Air Force Takes on Utah in MWC Football Action
9/23/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 23, 2002
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Q-How many wins will the Falcons finish with this season?
THE RECORDS: Air Force is 3-0 overall and 1-0 in the Mountain West Conference. Utah is 2-2 overall. This week is the conference opener for Utah.
TELEVISION: ESPN Regional. Gary Bender (play-by-play), JC Pearson (color) and Beth Mowins (sidelines) will call the action. The game will be shown locally on KXTU-UPN 57 (channel 7 on Adelphia cable) in Colorado Springs.
RADIO: Locally on KVOR AM 740 in Colorado Springs and AM 950 The Fan in Denver. Jim Arthur (play-by-play), Irv Brown (color) and Ben Martin (color) call the action. They are joined by KVOR's Jay Ritchie for the pre- and post-game shows.
LAST WEEK: Air Force defeated 23rd-ranked Cal, 23-21, in Berkeley. Utah lost 10-7 at No. 14 Michigan.
STREAKS: Air Force has won four consecutive games dating back to last season. The Falcons have won two straight conference games dating back to last year. Utah has lost two straight overall. The Utes have lost two consecutive conference games dating back to last season.
NEXT WEEK: Air Force opens Big October. The Falcons host the first of four home games in the month of October with Navy coming to Falcon Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 5. The game starts at 1 p.m. and will not be televised. Utah has an open week.
THE SERIES: Air Force leads the series 12-6 overall. The Falcons are 7-2 at home and 5-4 in Salt Lake City. AFA holds an 11-5 edge in conference games.
THE LAST MEETING: Air Force won a thriller, 38-37, in Falcon Stadium on Dec. 1, 2001.
THE COACHES: Air Force is coached by Fisher DeBerry (Wofford, 1960), who is in his 19th season. He has a 144-78-1 career record at the Academy. Utah is coached by Ron McBride (San Jose State, 1964), who is in his 12th season. McBride has led the Utes to an 85-59 career record.
AIR FORCE TRAVEL PLANS: Air Force will depart Colorado Springs via charter aircraft on Friday, Sept. 27. The team will headquarter at the Marriott City Center in Salt Lake City. Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations Troy Garnhart may be reached on Friday at (801) 961-8700 or by cell phone at (719) 440-6134.
THE AIR FORCE / UTAH SERIES: Air Force and Utah meet for the 19th time. The Falcons lead the series 12-6 overall and 11-5 in conference games. Air Force is 7-2 at home and 5-4 in Utah. The teams first played Nov. 16, 1957, in Utah. The Utes won the game, 34-0. Following Utah's opening win in 1957, the Falcons won nine of the next 10 games. Utah had won four of the last six since 1991 until last season when Air Force won a thriller in Falcon Stadium, 38-37. A closer look at the series follows:
STATISTICS COMPARISON: Air Force and Utah are among the elite in the Mountain West Conference in several statistical categories. The most interesting contrast is that Air Force leads the nation in rushing with a 344.0 average per game. The Utes lead the conference and rank seventh nationally in rushing defense, allowing just 72.0 yards per game. The Utes also like to run the football and rank fourth in the league with a 178.2 average. Air Force is second in the league in rushing defense allowing 103 yards per game. Utah and Air Force are the top two scoring defensive units in the MWC. Utah leads the MWC and ranks eighth nationally allowing just 12.2 points per game. AFA is second and 32nd, respectively, with an 18.3 norm. Air Force leads the league and is 31st nationally in total defense (306.0) while Utah is third and 47th, respectively, with a 334.2 norm.
LAST YEAR VS. UTAH: Air Force and Utah played a thriller in Falcon Stadium in the final regular season game of the year Dec. 1. The Falcons entered the game without 12 players due to suspensions for a violation of team rules. Among those not on the field included five starters and 11 players who played significantly. In what would be a game that gave the Falcons momentum entering the 2002 season, Air Force defeated the Utes 38-37. The teams exhanced a pair of first quarter touchdowns before Air Force took the momentum in the second quarter. Keith Boyea scored on a short run and Brooks Walters kicked a 45 yard field goal late in the second quarter to give the Falcons a 24-14 halftime lead. Air Force opened the second half with another Boyea TD run to take a 31-14 lead. The Utes then exploded with 23 unanswered points to take a 37-31 lead with 4:49 remaining in the game. Air Force then got on the board when Boyea hit Kevin Runyon with a 19 yard TD pass to give AFA a 38-37 lead with 4:25 remaining. Linebacker Marchello Graddy set up the offense with an interception at the Utah 16. Utah's final chance fell short on the game's final play. On third-and-10 from the Air Force 12, quarterback Lance Rice rolled out of the pocket and was caught from behind by Anthony Schlegel and tackled on the Air Force four yardline as time expired. Boyea led the offense with 110 yards and two touchdowns. Defensively, Larry Duncan led the team with a career-high 16 tackles. Schlegel and fellow freshman Mark Marsh each added 11 tackles. Schlegel was named the conference's defensive player of the week for his performance. Utah was led by Dameon Hunter, who rushed for 226 yards and two touchdowns. Adam Tate added 140 yards and two touchdowns while Rice was 12 of 22 passing for 161 yards.
THE LAST TIME AT UTAH: Air Force used the forward pass as its main weapon to defeat Utah, 23-14, in Salt Lake City. The pair of quarterback Mike Thiessen and receiver Ryan Fleming hooked up three times, including a 45-yard touchdown, to lead the Falcons. The pair got off to a quick start, connecting on a 50-yard toss on Air Force's first play to set up a Scotty McKay 15-yard TD run and a 7-0 lead. Following an Adam Tate TD run, Dave Adams hit a 37-yard field goal to give AFA the lead for good, 10-7. Fleming and Thiessen then connected on their 45-yard scoring strike to give AFA a 17-7 lead. The Utes responded with a 98-yard kickoff return for a TD by Patrick Dyson to cut the lead to 17-14 at halftime. The second half belonged to the Falcon defense for the second consecutive week. The team shutout the Utes. The only offense needed was a Thiessen to Chris Jessop 19-yard TD pass to make up the final margin. Thiessen finished the game with 149 yards passing on five of 11 throwing. Fleming caught three passes for 128 yards while McKay added a team-high 63 yards rushing. The defense was led by Corey Nelson's career-best 11 tackles and quarterback sack. Nelson also teamed with Justin Pendry to record the team's first block of the season on a field goal attempt. Tony Metters added a blocked punt later. Darnell Arceneaux led Utah with 195 yards passing. Tate added 112 yards rushing.
AIR FORCE LAST WEEK: Air Force used a tough defense and a determined second-half offense to defeat California, 23-21, in Berkeley. The defense held Cal, who entered the game ranked second nationally in scoring with a 50.0 average, to just five field goals until the game's final drive. Then the defense stepped up again as Jeff Overstreet knocked away a two-point conversion pass to secure the win. The team's exchanged first quarter field goals and Cal's Mark Jensen added two more in the second quarter as the Bears took a 9-3 halftime lead. Chance Harridge then took over in the second half. Harridge led the Falcons to touchdowns on all three second half drives. He capped all three drives with touchdown runs of six, one and 13 yards. His second TD gave AFA its first lead of the game, 16-15, with 7:16 remaining in the game. His final TD run gave the team a 23-15 lead with 1:59 left. Cal's Kyle Boller then pulled the Bears to within two with a 17-yard TD pass with 31 seconds remaining. Following Overstreets heroics, Tom Heier recovered Cal's on-side kick to secure the win. Harridge finished the game with a career-high 124 yards on 25 carries. He also hit three of seven passes for 22 yards. The fullback game was also solid for Air Force as Steve Massie and Adam Cole combined for 139 yards rushing. Air Force finished the game with 295 yards on the ground and 317 total. Cal finished with 335 total yards. Boller led the Bears with 216 yards passing. Defensively, Air Force held Cal to just three field goals and a touchdown in five trips inside the red zone. Larry Duncan led the way with seven tackles, while Wes Crawley chipped in with three tackles, an interception and three other pass breakups.
FALCONS IN NON-CONFERENCE GAMES: Air Force is 21-4 in its last 25 non-conference games dating back to 1997. Two of the losses have come at the hands of nationally-ranked teams. Air Force fell to eighth-ranked Notre Dame, 34-31, in overtime in 1999 and last season to third-ranked Oklahoma, 44-3, in Falcon Stadium. AFA head coach Fisher DeBerry is 58-26 during his career in non-conference games.
3-0 START A SIGN OF GOOD THINGS: This season marks the seventh time in the Fisher DeBerry era that the Falcons have opened the season 3-0. In the previous six seasons, Air Force has averaged 10 wins per season and gone to a post-season bowl game every year. This is the team's first 3-0 start since 2000.
ROAD WARRIORS: Despite a 2-4 road record last season, Air Force has been a tough out on the road recently. The Falcons are 31-18 in the last 49 road games, including bowls, since 1994. Air Force is 21-12 in the last 33 regular season conference road games. AFA has won 19 of the last 30 games on the road dating back to 1997.
COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF'S TROPHY: This season marks the 32nd year of Commander-in-Chief's Trophy competition between Air Force, Army and Navy. Air Force has dominated the competition, with 15 trophy titles. Army has won it six times and Navy five. The Falcons have a 41-19-0 all-time CIC record and have won 10 consecutive games. This year's senior class at Air Force is 6-0 in CIC games and is attempting to become the fourth class overall and third consecutive (1992, 2000, 2001) in school history never to fall to Army or Navy. Last season, the Falcons defeated Navy, 24-18, at FedEx Field in Landover, Md., and beat Army, 34-24, in Falcon Stadium to secure the title for the fifth consecutive year. Fisher DeBerry has led the Falcons to 13 of the 15 titles and has a 30-6 CIC record. The Falcons have been in possession of the Trophy for all but one year (Army, 1996) since 1989.
AIR FORCE 13TH NATIONALLY SINCE 1997: Air Force ranks second in the Mountain West Conference and 12th nationally since 1997 in total wins. The Falcons have a 46-18 record (.719). During the last five-plus years, Air Force has posted seasons with nine (2000), 10 (1997) and 12 (1998) wins. Air Force posted the first back-to-back 10-win seasons in program history in 1997-98 with 10 and 12 wins, respectively.
REBOUNDING: Air Force has never had back-to-back non-winning seasons in the Fisher DeBerry era (1984-present). In fact, the Falcons have rebounded strongly following down seasons under DeBerry. The Falcons have averaged eight wins a year following a down year. The Falcons followed up a 5-7 year in 1988 with an 8-4-1 mark in 1989. The team then followed a 4-8 mark in 1993 with an 8-4 record in 1994. Last year, the Falcons finished the season 6-6 which is just the third non-winning season under DeBerry.
SCORING BIG: Air Force's offense has been high-powered the last three years since Chuck Petersen took over as offensive coordinator. The Falcons closed the 2000 season with five consecutive 30-point scoring efforts and had eight games of 30 or more overall. Last season, the string continued with seven games of 30 points or more. The offense is off and running this season with games of 52 and 38 points so far. Petersen has led the Falcons to 17 30-plus scoring efforts in his 27 games as offensive coordinator.
EIGHT AND COUNTING: Air Force has posted eight consecutive seasons at .500 or better. Air Force's last losing season was in 1993 when the team went 4-8. During the last eight years, Air Force has averaged 8.1 wins per season and has a .676 winning percentage. The school is 67-32 overall.
DEFENSE MUCH IMPROVED: The new Air Force defensive system (3-3-5) has paid off big for the Falcons. The unit is much improved this season over 2001. The most important category is scoring defense. AFA allowed 32.2 points per game last year. This year, opponents are scoring just 18.3 per contest. Air Force gave up an average of 452.7 yards per game last year. This season, that figure stands at 306.0. The other big difference is that the team gets big plays from different people each game. Seven tackles seperate the top nine tacklers on this season team. Sophomore Anthony Schlegel leads the team with 17 total. Junior Larry Duncan ranks tied for eighth with 10. Nine different Falcons have tackles for loss. Senior Eric Thompson leads the way with four for 13 yards. Five different Falcons have combined for the team's six quarterback sacks. Finally, 10 different players have combined for AFA's 17 pass deflections. Juniors Jeff Overstreet and Duncan, along with senior Wes Crawley lead the team with three each.
BRING ON OVERTIME: Air Force has been very successful playing in overtime games since the format was added to college football in 1996. Air Force is 4-1 overall and 2-0 in Falcon Stadium during the extra period. The team is a perfect 3-0 in conference overtime games. All five games have been decided in the first extra period.
AIR FORCE LEADS THE NATION IN RUSHING: Air Force leads the nation in rushing again this week with a 344.0 per-game average. AFA won its 18th conference rushing title last season with a 273.2 per-game average. The Falcons ranked third nationally. Air Force has been one of the premier rushing teams in college football over the years. Since Fisher DeBerry took over in 1984, AFA has finished among the nation's top 10 17 times and the top five 14 times.
BLOCKED KICKS: Air Force is one of the premier kick-blocking teams in college football. The Falcons got the 2002 season off to a great start vs. Northwestern, recording their first block of the season when Nate Allen blocked a punt and recovered it in the end zone for his first-career touchdown. Eric Thompson notched the team's second block on the year against Cal when he blocked a field goal attempt. Air Force has blocked 77 kicks since 1990 which ranks second nationally to Virginia Tech, who has 80. During the 1990s, Virginia Tech led the nation with 62 while Air Force was second with 59. AFA has blocked at least three kicks in 12 consecutive years.
HARRIDGE / THOMPSON EARN PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS: Air Force quarterback Chance Harridge and defensive end Eric Thompson were named offensive and special teams players of the week, respectively, for their efforts vs. California last week. Harridge recorded career highs of 124 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 25 carries. He led the Falcons to touchdowns on all three second half drives. Thompson recorded the first block of his career when he knocked away a second quarter field goal attempt. The block provided the difference in AFA's 23-21 win.
LIGHTS IN FALCON STADIUM: Permanent lights were installed in Falcon Stadium in August. Musco Lighting from Oskaloosa, Iowa, installed the lights at a cost of $497,140. Air Force Academy Athletic Association funds, not taxpayers, were used. The project includes 168 lighting fixtures at 2000 watts each. The total wattage of the project is 386,400. Approximately five miles of electrical cable and wire were utilized in the project. The operating cost to run the lights is $19.92 per hour. The Academy used to spend between $50,000 and $60,000 per week to rent lights.
FULLBACK RUSHING GAME: Air Force is tough to beat when the fullback rushing game is working. Air Force is 33-7 since 1990 when the position rushes for 100 or more yards. The fullbacks rushed for a season-high 139 yards at California in Air Force's 23-21 win. Steve Massie and Adam Cole each had their best days as Falcons. Massie rushed for a career-high 76 yards on 12 carries and had a career-long 45 yard run. Cole added a career-best 63 yards and a career-long 40 yard run. Cole entered the game with one carry for two yards on the year.
PALMER WINS MR. INTENSITY AWARD: Senior Leotis Palmer won the team's Mr. Intensity Award which annually goes to the player that worked the hardest in the weight room during the off-season. Palmer recorded career bests in bench press (380), squat (500) and strength index (782). His strength index is the third highest ever at the Academy. Palmer also set a new team record with a 42-inch vertical jump.
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