Lightning may not strike twice in the same place, but no one ever said it couldn’t interrupt the same teams two years in a row.

San Diego State’s football game at Air Force last year began amid a huge downpour and high winds before being interrupted by lightning that caused a 98-minute delay.

But that was Colorado Springs, Colo., where extreme weather is, if not normal, at least not out of the ordinary.

SDSU and Air Force renewed acquaintances Friday night in “sunny” San Diego. Once again, the Mountain West game was played in rain and interrupted by lightning before the Aztecs posted a 21-17 win.


“What a coincidence that is,” said SDSU head coach Rocky Long, adding, “There’s someone else in charge of that beside anybody around here.”

It was the fifth straight victory of the season for SDSU (5-1, 2-0 MW), which defeated Air Force (2-4, 0-3) for the eighth straight time. The Aztecs, aiming for their ninth straight bowl appearance, now can become bowl eligible with their next win. They host winless San Jose State next week.

Once again, victory was in doubt for SDSU until the game’s final minutes. Asked about his team’s ability to grind out wins and how motivating that is for him and his team, Long said, “Well, it drives me crazy.”

The lightning delay didn’t help matters.


“It seemed like both teams were sick and tired of sitting in the locker room and wanted to go home,” Long said. “But I thought both teams played extremely hard. … That’s the kind of game you ought to get when you play an academy team.”

Weather you like it or not.

Rain was in Saturday’s forecast. Then it was supposed to arrive late Friday night. Then a cloud burst over SDCCU Stadium late in the first quarter, and a brief heavy rain sent many in the crowd scurrying for cover.

Things calmed down thereafter.


Or so everyone thought.

Officials halted the game and pulled the teams from the field when lightning struck near the stadium with 5:50 remaining in the third quarter and the Aztecs leading 14-9. A pouring rain soon followed and there were intermittent showers the remainder of the evening.

NCAA rules require a 30-minute delay whenever lightning strikes within eight miles of a venue. The clock is reset whenever another strike occurs. The clock was down to 10 minutes when another bolt came overhead. And another. And another.

At one point, Air Force players returned to the field and were about to warm up when they were pulled back again and the clock reset at 30 minutes. The Aztecs and Falcons finally did return to the field, warmed up for a few minutes and resumed the game about 9:30 p.m. after a 67-minute delay. Perhaps 500 people remained in the stands from an announced crowd of 25,326.


Last year’s lightning delay helped SDSU tremendously. The Aztecs were running in place in windy conditions on a flooded field when lightning struck. They returned to calm conditions and found their footing, with running back Rashaad Penny rushing for three touchdowns in a 28-24 win.

SDSU did not respond similarly this time around.

The Aztecs had first-and-10 at the Air Force 42-yard line when the game resumed, went three-and-out and didn’t do much thereafter.

They did manage a 29-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ryan Agnew to tight end Parker Houston that provided a 21-17 lead. Crucial to the scoring drive was a 32-yard scramble by Agnew and a 32-yard pass from Agnew to wide receiver Kobe Smith — both converting third-down situations.


“We were held in check for a lot of times and eventually we had to persevere and make a play,” said Agnew, who completed 9 of 25 passes for 213 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

The late touchdown came after Air Force went ahead 17-14 lead with 9:25 remaining when running back Ronald Cleveland scored on a 4-yard run and the Falcons passed for a two-point conversion.

The Falcons got the ball back for one more chance with less than four minutes left, but SDSU senior safety Parker Baldwin picked off a second-down pass to secure the victory.

“It was a huge play in the game,” Baldwin said. “It sealed the deal for us. I was just glad I bounced back from a play previously where I could have had an interception. I just kept playing hard. … Luckily, I got another chance and made up for that.”


To that point, the game’s biggest play had come just before halftime.

With eight seconds remaining in the second quarter, Air Force punter Charlie Scott dropped a poor snap, picked up the ball and saw SDSU’s Kaelin Himphill bearing down on him. Himphill blocked the punt, teammate Trenton Thompson gathered up the loose ball and ran 19 yards with it, carrying a Falcons player with him the final yard into the end zone.

The play provided the Aztecs with a 14-9 halftime lead.

“Obviously, you get a touchdown right before the half, especially on special teams, that’s a big momentum changer,” said SDSU linebacker Kyahva Tezino, who had a game-high 15 tackles for the Aztecs. “Now they have to start worrying about all phases of the game, even special teams, so that was real big.”


It was somewhat remarkable considering SDSU seemed bent on self destruction much of the first half. That, in itself, was in contrast to the way the game began for the Aztecs.

SDSU scored three plays and 71 seconds into the game, needing only a 6-yard run by Chase Jasmin, a 55-yard pass from Ryan Agnew to Fred Trevillion and a 4-yard run by Jasmin to make it 7-0.

It seemed too easy. And it was.

SDSU stumbled and bumbled through most of the remainder of the half.


All of the sudden the offense could barely make a first down (getting just one in four more first-quarter possessions).

The most embarrassing moment came with seven seconds remaining in the first quarter. That’s when Agnew dropped back on second-and-6 from his own 11-yard line, rolled right to avoid oncoming rushers, tripped over his own feet and fell into the end zone for a safety that made it 7-2.

Moments later, the clouds burst and drenching rain came for the first time.

While the rain subsided in the second quarter, a dark cloud remained over the Aztecs. SDSU finally sustained a drive when it got the ball in the second quarter, but couldn’t convert it into points.


The Aztecs had moved the ball to the Air Force 29-yard line — most of the yardage coming on a 24-yard reception by Tim Wilson Jr. — when Agnew dropped back and put a perfect pass into the arms of Trevillion — who dropped it.

Agnew aimed his next pass into the end zone as well. He had an SDSU receiver there somewhere, although he was surrounded by four or five Air Force players. The Falcons’ Jeremy Fejedelem intercepted it.

Air Force then moved the ball 80 yards over nine plays — benefitting from two SDSU offsides penalties — that took more than five minutes off the clock. Cleveland finished the drive when he took a pitch and scored from 12 yards out.

That gave Air Force a 9-7 lead with 5:13 remaining in the first half. SDSU moved the ball within field goal range for John Baron II on its next drive.


But Baron’s 44-yard try was wide right. It was a rare miss for the senior, who was 10-for-11 this year before the kick.

The SDSU defense had not allowed a run of more than 16 yards through its first five games this season, but the Aztecs watched Air Force bust off runs of 27 and 42 yards in the first two quarters. That accounted for nearly half of the Falcons’ 142 first-half rushing yards.

This was to be expected against an Air Force team that ranked 15th in the nation with 254.8 rushing yards a game. SDSU’s defense stiffened in the second half, limiting the Falcons to 214 yards rushing on 51 carries (4.2 ypc) for the game.

SDSU rushed for only 84 yards on 34 carries. Jasmin led the way, carrying 18 times for 70 yards. True freshman Jordan Byrd (six carries, 6 yards) and redshirt freshman Kaegun Williams (four carries, 6 yards) both struggled for yards while backing up Jasmin.


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kirk.kenney@sduniontribune.com / on Twitter: @sdutkirKDKenney

UPDATES:

9:35 p.m.: This story was updated when the game resumed.