Air Force Upsets No. 23 Cal

Sept 21, 2002

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) - Chance Harridge rushed for 124 yards and three touchdowns, and Jeff Overstreet tipped away Kyle Boller's 2-point conversion pass attempt with 31 seconds left as Air Force beat No. 23 California 23-21 Saturday.

The Falcons (3-0) rushed for 295 yards, and their defense kept surprising Cal (3-1) out of the end zone until the final minute.

Harridge, the latest in the Falcons' lineage of slippery option quarterbacks, gave Air Force its first lead on a 2-yard TD run with 7:16 to play. He scored again on a 13-yard run with 1:59 left, silencing an unusually raucous Memorial Stadium crowd.

But Boller marched the Bears 70 yards, pulling them within two points on a 17-yard TD pass to Jonathan Makonnen - even after LaShaun Ward dropped four passes on the drive.

Boller threw again for the 2-point conversion, but Overstreet dove to tip the pass away from Joe Igber. The Falcons celebrated wildly on the sideline, and after time ran out, they gathered in a corner of the stadium to cheer along with their small fan contingent.

Mark Jensen kicked a school-record five field goals for the Golden Bears, whose inability to catch Boller's passes or stop Harridge in the second half led to their first loss under new coach Jeff Tedford.

Harridge was the Falcons' only consistent threat, but he was nearly impossible to handle. Besides his ducking and dodging on the field, he repeatedly exhorted his defensive teammates from the sideline, then led the celebration when the victory was assured.

Boller completed just 13 of 37 passes for 216 yards. The senior quarterback was inconsistent, but he was victimized by an infuriating series of drops - at least 12, according to most unofficial counts.

On the final drive, Ward - Boller's friend and favorite target - flubbed a 32-yard pass that hit him in stride at the goal line, and he couldn't hold on to a high pass in the end zone with 36 seconds left. Boller still converted a fourth-and-10, then later found Makonnen in the corner for a score.

Cal's offense, which averaged 50 points in its three victories, looked much less like a powerhouse and much more like the mistake-prone unit that went 1-10 last season.

But the close, exciting loss only slightly dampened the good feelings around the Cal program these days. With a 46-22 win at Michigan State last week, the Golden Bears jumped into the national rankings for the first time since 1996.

Cal hasn't had a winning season since 1993, but its fans are excited about Tedford's team. An enthusiastic crowd of 31,816 filled two-thirds of Memorial Stadium, where a giant video replay screen was installed for the game.

The Bears forced two key fumbles by Harridge - one on the first play of the game, and another on the Cal 2 - but unlike their first three games, they weren't able to capitalize much on them.

Cal opened the second half with a 19-play, 9?-minute drive for another field goal. Neither team managed much impressive offense until late in the third quarter, when Harridge rushed for a 6-yard score.

By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer

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