Falcons gift-wrap game for Wyoming Cowboys

  • Published
  • By Wayne Amann
  • Air Force Academy Public Affairs
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFPN) --  The Mountain West Conference billed the game as Air Force vs. the University of Wyoming. In reality, the Falcons battled the Cowboys and themselves, and lost to both.

An afternoon marred by inconsistent play caught up to Air Force Sept. 17 at Falcon Stadium when Wyoming quarterback Corey Bramlet’s 1-yard touchdown run, and Deric Yaussi’s successful extra point, gave the Cowboys a 29-28 lead with 1:25 left in the fourth quarter.

In football, eighty-five seconds can be an eternity if managed properly.

The Falcons took the ensuing kickoff at their own 20-yard line and fired three incomplete passes. On fourth down, Air Force wide receiver Jason Brown caught a clutch 15-yard aerial from quarterback Shaun Carney to keep the outcome in doubt. After halfback Chad Smith ran for six yards, Carney threw toward the Falcon sideline where Wyoming free safety John Wendling intercepted with :48 left to ground the Air Force comeback bid.

The pick off symbolized nagging Air Force mistakes that kept Wyoming in the game. The Falcons fumbled three times and lost one. They were intercepted twice. They were whistled for eight penalties totaling 50 yards. The kicking game was inconsistent at best.

What proved to be the most telling miscue came with 3:27 to play in the game. Carney appeared to put the Falcons ahead to stay with an 18-yard touchdown strike to Brown for a 28-22 lead. What normally is a formality, the extra point, became a misadventure when holder Danny Heaton couldn’t cleanly handle a high snap from center Bryan Jones. Heaton’s dash to the end zone fell short.

Bramlet and company took full advantage on their ensuing drive. In just six plays they marched 65 yards in 1:54 to recapture the lead for good.

“That was a great, great college football game,” a disappointed Air Force head coach Fisher DeBerry said. “We let it slip away. We should have won. You’ve got to make plays throughout the game. We didn’t make them down the stretch at the end. That hurt us a great deal. We said earlier in the week if we didn’t do something about fumbling it was going to bite us in the rear, and it did.”

Air Force (2-1, 1-1 MWC) pleased the overwhelming majority in the crowd of 41,240 late in the first quarter, when Carney capped a 79-yard, 13-play drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. Scott Eberle’s extra point made it 7-0. It marked the first time this season the Falcons took the first lead in a game. It was short lived.

Wyoming (2-1, 1-0 MWC) quickly countered on its next possession as Bramlet burned the Air Force secondary with a 63-yard touchdown bomb to wide receiver Jovon Bouknight. Earlier in the quarter the senior wide-out from Denver caught a modest 8-yard pass, giving him 39 straight games with a catch, a streak that leads the nation.

“That one big play hurt us,” Falcon cornerback Chris Sutton admitted. “I can take some blame for that. Overall our defense played a heck of a game. It comes down to making plays at certain times. They made the right plays at the right times.”

The Cowboys tying touchdown started a string of 16 unanswered points, including three field goals by Yaussi that staked Wyoming to 16-7 cushion late in the third quarter.

Air Force rallied behind halfbacks Justin Handley and Chad Hall. Each delivered the first Falcon touchdowns of their careers. Handley’s was a 1-yard sprint in the third quarter while Hall motored 16 yards on the second play of the fourth quarter.

“It was exciting (to score) but I’d much rather have a win,” a somber Hall said. “Shaun made a good read, pitched to me, and I did what they taught us in practice, make one guy miss. I was lucky enough to do it.”

Following Hall’s score, DeBerry opted for the two-point conversion featuring offensive tackle Robert Kraay. Carney’s pass to the 6-8, 295 pound lineman worked.

“I was surprised when Shaun returned to the huddle with a grin,” Kraay said. “We practiced it a bunch of times the last two years. It definitely put the nerves on me.”

The play put Air Force up 22-16, but a Falcon fumble in their own territory opened the door for Wyoming running back Wynel Seldon to cap a five-play, 30-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown run. Yaussi had his extra point attempt blocked by Nelson Mitchell, setting the stage for the seesaw finish.

The Falcons out-gained Wyoming in total yardage 339 to 335, including 286 to 68 on the ground. Air Force still leads the all-time series 21-20-3. It was little consolation to a team whose 2005 motto “Every Day, Every Play” did not materialize in this outing.

Air Force now hits the road for three consecutive games, Sept. 22 at the University of Utah, Sept. 29 at Colorado State University and Oct. 8 at the Naval Academy. The Utah and CSU meetings mark the first time the Falcons will play back-to-back Thursday night games.

“It’s fun to get a break from the Academy,” Carney said. “Getting into a hotel and sleeping in a big bed you don’t have to make in the morning is always nice.”