WEST POINT, N.Y. — There was only one way to describe it for Air Force linebacker Jordan Waiwaiole.
When he picked up a fumble by Army fullback Jared Hassin and returned it 52 yards for a fourth-quarter touchdown, it was like candy.
“It was sweet,” Waiwaiole said after the Falcons’ 42-22 victory. “It wasn’t bittersweet at all. It was very sweet.”
In an ironic sidelight to Saturday’s game, Waiwaiole had discussed his previous meetings with Hassin. The two had met on a recruiting trip to Air Force in 2007 and both enrolled as freshmen.
Waiwaiole stayed and is a starting linebacker as a junior. Hassin left Air Force after eight weeks and enrolled at Army, where his father and sister were graduates. Waiwaiole and Hassin were buddies at Air Force, but they hadn’t met again until Saturday.
“You think about making big plays, but I had no idea the ball was going to come right to me,” Waiwaiole said. “When it happened, you have to be instinctive and react.”
Waiwaiole’s touchdown pushed the Falcons up 35-16 with 12:39 left in the fourth quarter.
“I told him, ‘Good game. Play hard and beat Navy,’ ” Waiwaiole said of his brief conversation with Hassin after the game.
Kicking problems.
With the Falcons facing Army’s grind-it-out, triple-option offense, field advantage was critical. Twice in the game, Falcon Erik Soderberg’s kickoffs went out of bounds, giving the Black Knights possession at the 40-yard line. They turned the errant kicks into 10 points.
“Our defense has to play our game, regardless of where the ball is played,” Waiwaiole said.
What’s next.
Air Force athletic director Hans Mueh is geared up for what he expects to follow after the season. Coach Troy Calhoun’s teams have been bowl-eligible for four consecutive seasons, and his name consistently is mentioned when schools are looking for new coaches.
“He turned this program around immediately when he got here,” Mueh said of Calhoun, who also played at Air Force. “He loves this school. There will be pressure again from other schools, but I really feel this is his home and this is where he belongs.”
