The One That Got Away

The Air Force Football team showed a lot of heart and guts Saturday night in Reno Nevada. They wound up losing to the Nevada WolfPack 45-42 after coughing up a 12 point lead in the 4th quarter. Air Force will long regret two killer illegal substitution penalties late in the game that turned a 3rd and 1 into a 3rd and 11, and resulted in another dropped pass by a Falcon Reeceiver. Air Force had a chance to run out the clock late in the game, but those two penalties, the result of poor coaching, forced the Falcons to punt, and once again, the Air Force Defense could not stop another team. The Falcons were in such a position to win because of a gutty effort by Karson Roberts, who 3 weeks ago was the 3rd string quarterback. He ran for 161 yards and two scores and threw for another touchdown. His guile and leadership stood out bright and strong among the disaster this season has been so far. And although the defense struggled I saw some improvement. The Falcons played man to man in the secondary, and had their moments. Defensive back Gavin Mchenry had 11 tackles and knocked away 4 passes. I though Justin Decood also played well, as did Ryan Fitzgerald. Can Air Force build from this? Don't know? They play at Navy Saturday, and if there's a silver lining, the Midshipmen don't throw it all over the field like the previous 4 opponents. While Satudays game is the one that got away, it may also be the one that points Troy Calhouns team in the right direction. Because at this point, there's only 1 way to go.