Air Force Falls to North Dakota State 38-32 in Mountain West Opener

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
North Dakota St.	7	21	7	3	38
Air Force	0	13	0	19	32

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North Dakota St.

Air Force

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – North Dakota State got the best of Air Force in the school's first ever matchup, taking Saturday night's contest 38-32 in a Mountain West game at Falcon Stadium Saturday night.

Senior inside linebacker Blake Fletcher was all over the field, leading the Falcons defense with 14 tackles and scoring the first defensive touchdown of the year by returning an interception 85 yards for a touchdown.

Junior quarterback Liam Szarka led the Falcon rushing attack with 21 carries for 88 yards and a touchdown, while adding an extra 103 yards through the air on 5-for-10 passing with an interception.

The Bison struck first as an explosive 31-yard touchdown run from sophomore running back Myles Mitchell gave North Dakota State a 7-0 lead with 9:54 to go in the first quarter.

After holding the Falcons opening drive to an 8-yard three and out, NDSU added to their lead with a 17-yard rushing touchdown by fifth-year quarterback Nathan Hayes. The touchdown capped off a 16-play, 80-yard drive that took 8:44 off the clock to make the score 14-0 with 14:08 remaining in the second quarter.

Head coach Troy Calhoun responded by reaching deep into his bag, dialing up a trick play that saw junior wide receiver Mason Hayes hit senior wide receiver Adam Hrynciw on a 29-yard touchdown pass to cut the Falcon deficit in half (14-7).

But North Dakota State didn't blink.

They responded with a haymaker of their own, in the form of a 44-yard touchdown pass to fifth-year receiver Mekhi Collins, to extend the Bison lead 21-7 with 5:20 to play in the first half.

Just after the two-minute timeout, Fletcher snatched an arrent pass from Hayes and returned it 85 yards for a touchdown to make the score 21-13 Bison. The PAT was blocked following the touchdown.

On North Dakota State's following drive, Hayes found junior wide receiver Jackson Williams down the seam for a 51-yard strike to set up a 1-yard rushing touchdown for Mitchell's second of the night. The response sent the Falcons into halftime down 28-13.

The Bison continued to execute out of the half as a 40-yard punt return set up a 41-yard passing touchdown to junior wide receiver Logan Conklin. Hayes' third passing touchdown of the game gave NDSU a 35-13 lead with 12:02 remaining in the third quarter.

Sophomore kicker Carter Cremascoli could not cut into the Falcon deficit, pushing a 28-yard field goal attempt wide right with 5:00 to go in the third quarter.

That's when things turned around.

After forcing their first three-and-out of the half, Air Force began to mount a comeback, putting together a 14-play, 73-yard drive that ended in a Szarka two-yard rushing touchdown to make the score 35-19 Bison with 10:59 remaining in the game. The Falcon two-point attempt was denied following the score.

Air Force's defense remained stout, forcing yet another three-and-out halfway through the fourth quarter, which the offense kindly rewarded with a 13-play, 80-yard drive that ended in a two-yard rushing touchdown out of the wildcat formation by senior fullback Kemper Hodges to cut the Falcon deficit to ten (35-25). Air Force's following two-point attempt was no good.

A 56-yard field goal by fifth-year kicker Drew Klein that set a North Dakota State school record was enough to seemingly stifle the Air Force comeback attempt.

But the Falcons weren't done yet.

Sophomore QB Evan Medders led an impressive drive for the Falcons in the dying minutes of the game, finishing it off with a 20-yard touchdown strike to junior WR Matt Long, to make the score 38-32.

With the top of the comeback mountaintop in sight, Air Force attempted an onside kick that went through the hands of a Bison returner but unfortunately fell out of bounds to ice the hearts of the comeback hopefuls.

An NDSU kneel was enough to do it as the seconds ticked off the clock with a final score of 38-32.

It was a tale of two halves for the Falcons.

Despite dropping the game, Air Force outscored North Dakota State in the second half (19-10), dominated the time-of-possession during that time (22:03-7:57), and totaled 214 more yards (281-67).

The Falcons are back in action Saturday, Sept. 26, where they will travel to Reno, NV to take on the Nevada Wolf Pack. Kickoff for that game is still to be determined.

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