AIR FORCE ACADEMY — A stingy Air Force defensive unit carried the Falcons to a 20-12 victory today over Wyoming in a performance that wasn’t picture perfect.
One picture the Falcons will frame was the one showing safety Bobby Giannini’s 85-yard return of a fumble that gave the Falcons a 14-9 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Another picture was of Shaun Carney taking the Falcons to a clinching score on a 25-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Mark Root with 6:56 left in the game.
Air Force (6-2, 5-1 Mountain West Conference) stayed in contention in the conference race. With four games left, the Falcons are in second place, trailing BYU. Air Force has five conference victories for the first time since 2000.
Air Force defenders took the heart out of Wyoming’s offense forcing five turnovers. But even with the help, Air Force’s offense sputtered most of the game.
The Cowboys took an early 6-0 lead on Karsten Sween’s 11-yard pass to tight end Wade Betschart, but Billy Vinnedge’s extra try was no good.
With Hall coming into prominence, Air Force put together a 12-play, 58-yard drive late in the second quarter to gain a 7-6 lead. Hall scored the touchdown on a five-yard pass from quarterback Shaun Carney.
Wyoming regained the lead 9-7 on Vinnedge’s 57-yard field goal to end the half.
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
