Falcon's fourth quarter awakening comes up short against Aztecs

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Raymond Hoy
  • U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs
SAN DIEGO, Calif. --  The Air Force Academy Falcons showed some life in the fourth quarter, but came up short in a losing effort to San Diego State University Oct. 16 at Qualcomm Stadium here.  The 23rd ranked Falcons lost to the Aztecs 27-25.

The game started off slowly for both teams. Both quarterbacks threw interceptions in the first quarter and went into the second quarter tied at zero.

It was San Diego's big-play ability that opened it up for the Aztecs. Leading the way was Aztec running back Ronnie Hillman who had two long runs, including his 65-yard touchdown run for the first points of the game.

The Falcons found their running legs as they began to move the ball against the Aztecs. Both second-quarter drives came up a little short though leading to two Eric Soderberg field goals. The Aztecs were able to answer just before the half with a field goal of their own from Abel Perez taking the 10-6 lead into halftime.

After trading punts to start the second half, the Aztecs struck again with an 8-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Lindley to Gavin Escobar pushing their lead to 17-6.

The Falcons answered back with a 10-play, 66-yard drive of their own that included a couple of big runs from Asher Clark, including his 20-yard touchdown run to cap the drive. Air Force missed the two-point conversion though, giving San Diego a 17-12 lead at the end of the third quarter.

Things heated up in the fourth quarter after the Aztecs put another field goal on the board. They led 20-12 until the Falcons were finally able to put another touchdown on the board with a Nathan Walker 4-yard touchdown run with two minutes left. They got the two-point conversion initially, but it was overturned by the replay booth, keeping the Aztec lead to two at 20-18 with 2:08 left in the game.

Following a failed on-side kick, the Falcons gave up a back-breaking 44-yard touchdown run to Ronnie Hillman on the first play of the drive, putting San Diego up by nine with 2:00 left on the clock.

Air Force answered with a Time Jefferson 7-yard touchdown pass to Chaz Demerath cutting the Aztec lead to two points, 27-25, with only 18 tics left on the clock.

That was the final score following another failed Falcon on-side kick.

The loss takes the Falcons to 5-2 with a 3-1 record in the Mountain West. They head to Texas to take on the Horned Frogs of Texas Christian University Oct. 23. Game time is set for 7 p.m. CST.