Football Travels to Utah
9/18/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
Television: ABC Regional. Keith Jackson (play-by-play), Tim Brant
(analysis) and Todd Harris (sidelines).
Radio: KVOR AM 740 in Colorado Springs. Mike Nolan (play-by-play)
and former Air Force coach Ben Martin (analysis). Jim Arthur and Jay Ritchie
host the pre and post-game show.
Tale of the tape Category AFA Utah 2000 Record 2-0 0-3 Conference 1-0 0-0 Current Streak W 2 L 3 Last Week Idle L 21-38 vs. Washington State Next Week at UNLV at Utah State Head Coach Fisher DeBerry Ron McBride Alma Mater Wofford, 1960 San Jose State, 1964 Career Record 128-69-1 (17 yrs) 71-49 (11 years) School Record Same Same vs. Opponent 8-5 4-3 2000 Schedule / Results Date Air Force (2-0, 1-0) Date Utah (0-3) 9-2 Cal St. Northridge (SW) W 55-6 9-2 Arizona L 3-17 9-9 BYU* (SW) W 31-23 9-9 at California L 21-24 9-16 Open --- 9-16 Washington State L 21-38 9-23 at Utah*(ABC) 5 p.m. 9-23 Air Force* 5 p.m. 9-30 at UNLV*(ABC) 5 p.m. 9-30 at Utah State 3 p.m. 10-7 Navy (SW) 11 a.m. 10-7 Open --- 10-14 at Wyoming* TBA 10-14 at San Diego State* TBA 10-21 New Mexico*(SW) 10 a.m. 10-21 Colorado State* TBA 10-28 at Notre Dame (NBC) 11:30 a.m. 10-28 at New Mexico* 4 p.m. 11-4 at Army TBA 11-4 UNLV* TBA 11-11 Colorado St.* TBA 11-11 at Wyoming* TBA 11-18 San Diego St. (ERT)* 1 p.m. 11-24 Brigham Young* 4 p.m. * - Mountain West Conference game, All times Mountain
Air Force travel plans
Air Force is scheduled to depart Colorado Springs via charter
aircraft on
Friday, Sept. 22, at 10 a.m. and arrive in Salt Lake City, Utah, at
11:30
a.m. The team will headquarter at the Little America Hotel and
Towers (801)
263-6781. Air Force will depart for Colorado Springs via charter
aircraft
following the game.
Injury Report
HB Tom Heier (knee) and OLB Matt McCraney (knee) are out.
Series history
AFA makes first trip to Rice-Eccles Stadium since
1995
Air Force and Utah meet for the 17th time overall and 15th time as
conference foes. Air Force leads the overall series, 10-6, and has a
9-5
conference mark. The Falcons are 6-2 at home and 4-4 at Utah. The
Utes have
won four of the last five games, including last year's 21-15 win in
Falcon
Stadium. AFA's only win in the last five games was a 40-33 victory
in Falcon
Stadium in 1994.
This week will be Air Force's first trip to Rice-Eccles Stadium since the 1995 nightmare. That year, the Utes scored 15 points in 10 seconds to stun Air Force, 22-21. Trailing 21-7, quarterback Mike Fouts hit Rocky Henry with a 17-yard scoring toss, followed by a two-point conversion to cut the lead to 21-15. Following an onside kick that bounced off two Falcons, the Utes recovered at midfield. Fouts then tossed a 50-yard pass to Kevin Dyson for a 22-21 lead.
Series Quick FactsLast year
Overall: Air Force 10-6 Conference: Air Force 9-5 First Meeting: Nov. 16, 1957 at Utah (Utah 34-0) Last Meeting: Oct. 16, 1999 at AFA (Utah 21-15) at Air Force: Air Force 6-2 at Utah: Tied 4-4 Neutral: none Longest AFA Streak: 7 games (1985-91) Longest Utah Streak: 2 games (1995, 99)
Air Force dominated every statistical category against Utah, except for the one that matters most -- points. The Utes used a 14-point explosion at the beginning of the second half to down Air Force 21-15 in Falcon Stadium. Jackson Whiting put the Falcons on the board with a 35-yard field goal to give AFA a 3-0 halftime lead. The second half began with an AFA fumble that resulted in a Steve Smith 13-yard TD pass from Darnell Arceneaux to make it 7-3. Smith then put the Utes ahead 14-3 with a 61-yard punt return for a TD. Whiting cut the lead to 14-6 with a 28-yard fiel goal, before Smith struck again on a 21-yard TD reception to give Utah a 21-6 lead. Mike Thiessen hit Ryan Fleming with a 24-yard TD pass and Whiting hit his third field goal to make up the final margin. AFA out-gained Utah 407-213 and had a 33:15 to 26:45 edge in time of possession. Halfback Scotty McKay led the Falcons with 99 yards on 14 carries. Thiessen added 90 yards rushing and 132 yards passing.
Last game
Air Force made BYU head coach LaVell Edwards' last trip to Falcon
Stadium
one he'd like to forget. The Falcons used the pass, not the run, to
beat the
Cougars, 31-23, in the Mountain West Conference opener for both
schools.
Quarterback Mike Thiessen proved he's an all-around talent, throwing
for a
career-high 203 yards on 11 of 16 passing for a school-record-tying
four
touchdowns. After an Owen Pochman field goal to give BYU a 3-0 lead,
Thiessen hit Qualario Brown for 13 yards to give AFA a 7-3 lead. The
Cougars
answered when Luke Staley went 13 yards on the ground to give BYU a
10-7
lead to close the first quarter. Thiessen answered with a
career-long
53-yarder to Ryan Fleming to put AFA in front 14-10. The
back-and-forth
affair continued with the Cougars scoring 10 unanswered points to
take a
20-14 lead. AFA closed the half with Thiessen's second scoring
connection to
Fleming, a 20-yarder, to give AFA a 21-20 halftime advantage.
The second half was all Falcons. Thiessen and Brown hooked up for
the second
time on a 25-yard pass to give AFA a 28-20 lead. Pochman hit a
43-yard field
goal midway through the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 28-23, but
that
was all the Cougars could get. BYU returner Mike Rigell fumbled a
Dallas
Thompson punt that Fleming recovered to set up a Dave Adams 35-yard
field
goal to give AFA a 31-23 lead. Defensive back Kurt Duffy sealed the
win for
AFA with an interception on the following possession.
Additional game notes:
Air Force in the national statistics
Air Force leads the nation in total offense this week with a 543.5
average.
The Falcons are second in rushing behind Nebraska with a 384.3 norm.
Perhaps
the most key national ranking is in turnover margin where the
Falcons rank
third with a +2.50 average per game. The one statistic that looks
out of
place is Air Force's national ranking in passing efficiency. The
Falcons are
sixth this week with a team ranking of 166.41.
Air Force best in the Mountain West
Air Force has posted a 30-9 record since 1997 to lead teams in the
Mountain
West Conference in wins. The Falcons posted the school's first
back-to-back
10-win seasons in 1997 (10-3) and 1998 (12-1). A closer look at MWC
team's
wins since 1997 follow:
# Team Wins
1. Air Force 30
2. Colorado State 29
3. BYU 24
4. Wyoming 23
5. Utah 22
6. San Diego State 17
New Mexico 17
8. UNLV 7
Blocked kicks
Air Force blocked eight kicks last season which is the second most
in a
single season in school history. AFA has blocked at least three
kicks in 10
consecutive years. Corey Nelson led the team with 4.5 blocks to
record the
second most in a single season in school history. His 4.5 blocks are
the
most since Tim Curry set the record of five in 1997. Nelson has 5.5
career
blocks which ranks third in AFA history.
AFA blocked 59 kicks in the 1990s to rank second nationally to
Virginia
Tech, who blocked 63.
Year Total Year Total Individual Career Blocks 2000 0 1994 5 # Name, Yrs Blocks 1999 8 1993 5 1. Tim Curry, '96-98 9 1998 7 1992 8 2. Carlton McDonald, '89-92 8 1997 11* 1991 3 3. Corey Nelson, '98-00 5.5 1996 4 1990 5 1995 3 * - School record
AFA and conference rushing titles Air Force is well on its way to a 17th conference rushing title. The Falcons lead the Mountain West in rushing with a 543.5 average. Last season, AFA won its 16th conference rushing title with a 285.5 average. Head coach Fisher DeBerry has led Air Force to 15 of the titles. Since DeBerry took over in 1984, AFA has ranked among the nation's top 10 15 times and the top five 11 times. AFA's worst national ranking under DeBerry is 15th which came in 1986. A closer look at the Falcons' rushing numbers under Fisher DeBerry follows:
Year Stats Conf. National 1984 326.5 1st 2nd 1985 293.2 1st 6th 1986 232.6 1st 15th 1987 386.3 1st 2nd 1988 377.5 1st 2nd 1989 356.0 1st 3rd 1990 267.5 1st 7th 1991 338.1 1st 2nd 1992 242.4 2nd 7th 1993 284.9 1st 4th 1994 304.8 1st 2nd 1995 332.4 1st 2nd 1996 328.9 1st 2nd 1997 332.7 2nd 9th 1998 266.8 1st 3rd 1999 285.5 1st 2nd 2000 384.5 1st 2nd
Looking to bounce back -- again
Since Fisher DeBerry took over in 1984 as head coach, Air Force has
enjoyed
tremendous success. The Falcons have had very few disappointing
seasons, but
when they have, the team has always bounced back with a solid
season. The
Falcons look to do the same this season after a disappointing 6-5
campaign
last year. In the DeBerry era, Air Force has averaged a 3.5-win
improvement
the year following a down season. The biggest turnaround came in
1994 when
AFA had the biggest improvement in the nation. AFA went 8-4 after a
4-8
season in 1993.
Year Record Next 1986 6-5 9-4 in 1987 1988 5-7 8-4-1 in 1989 1993 4-8 8-4 in 1994 1996 6-5 10-3 in 1997 1999 6-5 2-0Road warriors
Air Force has been dominant on the road the last several years. The Falcons are 24-11 in their last 35 regular season road games. Air Force is 17-8 in the last 25 regular season conference road games. AFA has won 12 of the last 17 road games dating back to 1997. A closer look at AFA's road success follows:
Year Record 1999 3-2 1998 5-1 1997 4-1 1996 3-3 1995 4-2 1994 5-1
Air Force following an open week
The Falcons are 11-10-1 under Fisher DeBerry following a open week.
AFA is
4-3 at home, 6-7-1 on the road and 1-0 in neutral site games. AFA
was 1-1
last year following open weeks and have won three of the last four
after an
open week. The only loss was a 27-20 setback at BYU.
The most important defense
Air Force leads the MWC in the most important defensive statistic --
scoring
defense. The Falcons have allowed just 14.5 points per game after
two
outings. The Falcons are looking to win their third conference
scoring
defense title in the last four years in 2000. Air Force won the
conference
title in 1997 with a 12.4 average which ranked third nationally
behind
Michigan and Ohio State. AFA won the title in 1998 with a 13.3
average to
rank sixth nationally. Last year, Air Force finished second in the
Mountain
West behind Utah with a 19.8 average to rank 26th nationally.
Since 1997, the Falcons have allowed just 15.05 points per game (557
total)
in their last 37 regular season games. The team has posted four
shutouts and
only allowed 30 points or more twice (35 at TCU in 1998 and 33 at
New Mexico
in 1999).
Vintage Air Force football
The first two games of the 2000 season have been vintage Air Force
football.
The Falcons have dominated two of what coach Fisher DeBerry says are
the
most important statistics -- time of possession and turnovers. Air
Force has
run 36 more plays and had the ball nearly 17 minutes longer than its
opponents the first two games. The Falcons have also forced six
turnovers
and have a +5 turnover ratio on the year.
Air Force among best nationally in the 1990s
Air Force ranked 25th nationally in wins during the 1990s. The
Falcons were
one of four teams from the MWC to rank in the top 30. BYU led the
MWC with
an 88-39-2 (.685) record, while AFA was 25th at 72-40-2 (.639).
Colorado
State ranked 28th with a 74-46-0 (.617) mark and Utah 30th with a
71-46-0
(.607) record. Florida State was the winningest program in the 1990s
with a
109-13-0 (.893) mark. Nebraska was second (108-16-1, .888) and
Florida third
(102-22-0, .823).
Halfback Scotty McKay on preseason Doak Walker list
Senior halfback Scotty McKay is one of 35 pre-season cadidates for
the 2000
Doak Walker Award, given annually to the nation's top running back.
McKay
got his season off to a solid start against Cal State Northridge
despite
limited duty because of a broken thumb. The Santa Clara, Calif.,
native
rushed for 30 yards, had seven yards receiving and 45 yards on three
punt
returns, including a career-long 28-yard return.
Against BYU, McKay was limited to just playing halfback due to the
broken
thumb. He finished the game with 19 yards on seven carries. For the
season,
McKay has 101 all-purpose yards on 17 touches and is averaging 5.9
yards per
touch.
Quarterback Mike Thiessen named MWC player of the week vs. BYU
Add the name Mike Thiessen to the list of great option quarterbacks
in Air
Force history. The senior from Modesto, Calif., is off to a great
start in
2000. After a 101-yard rushing performance against Cal State
Northridge,
Thiessen helped beat BYU with his passing ability. Thiessen threw
for a
career-high 203 yards and tied the school record with four touchdown
passes.
He is the only quarterback in the option era (1980) to throw for
four TDs.
His 203 yards passing are the best since Dee Dowis set the option
era record
with 306 yards vs. Notre Dame in 1989. Thiessen was named Mountain
West
Conference offensive player of the week for his efforts against the
Cougars.
Last season, Thiessen finished third in the conference and second
nationally
among quarterbacks in rushing with a 91.9 average. He needs just 58
yards to
reach the 1,000-yard mark for his career. A closer look at
Thiessen's
100-yard efforts follows:
Rushing Passing
Yr. Opponent Stats Yr. Opponent Stats
Att-Yds-Td-Lg C-A-Int-Yds-TD
1999 San Diego State 29-138-2-23 1999 Utah 9-18-1-132-1
Navy 18-108-1-53 BYU 7-16-1-109-0
New Mexico 20-142-3-28 New Mexico 9-16-1-140-1
2000 CS Northridge 10-101-1-34 2000 BYU 11-16-0-203-4
Kicker Dave Adams
After being the long field goal specialist for two years, senior
Dave Adams
has taken over the load this season. The Fort Lauderdale, Fla.,
native is
off to a solid start this season. Adams has hit three of five field
goals
and is among the MWC leaders with 1.50 field goals per game.
Adams has nailed kicks of 27, 45 and 35 yards and missed from 41 and
39
yards. He is also perfect on nine extra point attempts and is AFA's
leading
scorer with 18 points on the season. Adams is now 10-15 for his
career in
field goals and has three 50-plus efforts, including a career-long
53-yard
effort vs. SMU in 1998. A closer look at Adams' career statistics
follows:
Distance Adams Under 30 Yards 1-1 30-39 Yards 1-2 40-49 Yards 5-8 50-Plus Yards 3-4 Total 10-15
Fullback rushing game
Air Force is tough to beat when the fullback rushing game is
working. Air
Force is 30-6 since 1990 when the fullback position rushes for 100
or more
yards. The team has won its last nine games when the fullback
reaches the
century mark dating back to a 1995 loss to Notre Dame. Against Cal
State
Northridge, the fullbacks gained 245 combined yards which is the
most since
the statistic has been recorded. The previous best was a 180-yard
effort
against Hawaii in 1990.
Opening the MWC record books
Air Force set six Mountain West Conference team records in its
season
opening 55-6 win over Cal State Northrdige. The Falcons' 38 first
downs, 94
offensive plays, 30 rushing first downs, 698 total yards, 583
rushing yards
and 49-point victory margin are all new MWC records.
Three go for a grand
Three Falcons are nearing the 1,000-yard mark for their careers.
Senior's
Qualario Brown, Scotty McKay and Mike Thiessen are all within 100
yards of
the century mark. Air Force has had 24 players rush for 1,000 yards
during
their careers. Brown and McKay are reaching rare numbers for
halfbacks. Only
two halfbacks in the option era have rushed for 1,000 career yards.
They are
Greg Johnson (1986-89) with 1,993 yards and Jake Campbell (1993-95)
with
1,478 yards. A closer look at each player and the career rushing
list at Air
Force follows:
# Player, Yrs Yards 21. Blane Morgan, '96-98 1,129 22. Curtis Martin, '68-70 1,091 23. Bill Berry, '71-73 1,074 24. Joel Carlson, '70-72 1,005 25. Scotty McKay, '98-00 973 26. Mike Thiessen, '98-00 942 27. Qualario Brown, '97-00 846
Hildebrand chasing knockdown record
Senior offensive guard David Hildebrand is chasing Air Force's
career
knockdown block record. The Houston, Texas, native ranks eighth in
AFA
history with 447 career knockdowns. Hildebrand recorded 14
knockdowns
against Cal State Northridge and 20 vs. BYU. He needs 197 more
knockdowns
this season to reach all-time leader Frank Mindrup (1996-98), who
had 642.
Award winners
Honors won by Air Force players for the 2000 season follow below:
Scotty McKay -- Preseason Doak Walker Award list (nation's top
running back)
Dallas Thompson -- MWC special teams player of the week vs. Cal
State
Northridge
Mike Thiessen -- MWC offensive player of the week vs. BYU
Air Force Head Coach Fisher DeBerry
Faith, family and the Falcons!
Nothing is more important to Fisher DeBerry, who is in his 17th
season as
the head football coach at Air Force. As successful as he is
colorful and
charitable, the 62-year-old DeBerry has become as much a part of the
AFA
landscape as Falcon Stadium and the Cadet Chapel.
DeBerry has guided the Falcons to 14 winning seasons since taking over in 1984. He's guided the Academy to three conference championships. Air Force won the Western Athletic Conference title in 1985 and again in 1995. In 1998, DeBerry guided the team to its first out-right title and a championship game win over Brigham Young. His 1998 team matched the school record with a 12-1 season while earning him his third coach of the year award.
The Cheraw, S.C., native has done it all at Air Force. He is the winningest coach in school history with a 128-69-1 mark. He stands second in Mountain West Conference history in career wins with 77, trailing only close friend LaVell Edwards of BYU. He has also beaten Notre Dame three times, including a 20-17 overtime thriller in South Bend in 1996.
DeBerry has dominated service academy football. Last season, DeBerry became the winningest coach in service academy football history when AFA knocked of Washington in Seattle. He is an amazing 26-6 against Army and Navy in his career and has led the Academy to 11 of its 13 Commander-in-Chief's trophy titles.
DeBerry has also launched the careers of several other collegiate football head coaches. Navy's Charlie Weatherbie, Ohio's Jim Grobe, East Tennessee's Paul Hamilton and Cal McCombs of Virginia Military Institute were all assistants at Air Force for DeBerry.
DeBerry is a 1960 graduate of Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C., where he lettered in football and baseball. After six years of coaching and teaching in the South Carolina high school ranks, DeBerry returned to Wofford, where he stayed two years as an assistant when the school won 21 consecutive games and was ranked No. 1 nationally. It was during a nine-year stop at Appalachian State in Boone, S.C., where his work with the option offense began to blossom. Three times (1975, '78, '79) Appalachian State ranked in the top 10 nationally in either rushing, total or scoring offense under DeBerry.
Former Air Force head coach Ken Hatfield hired DeBerry in 1980 as the quarterbacks coach at Air Force. DeBerry was promoted to offensive coordinator in 1981. When Hatfield left Air Force after the 1983 season, DeBerry became the school's fifth head coach. During his inaugural news conference, DeBerry stated the team goals and they haven't changed since.
They are:
1 - win the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy
2 - win the conference and
3 - go to a bowl game.
Deeply religious, DeBerry and his wife, LuAnn are active in church, charity and community affairs. The coach gives motivational speeches to religious and corporate groups. DeBerry has strong ties to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and he and LuAnn have assisted fund-raising efforts for Easter Seals, the March of Dimes, the Salvation Army and the American Heart Assocation. He was also the 2000 chairperson for the city-wide Relay for Life sponsored by the American Cancer Society.
