AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. - Air Force Academy fullback Steve Massie scored on a four-yard touchdown run for the Falcons on their first possession of overtime to give Air Force a 38-31 win Saturday.
The loss leaves UNM 1-2 overall and 0-1 in the conference.
In their overtime possession, the Lobos moved the ball to the 11-yard line on the following possession but could not capitalize as an Air Force defender batted down Casey Kelly's desperation fourth-down pass.
"They did a nice job of coverage and our throw wasn't very good," head coach Rocky Long said. "We could have scored if it was a great throw, but obviously it wasn't a great throw."
The Falcons controlled the tempo early in the game.
AFA halfback Leotis Palmer got the scoring started when he burst through the left side of the Lobo defense and then went untouched for the last 40 yards into the end zone less than three minutes into the game, giving the Falcons an early 7-0 lead.
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The Lobos came back with some offense of their own on the following possession.
UNM put together a 10-play, 69-yard drive that ended with a 28-yard field goal by Wes Zunker to cut the AFA lead to 7-3.
The drive was highlighted by senior tailback Quincy Wright who broke off a 36-yard run as he split the Air Force defense. He was finally forced out of bounds at the 12-yard line. After an unsuccessful third down option play, UNM settled for the field goal.
Air Force regained the momentum when cornerback Paul Mayo intercepted Kelly at the 47-yard line and returned the ball 36 yards to the UNM 17 with 2:24 left in the first quarter.
The Falcons eventually kicked a field goal to make the margin 10-3
UNM tied the game up at 10 all at the beginning of the second quarter when Kelly dove into the endzone with 12:55 left.
Air Force came back with some trickery. The Falcons used an option-pass play when Palmer took the ball and faked a run.
As the defense closed in, Palmer tossed a perfect pass to wide-open wide receiver Ricky Amezaga who then cruised into the end zone.
"I thought that was a great play," Long said. "We were ready to support the option and that one worked."
On the Falcons next possession, Lobo cornerback David Crockett was called for pass interference - a 15-yard penalty and an automatic first down that put the ball on the UNM 29-yard-line.
Seven plays later, on third and goal at the six yard line, Air Force again dug into its bag of tricks.
Quarterback Chance Harridge took the snap and raced over to the right side. The defense followed as Harridge turned and dumped a pass to right tackle Blane Neufeld. Neufield, who was a tackle eligible on the play, plowed his way into the endzone for the touchdown, which put Air Force up 24-10.
With 2:07 left in the half, the Lobos got a much-needed big play when senior cornerback Brandon Gregory blocked the Falcon punt.
"I got back there so fast and then he was stepping towards me," Gregory said. "I knew when he stepped toward me that I had a chance to block the kick and I almost ran past him."
UNM recovered the ball on the Air Force 6-yard line. Three plays later, on third and goal, Kelly faked a hand-off, then kept it and fought into the end zone for his second rushing touchdown of the game. With the extra point, the Lobos cut the lead to 24-17 with 1:57 left in the half.
As the first half ticked away UNM got the ball back thanks to good defense and clock management. On their next possession, the Falcons turned penalty-prone. Air Force lost 39 yards to penalties, ending the drive with a fourth-and-31 situation.
Falcon punter John Welsh shanked his kick and the Lobos got the ball at its own 46-yard line.
On the first play, Kelly flicked a screen pass to Wright who scurried along the right sideline, broke a couple tackles and cut back to the left. No one could catch Wright as he raced to the endzone, Wright into the end zone with only 22 seconds left in the half. The extra point tied the game 24-24.
"That was a big play for us. It made us see some light," Wright said. "It was a big momentum booster."
The second half was a defensive struggle. Neither team was able to score again until Air Force scored with three minutes left in the quarter. Harridge finished off an 80-yard 15-play drive with a one-yard touchdown plunge. The point after was good and Air Force was up 31-24.
In the fourth quarter, the Lobos put together an 80-yard drive of their own to knot up the score.
The big play of the drive came when Kelly found Rashaun Sanders on third down for a 22-yard pickup and a first down. UNM scored on a Kelly pass to Joe Manning. The senior wideout followed several blockers into the end zone.
Neither team would score again in regulation. Lobo linebacker Nick Speegle intercepted Harridge with six seconds left in the game to make sure the game would go to overtime.
UNM won the coin toss in overtime and decided to go on defense first. Air Force started with the ball and pushed its way into the end zone.
On the Lobos' OT possession, Casey managed to get a first down after a completion to Manning and two runs by Wright. But on third down at the Falcon 11, UNM was called for a false start penalty. The Lobos would get no closer to the end zone.
Quincy Wright had another good game as he racked up 145 yards on 19 carries. He had two catches for 68 yards and one touchdown.
Kelly had a much better game than he did in the past two contests.
"I played as tough as I could," said Kelly. "I don't look back and think I didn't play my hardest, as did everybody."
He was 19 for 31 in passing for 213 yards and one touchdown. He ran for two more scores.
Next week the Lobos return home for a game against Baylor University. Last year the Bears beat the Lobos 16-13 in overtime.
Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday at University Stadium.
