Air Force Flies To WAC Title

Air Force usually takes care of its football business on the ground. To win its only outright Western Athletic Conference championship, however, the Falcons had to do what WAC teams usually do -- go to the air.

With Air Force's vaunted option offense shut down by Brigham Young, the Falcons used a 59-yard pass play to Matt Farmer late in the fourth quarter Saturday to beat BYU 20-13 in the final WAC game for both teams.

"I knew if I got the ball out to him he was off to the races," Air Force quarterback Blane Morgan said of the double-screen pass to Farmer that put the Falcons ahead for the first time in the game.

In a league renowned over the years for wide-open passing offenses, it seemed fitting that the WAC's final football championship game would be decided by a long pass play.

But instead of pass-happy BYU throwing its way to a 20th conference title, it was an Air Force pass that gave the 17th-ranked Falcons their first title in their last WAC game. Both teams are leaving for the Mountain West Conference next year.

"It was ironic that we had to win the game on a pass play," Air Force coach Fisher DeBerry said. "They stopped our running game so we had to pass."

The Falcons (11-1, 8-1 WAC) trailed 13-7 and appeared beaten when a limping Blane Morgan threw a short pass to Farmer, who raced untouched down the left side to put Air Force ahead 14-13 with 3:49 left.

"We felt we dominated them defensively and were picking up enough yards on offense," BYU linebacker Derik Stevenson said. "Then we looked up at the scoreboard and we were all of a sudden losing and that kind of shocked us."

Air Force had shared two WAC titles in previous years, but had never won one on its own. When it finally did, it came in the team's last conference game.

"I wanted so bad for this team to have a ring of its own," DeBerry said.

Air Force ran away from BYU to claim the final WAC title. (AP)

Air Force added another touchdown when Spanky Gilliam ran 29 yards with 2:13 left after BYU turned the ball over on downs. The kick failed, though, giving the Cougars one last shot at a tying score.

BYU could not move the ball, however, and when Kevin Feterik's fourth-down pass failed with 33 seconds left, the Falcons secured the win.

"We moved the ball on them. We had everything going for us," BYU coach LaVell Edwards said. "But our inability to score killed us."

BYU (9-4, 7-2), which could manage only one score on its first five possessions inside the Air Force 20, used two fourth-quarter field goals by Owen Pochman to break a 7-7 tie.

Pochman's second field goal with 5:44 left came after BYU wasted a first down on the 6-yard-line when Feterik was sacked on two consecutive plays.

With BYU's third-ranked run defense dominating the line of scrimmage, Air Force was held to only 32 yards rushing in the first three quarters.

"We worked hard all week to stop the option and we really attacked the option," said Stevenson, who had three sacks. "They just had a couple of plays that killed us."

BYU, the dominant football power since the WAC's inception 37 years ago, had been seeking its 20th conference championship.

The Cougars dominated statistically and shut down Air Force's vaunted option attack, allowing a total of 111 yards on the ground to a team that was averaging 280.9. But BYU wasted prime scoring positions four different times to allow the Falcons to stay in the game.

The game meant nothing to the bowl chances of either team. BYU will play Tulane in the Liberty Bowl, while Air Force will play Christmas Day in Hawaii.

But it meant a lot to two teams trying to end long stays in the WAC by winning its final football championship game.

"This will give us momentum going into the bowl game and into the new conference," DeBerry said.

The game was a defensive struggle from the opening kickoff, with BYU having the only real scoring opportunities in the first half. But Pochman's 37-yard field goal attempt in the first quarter hit the left goal post, and BYU lost a chance to score in the second quarter when C.Z. Zonotti intercepted a pass on the Air Force 20.

A fumble on a handoff, though, allowed BYU to finally score late in the first half. Feterik hit Mike Rigell in the back of the end zone with a 13-yard pass with 1:01 left to give BYU a 7-0 halftime lead.

BYU threatened to expand the lead on its first possession of the second half, driving to the Air Force 8-yard-line before a holding call and two incomplete passes forced a field goal attempt.

Pochman, who made 18 of 23 in the reular season, had his kick blocked.

Air Force then drove the length of the field, with Morgan going in from the 2-yard-line to tie the game 7-7 with 6:39 left in the third quarter.

Morgan, limping badly at times, did not start because of an ankle sprain he sustained in Air Force's last game. But he came over in the second quarter to take over from Cale Bonds and played the rest of the way.

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