LAS VEGAS — Liam Szarka keeps putting up ridiculous numbers. And the Air Force Falcons keep finding ways to squander them.
Air Force lost yet another fireworks show Saturday afternoon, this time in Sin City, as UNLV’s Anthony Colandrea ran in a 19-yard touchdown with 36 seconds left that sent the unbeaten Runnin’ Rebels to a 51-48 victory inside Allegiant Stadium.
The scoring run capped a brilliant day for the UNLV quarterback, who threw for 361 yards and one touchdown on 20-of-32 passing and also ran for 62 yards and a pair of TDs to lead the Runnin’ Rebels (6-0, 2-0 Mountain West) to a sixth straight win.
It also obscured yet another gaudy performance from Szarka, the sophomore who’s been on a tear in his first season as the Falcons’ starting quarterback, even as Air Force has fallen to 1-5 this season. The Grandview High product fell just short of topping 200 yards passing and 100 yards rushing for the fourth straight game, finishing with 175 yards and one TD on 10-of-17 passing to go along with 136 yards rushing and two TDs on 27 carries.
His last touchdown run, from 9 yards out, had the Falcons on the verge of ending a four-game losing streak, up 48-44 with 1:13 left in the game. Instead, on the ensuing series, Colandrea scrambled to his left and then ran untouched before knocking an Air Force defender into the end zone with him for the go-ahead score.
Szarka led the Falcons to the UNLV 23 on their final drive, but Jacob Medina missed a 40-yard field-goal attempt to end it. The loss drops Air Force to 1-5 overall and 0-4 in the Mountain West despite topping 30 points scored in all five of the Falcons’ losses.
Owen Allen ran the ball 17 times for 192 yards with two touchdowns for Air Force. Cade Harris also had two touchdown runs for the Falcons.
The teams combined for six lead changes and 42 points in the fourth quarter.
The Denver Post contributed to this report.
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