 14-50, Doyle 1-10, Shinego 3-5, Dobbs 1-2.

PASSING—Wake Forest, Skinner 11-11-0-166. Navy, Kaheaku-Enhada 2-7-1-32.

RECEIVING—Wake Forest, Boldin 4-66, Brinkman 2-51, K.Harris 2-36, Wooster 1-8, Mars.Williams 1-7, Belton 1-(minus 2). Navy, Barnes 2-32.