Laramie – The clouds, the snow, the wind and the cold made it a Wyoming kind of day Saturday at War Memorial Stadium.
But junior quarterback Shaun Carney and junior halfback Chad Hall brought the Air Force Falcons shining through to a 31-24 victory over the Wyoming Cowboys in the Mountain West Conference opener for both teams.
In a bruising battle, Carney rushed for a career-high 131 yards and two touchdowns and Hall tormented a dogged Wyoming defense for 122 yards rushing and a touchdown.
Carney also threw for a touchdown – a perfect 20-yard toss to halfback Beau Suder, a senior from Laramie, that pushed the Falcons ahead 21-7 with 2:12 left in the first half.
The Falcons (1-1) had scoring drives of 11, 18, 11 and 17 plays. They ran 77 plays to Wyoming’s 42, and held a staggering advantage in possession time of 40:25 to 19:35.
“That was as good a clinic in triple-option offense as I’ve ever seen,” said Wyoming coach Joe Glenn, whose team fell to 1-3. “We have some good players on defense, but we just couldn’t get them stopped.”
Zach Sasser’s 27-yard field goal in the fourth quarter capped a 17-play, 70-yard drive that consumed 8:27 of clock time and gave Air Force a 31-21 lead with 5:11 left. But the tension wasn’t quite over for either team, or the 20,177 fans who braved the frigid elements and wind chill of 27 degrees at the start of the game.
Wyoming kicker Aric Goodman answered with a 28-yard field goal with 3:29 left to make it a 31-24 game.
The Cowboys then got another chance, starting from their 30-yard line with 1:25 left.
But Air Force’s defense forced a fourth-and-11 situation at the 29-yard line. Cowboys quarterback Jacob Doss couldn’t find an open receiver and dumped off a short pass to running back Devin Moore, who fumbled the ball well short of a first down.
“I thought (Doss) was going to throw it up just to throw it up,” said Air Force safety Bobby Giannini. “We thought he would throw deep, but we had them covered up. That’s our job.”
Doss couldn’t find anyone deep with AFA’s coverage.
“It wasn’t the play we wanted and it was kind of my last option,” Doss said of the short pass to Moore. “Their coverage took me to that read. I hoped (Moore) could make a play, but they converged on him pretty good.”
Said Air Force coach Fisher DeBerry: “I’m proud of the way our defense stood up and settled things. Wyoming kept coming back and they had a belief. Some anxious moments, but our offense did a masterful job of managing the clock. We sustained drives and we were able to answer when they scored.”
It was Carney’s own mistake, a disputed fumble in the third quarter, that allowed Wyoming to stay close. Carney’s sneak to the right was enough for a first down at Wyoming’s 46. But star safety John Wendling grabbed the fumble and ran 54 yards for a touchdown, cutting the Cowboys’ deficit to 21-14.
Air Force called for a review of the turnover, thinking Carney was down. But the call stood.
After the fumble, Carney brought the Falcons right back with an 80-yard drive, scoring himself from 4 yards out. The touchdown pushed Air Force to a 28-14 lead with 24 seconds left in the third quarter.
“There are a couple of teams in our conference that like to hit and Wyoming is one of them,” Carney said. But Air Force’s long drives, he said, took their toll. “We wore them down.”
THE GRADES
Offense
A: This could have been an A-plus with nearly a 20-minute edge in possession time, but a fumble by quarterback Shaun Carney led to a Wyoming touchdown on John Wendling’s 54-yard return.
Defense
B+: The Falcons made the plays when they needed to, but allowed scoring drives of 80, 69 and 64 yards. Linebacker Drew Fowler led the defense with nine tackles.
Special teams
B+: Kicker Zach Sasser had a big day with a 27-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, and his sky-high kick late in the fourth quarter was fumbled away by the Cowboys.
Overall
B+: It was a complete team victory, with the Falcons outplaying Wyoming in almost every aspect. Air Force had a 24-14 advantage in first downs and converted 12-of-18 third downs.
Staff writer Irv Moss can be reached at 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
