Provo, Utah – There might be a few words going through Air Force coach Fisher DeBerry’s mind over the weekend.
It seemed as if every few minutes Saturday, the public address announcer at LaVell Edwards Stadium was telling 57,687 fans something that wasn’t music to DeBerry’s ears.
“I got so tired of hearing, ‘It’s another first down,”‘ DeBerry said. “That was about to drive me insane.”
There was no question DeBerry heard those words enough as Brigham Young collected 39 first downs, tying a school record, in a 62-41 victory.
Air Force’s defense couldn’t get the Cougars off the field. The Cougars converted 5-of-10 times on third down. The Falcons sacked BYU quarterback John Beck only once.
“He had too much time, and what really impressed me was his ability to scramble,” DeBerry said. “If we got him into trouble, he would just slip away and make yardage.”
Air Force (3-6, 2-5 Mountain West Conference) has one last chance of salvaging anything from an otherwise disappointing season. The Falcons play Army at Falcon Stadium this week, and a loss to the Black Knights would be devastating. The Falcons haven’t lost to both Army and Navy in the same season since 1996. Navy beat Air Force 27-24 three weeks ago.
DeBerry faces a decision at quarterback after sophomore starter Shaun Carney left Saturday’s game early in the second quarter with a cut left palm.
Adam Fitch, a senior from Gillette, Wyo., came on and rallied the Falcons with five touchdown passes, and it was Fitch who started against Army last year in a 31-22 AFA victory.
“Adam Fitch did an outstanding job,” DeBerry said. “But we’ll have to wait and see how our injury situation is.”
DeBerry said he thought Carney could have returned against BYU, but wasn’t sure how effective the quarterback would be.
“Our players have worked hard, and I don’t have any problem in comparison with other teams we’ve had,” DeBerry said. “They have given us great effort. But I want them to rally around our seniors and send them out in great style against Army.”
The Army game is Air Force’s final home contest this season.
“We got beat by a good team today,” DeBerry said. “BYU has a legitimate chance to make a good run.”
Air Force’s rally was helped by a 28-yard return of a blocked punt by Garrett Rybak with 12:47 left in the game and a fumbled kickoff by the Cougars that led to the Falcons scoring two touchdowns in 14 seconds.
But Air Force’s injury list mounted as the conference game went along. Besides Carney, nose guard Russ Mitscherling (ankle), halfback Justin Handley (ankle), defensive end Alberto Perez (knee) and fullback Ryan Williams (ankle) were listed as questionable for next Saturday’s Army game.
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.
