Provo, Utah – It was a good thing Brigham Young quarterback John Beck wasn’t playing trick or treat with Air Force’s defense Saturday afternoon at LaVell Edwards Stadium, because he wasn’t satisfied with the handouts the Falcons gave him all day.
No, Beck wasn’t even content with a 62-41 thrashing of Air Force, even though the Cougars came within one point of tying Air Force’s previous high in points allowed in Mountain West Conference play, stunning the Falcons for 683 yards of total offense and 39 first downs.
“We should have been (scoring) in the 70s,” Beck, a junior, said after completing 31-of-43 passes for 383 yards and three touchdowns. “Today it really felt like we could hit everything. I definitely think there were things we could have done better.”
The Falcons (3-6, 2-5 MWC) would have to search long and hard to find anything Beck and junior running back Curtis Brown could have done better. Brown complemented Beck’s passing with 219 yards rushing and four touchdowns on 25 carries.
Their combined performance and a defense that manhandled Air Force’s offense most of the game powered the Cougars to a 41-7 lead on Jared McLaughlin’s 38-yard field goal with 53 seconds left in the third quarter.
But just as it seemed the Cougars (4-4, 3-2) were taking aim at surpassing a 63-33 shellacking of Air Force on Oct. 20, 2001, also in Provo, Air Force senior quarterback Adam Fitch decided it was time to put on a show of his own. With sophomore starter Shaun Carney sidelined by a cut left palm, Fitch set an Air Force record with five touchdown passes.
Fitch’s best performance came as the third quarter ended and extended into the fourth quarter, with touchdown throws to Jason Brown, Chad Hall and Greg Kirkwood. That brought the Falcons back within 48-34 with 9:36 left in the conference game. However, it was just window dressing as the loss clinched a second consecutive losing season for coach Fisher DeBerry’s team.
“We only played one quarter today, and it’s hard to win a football game if you only play one quarter,” Fitch, from Gillette, Wyo., said after going 13-of-24 for 265 yards. “I’m very disappointed. We just couldn’t get anything going right in the first three quarters. I’ll look back on the five touchdown passes as something to be proud of, but it doesn’t mean anything without a victory.”
Carney completed 4-of-7 passes for 14 yards. He surrendered an interception and lost the ball on a fumble.
Even after the Fitch-led rally in the fourth quarter, Curtis Brown scored his last two touchdowns in the final 5:12 to ensure BYU would prevail.
“It was a great win for our program, for the conference standings and our goals,” first-year BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said. “We made enough plays to win the game, and that’s the bottom line.”
After a slow start, the Cougars have won their past three MWC games and remain in contention for a winning season and bowl invitation.
DeBerry made it clear that a big “if” contributed to his team’s demise Saturday.
“We came back, and with four minutes to go, I thought we had a chance if we could have stopped them,” DeBerry said. “Every time they needed to convert a third down, it seemed as if they did. It’s very disappointing that we can’t have a winning season.
“This is the first time in my coaching career at the Academy that we have had two losing seasons in a row.”
AFA sidelines
UNSUNG HERO
Defensive back Julian Madrid hasn’t started a game all season for the Air Force defense. He came off the bench and led the Falcons with 13 tackles.
KEY PLAY
Brigham Young tight end Jonny Harline got into the game in a big way in the second quarter after the Falcons had cut the lead to 14-7. On second down from the BYU 23, quarterback John Beck hit Harline with a 21-yard pass, and the Cougars continued on a seven-play, 77-yard march to take a 21-7 lead with 7:31 left in the first half. The Cougars went on to score the next 20 points, too.
TURNING POINT
After falling behind 7-0 and 14-0, the Falcons had their chance to keep up erased on a lost fumble and an interception by quarterback Shawn Carney. Down 14-0, Carney’s fumble came at the BYU 6-yard line as the Falcons put together a 12-play drive but came away empty-handed.
KEY STATISTIC
4 – Rushing touchdowns for BYU tailback Curtis Brown, a school record.
Staff writer Irv Moss can be reached at 303-820-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
