AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (KOAA) — Air Force fell to Army 20-17 in the second game of the Commander-In-Chief trophy series as the Black Knights kicked a game-winning field goal as time expired.
Liam Szarka completed 13-of-17 passes for 161 yards, adding another 91 rushing yards on 29 attempts. Szarka scored the Falcons' only two touchdowns on the day.
Air Force opened the game with a field goal to put them ahead 3-0, which would pan out to be their only lead of the game. Army responded with a 40-yard touchdown pass to Noah Short, giving the Black Knights a 7-3 lead by the end of the first quarter.
Army added a field goal of its own in the second quarter and kept Air Force from adding any points the remainder of the half. The Falcons had a chance at the lead, but a pass from Liam Szarka to Cade Harris was broken up, setting up a field goal attempt.
The 30-yard field goal attempt sailed to the left, and Air Force trailed 10-3 at the half.
The Falcons' first touchdown came as time expired in the third quarter. Szarka found a gap in the defense and rushed into the end zone from 3 yards out to even the score at 10.
Army’s opening drive of the fourth quarter resulted in the Black Knights regaining a 7-point lead. Cale Hellums scored from 10 yards out on a quarterback keeper.
With three minutes to play, the Falcons had a promising drive that saw them get to the Army 11-yard line. Unfortunately, Szarka was sacked and fumbled the ball in which the Army recovered.
Air Force defense then found themselves in a fourth-and-one situation, hoping to give the ball back to their offense with a chance to tie.
Falcons had no timeouts left, and Army was on their own 26-yard line on this fourth-down play. Electing not to punt, the Army attempted to gain the one yard, but their quarterback was stopped short, and the ball went back to the Falcons right outside the red zone.
Capitalizing on the opportunity, Szarka scored his second rushing touchdown and evened the score at 17 with 1:26 to play.
With two timeouts remaining, Army drove down the field and reached field goal range, ultimately kicking the game-winner as the time expired.
Air Force falls to 2-6 on the year with 4 games remaining on the schedule. Up next for the Falcons, a trip to California as they take on San Jose State.
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