Falcons topple BYU 24-10, advance to 5-0

  • Published
  • By John Van Winkle
  • U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs
One audible at the line of scrimmage yielded a touchdown, a 24-10 win and a No. 25 ranking for the Air Force Academy Falcons football team.

The Falcons waged a defensive struggle against conference rival Brigham Young University on Sept. 27 in BYU’s LaVell Edwards Stadium here, a place where the Falcons had not won since 1982.

“It’s been a long time coming; I guarantee,” said Falcons head coach Fisher DeBerry. “I’m so proud of these kids … . We had some trouble stopping BYU on third down at times, but our players believed, and when the chips were on the table, they came through and did a great job. They weren’t going to be denied.”

The game was a seesaw defensive battle for three quarters, until Falcons quarterback Chance Harridge stepped to the line of scrimmage on a third-and-one at the BYU 30-yard line.

Seeing the defense crawl up to the line of scrimmage, Harridge audibly changed to a pass play. Receiver J.P. Waller was able to break free and Harridge hit him for a 30-yard touchdown pass. Waller’s reception gave the Falcons a 17-10 lead, which they held until the final play of the game.

Harridge sealed the win with a quarterback sneak for a touchdown from the 1-foot line with one second left in the game. The score denied BYU the chance for a last-second comeback attempt and kept the Falcons perched handily at the top of the Mountain West Conference standings.

“We told ourselves that we were going to be serious about contending for the Mountain West Conference (title),” Harridge said. “We’re going to have some big games on the road this year, and this is one of four that we have on the road, in the conference, so it’s a great start.”

The win also allowed the 5-0 Falcons to crack into the national rankings, at No. 25 in the ESPN/USA Today poll. The Falcons also received 29 first-place votes in the Associated Press poll.

But with goals of winning the Commander in Chief’s Trophy, winning the conference and going to a bowl game, the team is far from satisfied, said their head coach.

“This is the hungriest football team that I’ve ever been around, I guarantee,” DeBerry said.

That guaranteed hunger next seeks to feast on the U.S. Naval Academy. The Falcons will try to win their seventh consecutive Commander In Chief’s Trophy, presented annually to the service academy football team that beats its academy rivals. The Falcons face the Midshipmen on Oct. 4 at Fedex Field in Landover, Md.

The game features a matchup of the nation’s top two rushing offenses. Navy (2-2) now sits at No. 1 in the nation with a 311.75 yards-per-game average. After being held to only 193 yards rushing, Air Force dropped to No. 2 in the Division 1A rushing offense rankings, averaging 309.2 yards per game.