Air Force Takes Off and Grounds Washington

Air Force, not in consideration for the bowl championship series despite an 11-1 record, put an exclamation point on its season Friday by pounding Washington, 45-25, in the inaugural Oahu Bowl.

In beating the Pacific 10 Conference Huskies, the ground-oriented Falcons ran for 234 yards.

Blane Morgan, Air Force’s triple-option wizard, outplayed heralded Washington quarterback Brock Huard. Morgan completed 12 of 16 passes for 267 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 50 yards.

Huard, a junior who has announced he will forgo his final season of eligibility and declare himself eligible for the NFL draft, also showcased his skills. He completed 23 of 32 passes for 267 yards. But that came up short of making up the difference and three interceptions didn’t help.

Air Force (12-1), which won its final nine games after a one-point loss to Texas Christian, scored on three of its first four possessions. Each time, Morgan guided the Falcons on long drives--73, 83 and 74 yards--with Jemal Singleton scoring twice, on runs of 12 and two yards, and Scott McKay getting the third on a 15-yard run.

Braxton Cleman scored on runs of three and one yards for Washington (6-6) to make it 22-13 at the half, but the Falcons responded with 16 unanswered points in the third quarter to secure the victory.

The scores came on a 42-yard field goal by Jackson Whiting, a four-yard run by Spanky Gilliam and Morgan’s 79-yard pass to Matt Farmer.

Morgan closed out the Air Force scoring by hooking up with McKay on a 30-yard pass in the fourth quarter. Washington’s Marques Tuiasosopo scampered seven yards for one touchdown and passed 11 yards to Mikjo Austin with four seconds left.