It truly was a tale of two halves in the Cowboys’ 99th homecoming game against the Air Force Falcons.
In the first half of this one, it looked like the Cowboys would be singing the same weary tune of the first four games of the season.
Bad throws, dropped passes, missed tackles, and bad snaps were waging in full force. The Falcon’s 13-7 lead at the half felt like much more than just a one possession game. The Cowboys only had a measly 83 yards of offense, compared to the Falcons’ 217. After establishing the run early with 44 yards in the first quarter, the Cowboys had somehow managed to lower that number to 37 by halftime. The Falcons were clearly in control of the football, with a time of possession of 20:11 in the first half.
“We flatlined a little bit in the second quarter, more than what I would have wanted,” head coach Jay Sawvel said of the first half.
It was shocking that the Cowboys were only down by six at half. Those stats were complete and utter nightmare fuel. Not only that, but the dreaded third quarter was just on the horizon. The Cowboys had been outscored 52-0 in the third frame and from the looks of things, the Pokes’ conference opener wasn’t going to be much different.
Sawvel had urged all week that his team needed to win the “middle eight,” which is the last four minutes of the second quarter and the first four minutes of the third quarter. The Cowboys certainly didn’t win the last four minutes of the second quarter, as they punted the ball and allowed the Falcons a last second field goal all within that short time frame.
A completely different team, reforged from the one we had known through 18 quarters of the season, emerged in the third quarter, however.. And that team most definitely won the first four minutes of the third quarter, and certainly the whole quarter itself.
It all started when quarterback Evan Svoboda slung a pass to freshman wideout Chris Durr Jr., who would race down the field to the Falcons’ 40 yard line. Then, it was John Michael Gyllenborg’s turn. Svoboda would find his standout tight end at the Falcons’ 21 yard line, as he would rumble all the way down to the seven yard line.
It wouldn’t be long till the big body of Svoboda found the end zone for the Cowboys and then the lead shortly after that. Before you knew it, the Cowboys were back in the end zone once again, this time courtesy of running back Sam Scott after his defense forced the Falcons’ to punt.
Suddenly, the Cowboys were up 21-13. Suddenly, they were playing Cowboy football.
There were many different culprits in the sudden resurgence of identity within this team in the second half.
Svoboda and his backfield running mate Scott may be at the top of this list. Both were responsible for a fourth down conversion into a touchdown that gave the Cowboys their first score in the third quarter. Scott, as he did many times all night, threw his body on the line to clear a path for Svoboda to make it into the end zone.
Those two finished with a combined 167 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. Not only that, but Svoboda had his best game passing the ball since commandeering the Pokes’ offense, going 15/21 for 165 yards.
“You take a look at Sam Scott and how he hit holes, and how he got downhill in the run game,” Sawvel said. “How Evan [Svoboda] got downhill in the run game, you know. We were 7/14 on third down and 2/2 on fourth down. You know, those were all things that I thought were great for us.”
Durr Jr. finally had the breakout game many were expecting the talented freshman to have at some point this season, as he had an impactful three catches for 71 yards, leading the Cowboys in receiving yards on the night.
“Everyone’s heard of Chris [Durr Jr] and what he’s done in practice, and tonight you got to see,” Gyllenborg said of the young receiver. “He’s just a playmaker. He’s young and confident, and just goes out and makes plays.”
Even backup quarterback Kaden Anderson saw some of the limelight, as he was called into action on a huge 3rd and 4 play in the fourth quarter, with the Cowboys’ then 24-19 lead hanging in the balance. Anderson would find a streaking Durr Jr. down midfield, taking a shot from a Falcon defender as he released the ball and converted on a third down that likely won the Pokes’ the game, as they’d score with little over two minutes left in the game on the same drive to seal the deal with a 31-19 win.
“For him to come in and step up and, you know, stand in the pocket, make that play and take a hit, that’s unbelievable,” Svoboda said of Anderson’s big play.
The Cowboy defense, amongst a host of different injuries at multiple positions, finally found a way to stop the Falcons’ deadly triple option offense that wore them down in the first half. After ending that first half with 217 yards, the Falcons’ were only able to tack on 21 yards during the whole duration of the second half.
“We just knew going into halftime that we’re gonna have to come out with a lot of energy and play passionate,” Connor Shay, senior linebacker, said. “We knew we needed to get a three and out to start the second half [and] that’s what we did.
Things may not have been pretty leading up to the Cowboys’ first win in the Sawvel era, but not once has this team divided amongst themselves. Not once has a single finger been pointed and not once has anyone on this team given up hope in one another.
Now we’re starting to see all that pay off.
“The team just needed it because they needed a reward for how hard they’ve worked,” Sawvel said. “There’s not been a day since this season started where I’ve been concerned about the fact that we’ve stopped improving, or that we came to practice today and went through the motions.”
The Cowboys may still be 1-4 on the season, but they are 1-0 in Mountain West conference play. And right now for them, that’s all that matters.
