Air Force football travels to Nevada
10/16/2017 12:00:00 AM | Football
Air Force football travels to Nevada
Friday, Oct. 20, 7:30 p.m. MT, Mackay Stadium
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Television: CBS Sports Network
Rich Waltz (play-by-play), Aaron Murray (analyst), Cassie McKinney (reporter)
RADIO: KVOR AM 740 in Colorado Springs, CO; The Fan 104.3 in Denver
Jim Arthur (play-by-play), Jesse Kurtz (analyst)
NOTES
- Air Force is in the fourth week of a five-week stretch with four of the five games on the road. The Falcons play at Colorado State next week to end the stretch.
- Air Force and Nevada are playing for the fourth time, all as conference foes. The Falcons lead the series, 2-1. Air Force is 2-0 at home and 0-1 at Nevada. Nevada won the only meeting in Reno, 45-42, in 2013.
- Air Force has scored in a school record 304 consecutive games. The streak is the third longest active streak in the nation. The streak is the fifth longest in Division I-A history.
- Air Force has led the time of possession battle in five games this season...the Falcons have held the edge in 12 of the last 13 games dating back to last season.
THE SERIES
- Air Force and Nevada are playing for the fourth time, all as conference foes.
- The Falcons lead the series, 2-1.
- Air Force is 2-0 at home and 0-1 at Nevada.
- Nevada won the only meeting in Reno, 45-42, in 2013.
- The team's first played in 2012 in Falcon Stadium, resulting in a 48-31 Air Force win.
Year by Year
2012 - AFA 48-31 (H)
2013 - Nevada 45-42 (A)
2014 - AFA 45-38 (H) OT
(H/A) is for AFA
LAST TIME MEETING NEVADA
(Nov. 15, 2014)
Air Force defeated Nevada, 45-38, in overtime in Falcon Stadium in one of the most entertaining games in school history. The game was as even as it could be, with the team's exchanging scores throughout the game. Air Force would score, then Nevada. The Falcons led throughout the game, kicking a field goal to take a 31-28 lead early in the fourth quarter. Nevada answered with a touchdown to take its only lead of the game, 35-31, with 7:03 remaining. Kale Pearson put the Falcons back on top for good with a 16-yard run to make it 38-35 with 4:13 left. Nevada added a 22-yard field goal with 22 seconds remaining to force overtime. Shayne Davern scored from three yards in overtime to give the Falcons the 45-38 margin and Air Force held Nevada to secure the win. Air Force finished with 471 total yards on 80 plays while Nevada had 498 yards on 81 plays. The Falcons held a 44:03 to 30:57 edge in time of possession. Pearson led the way for Air Force with 109 yards rushing and a touchdown while hitting 11 of 15 passes for 129 yards and three touchdowns. Davern added 97 yards and two scores on 21 carries while Jacobi Owens topped the 1,000-yard mark on the season with 66 yards on 16 carries. Jalen Robinette had four catches for 36 yards and a pair of scores. Jordan Pierce led the defense with 13 tackles and a tackle for loss while Connor Healy chipped in with 10 stops. Dexter Walker added nine tackles and two tackles for loss while Western Steelhammer had eight tackles and his fourth interception of the season.
LAST TIME AT NEVADA
(Sept. 28, 2013)
Nevada defeated Air Force, 45-42. The Wolf Pack overcame a 42-30 deficit with 7:44 remaining to improve to 3-0 at home. Quarterback Cody Fajardo hit Aaron Bradley for a nine yard touchdown with 5:56 remaining, then scored on a two-yard run with 1:45 remaining to cap the comeback for the Wolf Pack. Air Force's last chance ended with a Charles Garrett interception in the final seconds. Fajardo rushed for 81 yards and two touchdowns and hit 38-of-54 passes for 389 yards and three touchdowns to lead Nevada. Kendall Brock added 84 yards on 20 carries while Brandon Wimberly had 15 catches for 134 yards and a score. Bradley added 11 catches for 135 yards. Air Force was led by sophomore quarterback Karson Roberts, who rushed for a career-high 161 yards and two touchdowns in his first-career start. He also hit five-of-10 passes for 55 yards and a score. Broam Hart added 88 yards rushing and a score. Nevada finished with 599 yards of total offense on 100 plays while Air Force had 453 total yards, including 375 rushing. The Falcons led most of the game and extended the lead 42-30 on a Roberts to Sam Gagliano 23-yard touchdown pass with 7:44 left. Jon Lee, Antony LaCoste and Hart all scored rushing touchdowns in the first half to give the Falcons a 21-17 halftime lead. Roberts scored a pair of third quarter touchdowns to help Air Force build its lead before hitting Gagliano for the touchdown in the fourth to give the team its biggest lead of the game.
AIR FORCE LAST WEEK
Air Force used the second-largest comeback in school history to defeat UNLV, 34-30, in Falcon Stadium. The Rebels controlled the game and raced out to a 27-0 lead with 3:28 remaining in the second quarter. Air Force finally got on the board with an Arion Worthman 14 yard touchdown run to cut the halftime deficit to 27-7. The Falcons turned the ball over on their first two possessions in the second half, but held UNLV to just a field goal and a 30-7 lead. Worthman scored four straight touchdowns to complete the comeback, the final on a one-yard run with 2:14 remaining. Air Force forced UNLV to turn the ball over on downs on the next possession to seal the win. The 27-point comeback is the second-largest in school history and largest since coming from 28 points (31-3 halftime) down at Fresno State in 1996. Worthman finished with a career-high 30 carries for a season-best 166 yards and a career-best five touchdowns, the second most in school history. Air Force finished with 473 total yards, including 401 rushing. UNLV had 411 total yards, but managed only 107 total yards in the second half. Armani Rogers led the Rebels with 148 yards and a touchdown rushing while completing 12 of 27 passes for 145 yards.
GAME NOTES FROM LAST WEEK
Team Notes
- Air Force uses game captains. The captains for the UNLV game were Santo Coppola, Alex Norton and Grant Ross
- Air Force improved its school-record consecutive games scoring streak to 304 games dating back to the 1992 Liberty Bowl. The streak is the third-longest active streak in the nation and the fifth-longest in NCAA history.
- Air Force's 27-point comeback victory is the second largest in the school history. Air Force trailed 27-0 late in the second quarter. The school record comeback of 28 points came at Fresno State in 1996. In that game, Air Force trailed 31-3 at the half and won 44-38 in overtime.
- Air Force snapped a four-game losing streak and won for the first time since a 62-0 victory over VMI Sept. 2 to open the season.
- Air Force improved to 2-4 overall and 1-2 in Mountain West play.
- Air Force improved to 15-6 all-time vs. UNLV, including a 15-5 mark in conference play and an 8-2 record at home in the series.
- Air Force has won two straight and seven of the last nine in the series vs. UNLV.
- Air Force improved to 49-16 in Falcon Stadium under Head Coach Troy Calhoun. The Falcons are 2-1 this season with the lone loss coming to #22/25 San Diego State. Air Force is 19-2 at home the last four seasons. The 19 wins ties the most in a four-year span in school history. The Falcons also won 19 from 1982-85, 1997-01 and 2009-12. The team has three home games remaining this season.
Individual Notes
- Sophomore Jeremy Fejedelem and senior offensive lineman Ernest McQuade made the first starts of their careers.
- Freshman OLB Lakota Wills intercepted the first pass of his career. It was just the second interception by the Falcons this season and the fourth turnover the Falcons have forced this season (two fumbles and two interceptions).
- Senior Ronald Cleveland's 36-yard run in the second quarter is the longest of his career. His previous long was 33 vs. Abilene Christian in 2016
- Cleveland's 86 yards rushing yards are a career high. His previous high was 62 vs. Navy in 2017
- Sophomore Kyle Johnson's blocked punt was the first of his career. It was the second block by a Falcon this season. Garrett Kauppila blocked a punt against San Diego State on Sept. 23.
- Junior quarterback Arion Worthman's five rushing touchdowns tie as the second most in school history. It ties Marty Louthan who did it against Navy in 1983.
- Worthman's rushing touchdowns are a career high. His 166 rushing yards mark his fifth career 100-yard day. It was also the second time in his career he has rushed for 100 or more yards in consecutive games. He had 139 yards on the ground at Navy. Last season, he had back-to-back 100-yards games against Colorado State and San Jose State.
- Senior Tim McVey's 40-yard kickoff return in the first quarter was a season long. His career long was a 99-yard return for a touchdown vs. Georgia State last season. With his 836 kickoff return yards this season, McVey moved into fifth place all time at Air Force. With 159 all-purpose yards, McVey moved into eighth place on the career list with 2,962 all-purpose yards. He passed Anthony Roberson (1986-88) and Mike Quinlan (1958-60), He is 111 yards behind Jacobi Owens (2014-16) for seventh on the list.
