Salt Lake City – It was a nice autumn evening for day dreaming with fall colors showing on the mountains near Rice-Eccles Stadium, and the Utah Utes almost fell victim to the setting.
With the Utes seemingly safely ahead 38-21, Air Force reserve quarterback Adam Fitch hit them like a winter storm, passing and running for touchdowns late in the fourth quarter Thursday night.
But the Falcons’ rally wasn’t enough.
Utah held on for a 38-35 victory in a Mountain West Conference thriller before 41,935 fans.
In losing to the Utes (3-1, 1-1 MWC) for the third consecutive year, the Falcons (2-2, 1-2) couldn’t overcome the strong performance of Utah quarterback Brian Johnson, who completed 21-of-29 passes for 305 yards and two touchdowns. The sophomore also rushed for 39 yards and three touchdowns.
Before Fitch, a senior, came on to trigger the AFA rally, sophomore starter Shaun Carney completed 9-of-16 passes for 145 yards. Carney threw a key second-half interception.
Air Force wide receiver Jason Brown, a senior from Arvada West High School who caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Fitch with 3:16 remaining, finished with nine catches for 184 yards.
But Johnson was the game’s biggest star.
Utah, the defending MWC champion, took its 17-point lead into the fourth quarter after Johnson’s 60-yard touchdown pass to Brian Hernandez early in the third quarter completed a 24-7 run by the Utes.
“I’m proud of the way our team came back,” AFA coach Fisher DeBerry said, “but you have to play 60 minutes against the conference champions. If the TV audience didn’t enjoy that game, I don’t know what you have to do.
“We didn’t enjoy it. We got on our heels there a little bit in the third quarter. Our offense played well in the first half. Our defense really played good in the second half.”
Utah led 31-21 at halftime.
“I thought Adam gave us a spark, and we made a run at it,” DeBerry said. “We had another breakdown in the kicking game, which really has me baffled. I think you’ll see a competitive football team next week, but this team has to go out and win a game and I think we will.”
The Falcons continue their season next Thursday in Fort Collins against Colorado State.
After the first half began as a shootout, with the Falcons taking leads of 7-0 and 14-7 and the Utes twice racing back to tie, AFA troubles on special teams began and contributed to Utah taking a 21-14 lead 5:05 before halftime.
The Utes had given the Falcons a chance on Eric Weddle’s fumbled punt return, but the Falcons had to punt the ball right back.
Air Force senior Donny Heaton tried to fake a punt, then decided to rugby-kick the ball and it was blocked and recovered by Utah safety Antonio Young. The Utes scored from the AFA 33 in six plays to take their first lead of the game.
Carney’s errant pitch on the next AFA series was recovered by Weddle, and the Utes scored quickly to open a 14-point lead.
“That was huge,” Weddle said. “I fumbled the punt, and that was a huge mistake on my part. They gave up some plays on their special teams the last couple of games.”
The Falcons showed the effects of a second game in five days, after losing 29-28 to Wyoming at Falcon Stadium on Saturday. Against the Utes, they were hampered early by poor tackling.
The Falcons’ inability to take advantage of Utah turnovers, one in each half, made their task that much tougher.
AIR FORCE SIDELINES
KEY BREAKDOWN
Once again, the punting game was a factor. Donny Heaton faked a punt, then tried a rugby-style kick that was blocked, giving the Utes possession at the Air Force 33.
KEY PLAY
There wasn’t a bigger play than Brian Johnson’s 60-yard connection with Brian Hernandez that completed a 77-yard march in two plays and put the Utes ahead 38-21 with 11:17 remaining.
TURNING POINT
There was nothing more damaging to the Falcons than a blocked punt and a fumbled pitch that led to two Utah touchdowns in 17 seconds and a 28-14 lead with 4:48 left in the first half.
KEY STATISTIC
2 – Two losses in conference play leaves a mountain to climb for the Falcons.
Staff writer Irv Moss can be reached at 303-820-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
