Nov. 19, 2005
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) – Shaun Carney threw over New Mexico’s defense and fullback Jacobe Kendrick ran through it Saturday as Air Force snapped a three-game losing streak with a 42-24 win over New Mexico.
The 230-pound Kendrick scored on runs of 2 and 10 yards and Carney picked apart the Lobos’ secondary for 186 yards and a touchdown as the Falcons (4-7, 3-5 Mountain West) dealt a big blow to New Mexico’s bowl hopes.
New Mexico (6-5, 4-4) is bowl eligible, but with the conference possibly having up to five bowl eligible teams, the Lobos could be left out. The loss was the third for New Mexico at home in MWC games this season.
Carney also scored in the fourth quarter on a 1-yard run. Carney ran for 94 yards and Kendrick had 89 as the Falcons had 278 yards on the ground and 464 total.
New Mexico lost starting quarterback Chris Nelson in the third quarter with a shoulder injury and had to go with third stringer Bryan Clampitt the rest of the game.
Halfback DonTrell Moore, who rushed for 143 yards – his 26th career 100-yard game – scored on an 11-yard TD run that got New Mexico within 21-16 with 6:34 left in the third quarter. But the Lobos had no other offensive threat and could not slow down Air Force’s option.
Nelson was hurt in the drive that led to Moore’s score. He was hit hard while scrambling for a first down on a fourth-and-2 to the Falcons’ 33-yard line.
Nelson had started in place of Kole McKamey, the starter most of the season who has been out the last two weeks with a bad back. McKamey started the game in street clothes, but went into the locker room and suited up after Nelson went out. McKamey didn’t get into the game.
Air Force, which had lost seven of its last eight games, sealed the win on Kendrick’s 10-yard TD with 9:54 left in the game. That came after the Falcons’ defense held New Mexico on fourth-and-1 at the Air Force 28.
Air Force took a 10-0 lead on a career best 49-yard field goal by Scott Eberle and a 46-yard screen pass from Carney to Kirkwood. The touchdown was set up by Brad Meissen’s interception of a Nelson pass that bounced off Lobo receiver Hank Baskett and into the hands of Falcon safety Brad Meissen.
Meissen returned the interception 10 yards to the New Mexico 45 and one play later Kirkwood took the screen pass and went in untouched. It was the 14th touchdown pass by the Falcons this season, a school record since the AFA started running the option in 1980.
New Mexico tied it at 10-10 in the second quarter on a 15-yard TD run by Marcus Smith and a 40-yard field goal by Kenny Byrd.
The Falcons then mounted an 80-yard, 11-play drive that took just 2:13 and ended with Kendrick’s first touchdown with 18 seconds left in the first half.