Falcons fall to Hawai'i, 44-35

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Despite 494 yards of offensive production, Air Force could not hold back Hawai'i as the Falcons fell, 44-35, Saturday, Sept. 27, at Falcon Stadium. With the win, Hawai'i remains in control of the Kuter Trophy, which goes to the winner of the Air Force-Hawai'i game.

Sophomore quarterback Liam Szarka, in his first career start, led Air Force in both passing and rushing yards, completing 10 of 12 passes and earning 278 yards in the air while adding 17 attempts for 139 rushing. His 417 yards of total offense for Szarka marks an Academy record for a single game.

Senior receivers Cade Harris and Quin Smith led the Falcons in receiving yards, totaling 116 and 110, respectively. Harris and Smith each added touchdowns, adding to their season total. Senior tight end Bruin Fleischmann complimented the Falcons' air attack with two catches, 19 yards and a score of his own. Saturday marked Air Force's first game with two Air Force receivers over 100 yards and three players with a receiving touchdown since the Falcons beat New Mexico on the road, 44-22, on Nov. 23, 2019.

On the opening drive, Hawai'i (4-2, 1-1 MW) running back Cam Barfield broke free for 59 yards, establishing the Rainbow Warrior offense inside the Falcon redzone. Redshirt freshman signal caller Micah Alejado earned his first score on the day, finding sophomore receiver Jackson Harris in the left corner of the end zone for the opening score.

Air Force dialed up an immediate response as Szarka, on the Falcons' first snap of the day, earned 64 yards on the ground to get Air Force inside the UH redzone. On third and five, Szarka found Fleischmann for the tying score at 7-7 just six minutes into the game. The Falcons' first score of the day marked Szarka's second career passing touchdown and Fleischmann's second receiving touchdown, both scored in back-to-back games.

Hawai'i, taking back possession, regained its lead on the next drive, going six plays, 75 yards for its second touchdown of the day. Alejado found junior receiver Brandon White along the right sideline for the 14-7 score with 6:11 to go in the first. On the resulting drive, Air Force advanced to the UH 11 but was unable to convert on a fourth-and-four resulting in a turnover on downs.

Air Force managed to slow down the Rainbow Warrior offense in the final minutes of the first half. Air Force held Hawai'i to a field goal after a 24-play drive stalled on the Falcons' 31-yard line. Both Air Force and UH were held to punts on the final two drives to trail 17-7 at halftime.

On Air Force's fourth-play to start the second half, Szarka found Smith for a 52-yard advance, earning Smith a career long. Smith's big gain set up senior tailback Kade Frew for an 11-yard touchdown – his first in 2025 and second career score – elevating the tally to 17-14. Through all four games to start the season, Smith sports at least one reception of at least 32 yards.

Hawai'I opened the game converting its first seven third down opportunities, Air Force forced UH into an unsuccessful fourth-and-four attempt. After Air Force's resulting possession stalled on Hawai'i's 45, UH broke its dry spell, going 55 yards on 10 plays to score its third touchdown on the day.

At 24-14, Szarka, pressured on a drop back on first-and-10, threw an interception into the hands of Hawai'i safety Matagi Thompson for Air Force's first turnover of the game. The turnover led to a Barfield 27-yard touchdown to leave Air Force down 31-14 early in the fourth quarter.

At 14:13 in the fourth quarter, Szarka found Harris a 73-yard score and a score to earn his second receiving touchdown on the year and fourth for his Air Force career. It marked the second straight week Szarka and Harris connected for a pass play of more than 70 yards.

A failed Air Force onside kick gave Hawai'i the ball on the Falcons' own 47, resulting in senior place kicker Kansei Matsuzawa's second field goal of the day and 16^th-straight, extending on a Mountain West active record to open the season while giving Hawai'i a 34-21 lead with 11:14 to go.

With 11:14 remaining, Szarka led Air Force on its fourth scoring drive of the day, as the Falcons orchestrated a 10-play march – highlighted by a 24-yard pass to Smith and 30-yard rush by the quarterback – brought the Falcons again within a single score. Junior Kemper Hodges punched in his second touchdown of the season to lift the Falcons again back within a single possession at 34-28.

UH went three plays and 75 yards to erase Air Force's gains again, as Alejado found Harris for Hawai'i's third passing touchdown and Harris' second of the day to rebuild a 41-28 lead. Szarka answered right back with passes of 41 and 34 yards to Harris and Smith, respectively, ending in Smith's third touchdown of the year and a 41-35 game with 4:29 remaining. From there, Air Force, with little time to complete a comeback, allowed a final 25-yard Hawai'i field goal to seal the final score at 44-35.

Earning 216 total rushing yards, Air Force extends to the nation's longest active streak of consecutive 100-yard rushing games to 89 straight.

Up Next:
Air Force (1-3, 0-3 MW) opens its bid for the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy on Saturday, Oct 4, taking on Navy in Annapolis at 12 p.m. MT at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

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Team Stats

Liam Szarka

Quin Smith

Players Mentioned

Bruin Fleischmann

Kade Frew

Cade Harris

Kemper Hodges

Quin Smith

Liam Szarka

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