Falcons defeat Wyoming, 35-29

  • Published
  • By John Van Winkle
  • U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFPN) --  The U.S. Air Force Academy Falcons went to their strengths on a fourth-and-one midfield gamble and it paid off. The effort let the Falcons hold on to a 35-29 lead over Wyoming during the football game Sept. 20.

Stuck at midfield with a fourth-and-one, 2:05 left in the game and a six-point lead, the safe play for Air Force would have been to punt.

But letting Wyoming quarterback Casey Bramlet get his hands on the ball one more time just was not a recipe for success, according to the academy coaches. Bramlet had already wreaked 398 yards of passing havoc on the Falcons, and had proven that nothing short of close-air support was going to slow him down.

Likewise, the failure to gain a yard on that fourth down play would have given Bramlet excellent field position and enough time to go for the end zone and the win.

So Air Force turned to its nation-leading rushing game and signature option attack to gain the first down.

“You always look forward to going for it,” said Falcons right guard Jesse Underbakke. “You never want to punt in that situation.”

Neither did the coaches.

“I made that decision right away,” said Fisher DeBerry, the academy head coach. “We’re in the conference race right now, and we have to take some chances. It’s a game about making plays in clutch situations.“

DeBerry called for his signature triple-option running play, but the Wyoming defenders were expecting the run.

Reading the defense and guessing Wyoming was anticipating another shot up the middle, Falcon quarterback Chance Harridge called an audible, changing the play to a double-option right to halfback Joe Schieffer.

Harridge took the snap and rolled right, then saw a linebacker lining him up for the kill.

“Joe concentrated and stayed with it, and I pitched to him,” said Harridge.

Schieffer ran to the Wyoming 43-yard line for a 5-yard gain and the first down. Out of timeouts, Wyoming could not stop the clock as the Falcons ground out three more running plays and ended the game with a 35-29 win.

“We just played vintage Air Force football and ran right at them,” said Harridge, "and they couldn’t stop it."

The Falcons ended the day with 431 rushing yards and 530 total yards on offense, retaining their status as the nation’s top Division I rushing offense.

“It was a typical Air Force-Wyoming football game,” said DeBerry. “I don’t know who picked us to win by 20 points over Wyoming, but I’d like to know him and know what he knows that I don’t know.”

The win also advances the Falcons' record to 4-0 and gives them the top spot in the Mountain West Conference. Next up for the Falcons is conference foe Brigham Young University on Sept. 27.