Warzeka's return squashes Houston's hopes

FORT WORTH, Texas • As Air Force’s Jonathan Warzeka caught the kickoff at the goal line, he couldn’t see Asher Clark telling him to down the ball.

That’s a good thing.

Warzeka’s third quarter 100-yard kickoff return ended a brief Houston rally and served as an instant counterpunch to Tyron Carrier’s 79-yard TD return.

When Warzeka returned to the Air Force sideline, assistant coach Jemal Singleton told him, “We wanted you to take a knee.”

But no one was complaining.

“We’ll take those six points,” Warzeka said.

As Warzeka’s return began, the Falcons were trying to regroup from Carrier’s return, which opened the second half.  Carrier sprinted untouched to the end zone and gave the Cougars a brief moment of hope. The Cougars trailed, 24-13.

The kick pushed Warzeka just inside the end zone, but he had already decided to attack the Cougars' coverage.

“As I was backpedaling,” Warzeka said, “I was saying to myself, ‘Let’s make something out of nothing.’”

He ran up the middle, broke two tackles at around the 25 and then busted outside.

“I saw nothing but green,” Warzeka said.

Falcons safety Anthony Wright had sat down after Carrier’s return. He jumped to his feet when he saw Warzeka break into the clear.

“We got it back!” Wright shouted. “We got it back!”

High above the field, defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter was worried after Carrier’s return.

He leaped to his feet when Warzeka busted free.

“Counterpunch!” DeRuyter shouted as he slapped hands with fellow coaches.

It had been a long time since a Falcon scored on a kickoff. Scott Thomas ran a kick back against Utah in 1985.

Warzeka, who was born in the 1990s, smiled as he celebrated the end of a long streak.

It was nice, Warzeka said, to score one “in our era.”