Toledo tops Air Force 42-41 in wild Military Bowl shootout

WASHINGTON D.C.???If you like offense, the 25,042 fans in RFK Stadium were treated to a special afternoon Wednesday by Air Force and Toledo. The Falcons and Rockets ran up and down the field with little opposition.

But, in the end, Toledo held on for a 42-41 victory in the Military Bowl after Air Force gambled trying for a two-point conversion with 52 seconds left. The Falcons' David Baska, the holder on the fake conversion, pitched wildly to Parker Herrington, who couldn't corral the ball on an option play to the left. The ball bounced out of bounds in the end zone. Air Force then tried an onside kick, but Toledo recovered and ran out the clock.

Toledo scored first and never trailed in a wild back-and-forth

contest, as Air Force kept putting the pressure on.

The Rockets' defense pinned Air Force in its territory for much of the fourth quarter. A 33-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Terrance Owens to receiver Bernard Reedy put Toledo ahead, 42-35, with 5:01 to go. But, as they did all game, the Falcons responded, scoring on a fourth-down pass from quarterback Tim Jefferson to a wide-open Zach Kauth to make it 42-41. Coach Troy Calhoun then called for the fake conversion.

There were many bowl-game highs for the Falcons. Jefferson's touchdown pass to Jonathan Warzeka in the second quarter was his first in four postseason games.

Toledo coach Matt Campbell deserted his two-quarterback system most of the way. He stayed mainly with Owens, and the sophomore left-hander delivered with big plays.

Air Force scored late in the second quarter to tied the game at 28. The Rockets took a 35-28 lead on Jermaine Robinson's 37-yard interception return of a tipped pass. The Falcons tied the score at 35 on fullback Mike DeWitt's two-yard slant to the left side later in the period.

There was hardly time to catch a breath in the first half.

The Rockets and Falcons moved up and down the field in just about

every way imaginable, from big kick returns, to long runs to big passing plays. Toledo's 87-yard kickoff return by Eric Paige with 2:17 left in the first period put the Rockets up 21-7. By that point the Falcons already had given up a 17-yard touchdown pass by Owens and a 41-yard touchdown run by Thomas.

But, as if an alarm had gone off, the Falcons woke up.

Jefferson signaled there was some life with a 22-yard scoring run that made it 14-7 before the kickoff return by Page. The Falcons scored three times in the second quarter to knot the game by halftime.

Tailback Asher Clark scored from the one on fourth down to tie the score at 21. After Owens hit a 49-yard touchdown pass to put the Rockets up 28-21, Jefferson threw a 37-yard score to Warzeka with 2:07 left in the period.

Source: http://www.denverpost.com/colleges/ci_19634414?source=rss

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