Falcons storm back for victory

AIR FORCE 34, UNLV 30

AIR FORCE ACADEMY» Arion Worthman shooed away his teammates who came looking for a celebration after his first touchdown Saturday.

This Air Force quarterback knew more had to follow. And he had the been-there, done-that confidence to believe they would. They did. Worthman scored all five Falcons touchdowns as they spotted UNLV a 27-point lead and stormed back for a 34-30 victory at Falcon Stadium that snapped a four-game losing streak.

“There was never a moment in the game where I thought we were going to lose,” said Worthman, who carried 30 times for 166 yards and hit 4-of-8 passes for 72 yards. “Even down 27-0, I knew we were going to find a way to win the game. We did it last week. We’ve done it in the past. So, as long as there’s still time on the clock, I think we’re going to win the game.”

Worthman has directed Air Force (2-4, 1-2 Mountain West) to eight victories in his tenure as Air Force’s quarterback. Of those, six required the team to overcome a deficit and four reached double digits.

But none were as large as the 27point gap separating Air Force and UNLV (2-3, 1-2) on Saturday. In fact, only a 28-point comeback against Fresno State in 1996 ranked as a bigger comeback in program history. Nor was there a time the Falcons were so mistakeprone.

They lost four fumbles — two coming on the first two offensive plays of the second half. They lost a windblown ball on a kickoff return when it was allowed to bounce and the Rebels jumped on it. They also had a high snap on a field-goal attempt that squirted away and resulted in a turnover on downs.

“We did what we could to keep pouring gas on the fire,” coach Troy Calhoun said.

Worthman — whose scores covered 14, 1, 5, 6 and 1 yard — led an 80-yard march for the winning TD with 2:14 left.

While Worthman eschewed celebrating a touchdown that made the score 27-7, he was fine with enjoying this one after it ended.

“I forgot what it felt like to win a football game,” he said. “Going a whole month without a win, it’s just very relieving to get a W.”