Knoxville, Tenn. – There was no hesitation on the part of Air Force coach Fisher DeBerry when it came time to try to win Saturday at Neyland Stadium in what would have been an upset heard ’round college football.
The Falcons pulled to within one point of heavily favored Tennessee with 1:35 remaining.
On the Air Force sideline, the only thought was: Go for two.
“We had made up our mind even before we scored the touchdown,” an emotional DeBerry said. “When I said we were going for two, I got a smile from every one of our players and coaching staff.”
The call was toss right, a play that had worked for good yardage all night. But this time, Tennessee defensive end Xavier Mitchell shot the gap and stopped halfback Chad Hall.
“We came up 2 yards short,” DeBerry said. “We had success with that play all game, but Tennessee made the plays when it had to. I thought we could get leverage on their defense, but (Mitchell) made a great play.”
DeBerry called it “the most disappointing game I’ve been involved in. It’s a game I thought we could have won and should have won. To let one get away against a football team with great tradition hurts. Nobody gave us a chance coming in except ourselves.”
Quarterback Shaun Carney said the Falcons took a big step toward regaining some respect.
“They had a shocked look on their faces as if to say, ‘What just happened to us?”‘ Carney said. “We’re for real. That’s a great football team and we lost by one point.”
Carney also said there was no hesitation or question about the call for the two-point conversion.
“They hadn’t stopped that play all game,” Carney said. “I don’t think we had less than a 5-yard gain with that play, so why not call it?”
Costly infraction
Air Force had only three penalties in the game, but one cost the Falcons a last-ditch try to get the winning points.
Kicker Zach Sasser successfully executed an onside kick that allowed Air Force to drive 58 yards for a touchdown and pulled the Falcons to within one point.
After the failed two-point conversion try, the Falcons recovered another onside kick, but were called for offsides.
Tennessee cornerback Inquoris Johnson was injured late in the game and taken off the field on a cart. There were no reports on his condition after the game.
