Air Force Rallies To 38-21 Win At Colorado State

Post Game Interviews

Air Force football rallied back from a 14-0 deficit to defeat Colorado State 38-21 Saturday night at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins. The Falcons won their fifth straight, improving to 8-2, 5-1 MW.

The Falcons found themselves in a huge hole early after allowing Colorado State (4-6, 3-3 MW) to march down the field for a touchdown on the opening drive of the game. That hole got much bigger as the Rams ran back an Air Force fumble 63 yards for another score to go up 14-0 in the first quarter.

The Falcons then began their march back after a scoreless first quarter. Air Force didn't get on the board till the 6:42 mark in the second quarter, when quarterback Donald Hammond III found receiver Ben Waters for a 31-yard touchdown pass. The Falcons were able to make it a 14-10 game at halftime, as Jake Koehnke nailed a 31-yard field goal with a minute to go in the second.

After a back-and-fourth third quarter, where both teams failed to score, the fourth quarter featured 35 points of offense.

Air Force erupted for 28 fourth quarter points to pull away. The Falcons took the lead on a 50-yard touchdown pass from Hammond to Geraud Sanders at the 13:44 mark in the fourth. The Falcons began to pull away when Hammond struck again, finding Waters for a 28-yard TD pass to put Air Force ahead 24-14 with 7:21 to play.

Colorado State did not go away, responding with a touchdown in just two plays, covering 75 yards to pull to within three at 24-21 with 6:36 to play.

The Falcons got some breathing room when Hammond snuck one in from one yard out to complete an eight-play, 75 yard touchdown drive with 2:32 to play. The Falcons put the nail in the coffin with 1:22 to play, when Zane Lewis picked off an errant CSU pass and returned it 99 yards for a touchdown. It was Lewis' second-career 99-yard TD return, which is an Air Force record.

With the win over CSU, Air Force defeated both Div. I opponents in Colorado, having downed Colorado earlier this season.

Air Force finished with 227 yards rushing. Kadin Remsberg led the Falcons with 101 yards rushing on 17 carries. Fullback Timothy Jackson followed with 73 yards on 17 carries.

Hammond was 5 of 11 passing for 126 yards. His three touchdown passes were a career-high. Waters and Sanders both hauled in two catches for 59 yards each. Tight end Rhett Myers also had a catch for the Falcons.

Defensively, Milton Bugg III had a career-high 10 tackles. The Falcon defense forced eight sacks, the most in the Troy Calhoun era. DL Jack Ksiazek had 3.0 sacks and two fumbles forced, both career-high's. NT Mosese Fifita also had a career-high two sacks.

Air Force returns to action next weekend at New Mexico. The game is on Saturday, Nov. 23, with kick time at 12 pm MT. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3.

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