AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. — In Air Force's 35-14 drubbing of BYU on Saturday, plenty of Falcon players stepped up.
Asher Clark rushed for 121 yards. Jared Tew, a Park City native, rushed for 77 yards. Quarterback Tim Jefferson threw a touchdown pass. Jon Warzeka gained 68 yards and scored a touchdown. And Mikel Hunter scored a pair of touchdowns, one receiving and one rushing.
But it's the Falcons' defense that deserves the most credit for the impressive win over the Cougars.
Air Force limited BYU to 309 yards of total offense and just 88 yards passing. The Falcons also forced three turnovers. Cornerback Reggie Rembert, who injured his neck a week earlier when he was carted off on a stretcher, played Saturday and intercepted BYU quarterback Jake Heaps.
"I thought our defense was absolutely special today," said coach Troy Calhoun. "After the initial drive, we probably played as well defensively against Brigham Young as we have maybe ever."
It marked the second week in a row the Falcons held their opponent scoreless in the second half.
"Well, it's a group that has an opportunity to be a quality group," Calhoun said of his defense. "We had far too many penalties, probably as many penalties as we've had at the Air Force Academy, but they did some good things out there."
BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall praised the way the Falcons' defense performed.
"I was impressed with their defense. They played well, they had a good plan and they executed soundly," he said. "They deserved to win the game. They just played assignment football and played hard. Again, their execution overall in the football game today, in Week 2 of the season, was superior to ours."
The Falcons ended a six-game losing streak to the Cougars on Saturday. Air Force got behind early in the first quarter but didn't panic. Instead, the Falcons rallied and got stronger as the game progressed.
"Frankly, (BYU has) had some games, at least two out of the last three years, both times when we've played over there, it's a two-score game way too early in the second quarter," Calhoun said. "Today, our kids played like they weren't going to allow that to happen, and that was huge."
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