Air Force hosts Utah in final home game of 2006
11/12/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 12, 2006
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Air Force (4-5, 3-2 MWC) vs. Utah (6-4, 4-2 MWC) Saturday, Nov. 18, 5:30 p.m. Mountain, Falcon Stadium (46,692), USAFA, CO
Television - The mtn. James Bates (play-by-play), Todd Christensen (color) and Anne Marie Anderson (sidelines) will call the action. The mtn. is available on Comcast/Adelphia cable on channel 167 in Colorado Springs and Denver.
Radio - KVOR AM 740 in Colorado Springs and KLDC (800 AM) in Denver. KVOR's Jim Arthur (play-by-play) and News First 5/30's Lee Douglas (color) call the action. They are joined for the pre- and post-game shows by Jay Ritchie. The game is also available on SIRIUS satellite radio on channel 130.
Last Week - Air Force lost to #9/8 Notre Dame, 39-17, in Falcon Stadium. Utah defeated Colorado State, 35-22, in Salt Lake City, UT.
Next Week - Air Force travels to Las Vegas, Nev., to take on UNLV on Friday, Nov. 24, at 5 p.m. Mountain. The game will be televised by the mtn. Utah closes out the regular season by hosting BYU on Saturday, Nov. 25.
Last Meeting - Utah defeated Air Force, 38-35, last season in Salt Lake City.
Streaks - Air Force has a one-game losing streak. Utah has a two-game winning streak.
Rankings - Neither team is ranked.
Coaches - Air Force is coached by Fisher DeBerry (Wofford, 1960), who is in his 23rd season. DeBerry has guided the Falcons to a 169-106-1 career record. Utah is coached by Kyle Whittingham (BYU, 1984), who is in his second season. He has led the Utes to a 13-9 career record.
Key fact - Utah has won three straight in the series. The Utes' streak follows a three-game streak by Air Force from 2000-02. The winning team in the last five games in the series has scored 30 or more points. In four of the five games the winner has notched 35 or more points.
Did you know - This week is the final home game for 36 seniors at Air Force. The class is made up of 21 players and 15 managers. Fullback Jacobe Kendrick has played more games than anyone on the team. This week will be the 40th of his career. Offensive lineman Robert Kraay has the most career starts with 31. Kraay has started every game he's played at the Academy.
The series - Air Force and Utah meet for the 23rd time. The Falcons lead the series 13-9 overall and 12-8 in conference games. Air Force is 7-3 at home and 6-6 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 2000. The Falcons had a three-game winning streak snapped in 2003 when the Utes won a triple-overtime thriller at the Academy, 45-43. The Utes extended their streak to three games with a pair of wins in Salt Lake City the last two years. Recently the series has been marked by very close games. The three games from 2001-03 were decided by a combined seven points and eight of the last nine games have been decided by less than 10 points.
Last meeting - Utah took advantage of two Air Force miscues to come away with a 38-35 victory at home in front of a national television audience on ESPN. The game started like a shootout as the Falcons marched down the field on their opening drive to take a 7-0 lead behind a one-yard touchdown run by fullback Ryan Williams. The TD capped a six-play, 73-yard drive. Utah answered on its next drive when quarterback Brian Johnson capped an 11-play, 69-yard drive with his own one-yard TD run. Air Force opened the second quarter with another Williams one-yard TD run to take a 14-7 lead. Again, Utah answered on its next drive with another Johnson one-yard scoring run. It all started to come apart for Air Force after that. Utah blocked an AFA punt and scored on a six-play, 33-yard drive as Johnson added his third one-yard TD run to put the Utes in front 21-14. Following a fumble on the first play of Air Force's next drive, Johnson hit Travis Latendresse with a 12-yard TD pass on the first play to put Utah up 28-14. Air Force answered with a Greg Kirkwood 10-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 28-21, but the Utes added a late field goal to take a 31-21 halftime lead. Utah jumped the lead to 38-21 with its opening drive of the third quarter with a Johnson 60-yard touchdown pass to Brian Hernandez. The Falcon defense held the Utes scorelss the rest of the way and offense added two late touchdowns to make up the final margin. Backup quarterback Adam Fitch came in to enginner the drives. He hit Jason Brown with a 15-yard touchdown pass with 3:16 remaining to cut the lead to 38-28. Following a Utah punt, Fitch scored with 1:08 remaining on a four-yard run to make it 38-35. Air Force's onside kick attempt was recovered by Utah to end the game. Air Force finished with 485 total yards, including 251 rushing and 234 passing. Quarterback Shaun Carney hit nine of 16 passes for 145 yards while Fitch hit four of nine for 89 yards. Fullback Ryan Williams, who made the first start of his career, rushed for a then-career-high 68 yards to lead the Falcons. Fellow fullback Jacobe Kendrick added 43 yards on nine carries. Brown finished with a career-best nine catches for an Air Force option era record 184 yards receiving. The Falcon defense was led by Bobby Giannini, who recorded a career-high 14 tackles and had an interception. John Rabold chipped in with a career-best 13 tackles. Utah was led by Johnson, who hit 21 of 29 passes for 305 yards and two TDs. He also rushed for 39 yards on 14 carries. Quinton Ganther added 78 yards on 20 carries while Latendresse chipped in with 10 catches for 139 yards. The Utes had 457 total yards and held a 32:09 to 27:51 advantage in time of possession.
Last time in Falcon Stadium - Utah defeated Air Force, 45-43, in triple overtime in the longest game in school history. The first half belonged to the Utes, while the second half was Air Force's. Utah took a 17-7 halftime lead behind Ben Moa and Mike Liti touchdown runs as the Utes possessed the ball for 21:28 to Air Force's 8:32. Liti added another score in the third quarter to give the Utes a 23-7 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Air Force rallied behind a Darnell Stephens three-yard TD run to cut the lead to 23-13. Joey Ashcroft kicked a 45-yard field goal to cut the lead to 23-16 and Chance Harridge got the Falcons even at 23 with a two-yard TD run with 3:09 remaining. AFA had a chance to win it before overtime, but Ashcroft's career-long attempt of 50 yards was blocked. The team's exchanged scores until the third overtime when Anthony Butler scored, but AFA failed on its mandatory two-point conversion. The Utes answered with Moa's third touchdown of the game to tie it. Moa then hit Matt Hansen with a two-point conversion pass to win it. Alex Smith led Utah with 89 yards rushing. He also hit 22 of 32 passes for 297 yards as the Utes rolled up 459 total yards. Air Force was led by Harridge, who rushed for 83 yards and three touchdowns. AFA finished the game with 362 total yards.
Final home game for Air Force seniors - This week marks the final home game for 36 Air Force seniors. The class is made up of 21 players and 15 team managers. Fullback Jacobe Kendrick has the most career games played entering this week with 39. Offensive lineman Robert Kraay has the most career starts with 31. Kraay has started every game he's played at the Academy. Defensive back Chris Sutton is second in career starts with 28. He and Kraay are tied for second in games played with 31 each. The complete list of seniors follows: Players - Curtis Grantham (OL), Jared Baxley (LB), Chris Carp (P), Tom Crump (OL), Tyler Dohallow (OL), Justin Handley (HB), Chris Huckins (DB), Bryan Jones (DS), Joey Keller (LB), Jacobe Kendrick (FB), Robert Kraay (OL), Brad Meissen (DB), Gilberto Perez (DL), Stuart Perlow (OL), Kevin Quinn (DL), Zach Sasser (PK), Beau Suder (HB), Chris Sutton (DB), Grant Thomas (DL), Vic Thompson (WR), Adam Zanotti (DB).
Managers - Haseeb Ashraf, Mitchell Belger, Eric Brown, Lucas Ewing, Michael Gentry, Harrison Gipple, Daniel Helland, Matthew Huber, Chris Mayor, Rick Ricciardi, Jarod Silcox, Spencer Sligh (Head Manager), Matt Spakowski, Kyle Vaughn, Eric Weber.
Notre Dame recap - It didn't take Notre Dame long to jump on Air Force en route to a 39-17 Irish win in Falcon Stadium. Notre Dame took the opening drive and scored in just two plays. Quarterback Brady Quinn and Jeff Samardzija hooked up twice, the second time on a 51-yard touchdown strike to give the Irish a 7-0 lead. Following a three-and-out posssession by Air Force, the Irish hit again on a Quinn to John Carlson one-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-0 just over five minutes into the game. Air Force got on the board with a Zach Sasser field goal to cut the lead to 14-3. Notre Dame responsed with Quinn's third touchdown pass of the game to take a commanding 20-3 lead late in the first quarter. The turning point came in the second quarter when Air Force possessed the ball for all but 1:09 of the quarter, but went scoreless. Notre Dame scored on a Terrail Lambert 78-yard blocked field goal return to give the Irish a 27-3 halftime lead. Quinn added his fourth scoring toss midway through the third quarter to extend the lead to 33-3. Quarterback Shaun Carney and halfback Beau Suder finally got Air Force in the end zone on a 12-yard pass play to make it 33-10 at the end of the third quarter. Each team added touchdowns in the fourth quarter to make up the final margin. Air Force won the statistical battle, gaining 405 yards on 79 plays and holding a 38:35 to 21:25 advantage in time of possession. Notre Dame finished with 383 yards on just 46 plays, an average of 8.3 yards per play. Quinn finished the game hitting 14 of 19 passes for 207 yards and four touchdowns. Darius Walker added 153 yards rushing on 15 carries with a touchdown. Samardzija added 106 yards on six catches. The defense was led by Ndukwe Chinedum, who had a game-high 22 tackles. Joe Brockington added 14 tackles and Derek Landri chipped in with 11, including two for a loss. Air Force was led by Carney, who hit 14 of 17 passes for 205 yards and two scores. Chad Hall rushed for 67 yards on 20 carries while Mark Root recorded career highs of five catches for 105 yards. Drew Fowler led the defense with 12 tackles.
Post-game notes vs. Notre Dame Team Air Force blocked two kicks a game for the first time since Wyoming in 2003 (PAT and punt). It is also the first time the Falcons have had three blocked kicks in a season since 2003. The Falcons' time of possession of 38:35 was the second highest of the season. AFA had the ball for 40:25 vs. Wyoming. Air Force's 79 plays are a season high. The previous high was 77 vs. CSU earlier this season.
Individual Shaun Carney moved into fourth place in career passing yards, becoming the all-time option leader in passing moving ahead of Beau Morgan (3,248 passing yards from 1994-96). Carney threw for a season-best 205 yards to give him 3,427 for his career. Carney moved into eighth place on the career rushing list, ahead of Marty Louthan who had 1,860 from 1980-83. Carney now has 1,869 for his career. Carney tied a career high with two touchdown passes. He has done it eight times in his career. It is the second time this season and the first time since throwing two vs. Colorado State earlier this season. Robert Kraay blocked two PATs in the game and now has three on the season. He also blocked a PAT vs. BYU earlier this season. Kraay is the first player since Justin Pendry to have two blocks in a game. Pendry blocked two field goals vs. Tennessee Tech in 2001. He is the first player to have three blocks in a season since Pendry had three in 2001 (all PATs). He is also the first offensive player to have two blocks in a season since the stat began being kept in 1990. Sophomore wide receiver Mike Moffett made the first catch of his career today. He had two catches for 13 yards in the game. Junior Mark Root had career highs of five receptions for 110 yards, including a 43-yard reception in the fourth quarter, the longest of his career. Root had four receptions for 60 yards in his career entering the game. Drew Fowler had 12 tackles vs. Notre Dame to mark the eighth time in nine games he has led the team in tackles. It is also the fourth time this season he has had double digits in tackles. Freshman Chris Thomas returned the first two kicks of his career. He had two returns for 34 yards with a long of 23.
Scoring defense improved - Coach Fisher DeBerry says the only defensive statistical category that matters is scoring defense. The coach has got to like what he is seeing from this year's Falcons. The team has improved over the last few years in scoring defense. Air Force ranks sixth in the conference and 64th nationally, allowing 22.8 points per game. Air Force was eighth in the conference and 101st nationally in 2005 with a 31.7 mark. The average is the best for a single season since 2003 when the team allowed just 20.2 points per game. The team has allowed over 20 points in a game six times this season.
Air Force conference / national rushing numbers - Air Force has been one of the most dominant rushing teams in college football since Fisher DeBerry took over in 1984. The team has ranked among the nation's top 10 a remarkable 22 times and the top five 17 times. In 2002, the Falcons won the school's first national rushing title with a 307.8 per-game average. Air Force has won 22 conference rushing titles, including 20 under DeBerry. The Falcons won the Mountain West Conference title in 2005 and ranked eighth nationally with a 246.5 average. Air Force leads the MWC this season and ranks third nationally with an average of 259.4.
Air Force among the best - Air Force ranks second in the Mountain West Conference and 27th nationally the last 10 years in total wins. The Falcons have a 71-46 record (.606). During the last 10 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.
T & T -- Air Force among the national leaders in turnover margin - Turnovers and takeaways! Air Force concentrated on these two areas in the preseason and the results have shown up in the regular season and been a telling statistic. The Falcons rank second in the conference and 15th nationally with a .89 per-game turnover margin. The team has ranked among the nation's top teams most of the season. The Falcons opened the season with a 3-2 record while posting a +7 mark overall and being on the plus side in four of five games. The only game the team was not, they were even with Colorado State. The team lost back-to-back games to San Diego State and BYU and saw the tide turn. Air Force was -4 overall, including -2 in each game. The Falcons bounced back in a big way against Army, forcing a season-high six turnovers while commiting just one. The +5 is a season high and improved the Falcons to +8 on the season. Air Force remained at +8 on the year after being even with Notre Dame last week. Air Force has forced 18 turnovers and committed 10 overall this season. The Falcons were -7 overall last year in turnover margin.
Air Force leads the nation in third down conversions - Air Force has been off the charts this season in third down conversions. The Falcons lead the conference and rank second nationally with a 57.5 percentage, converting 77 of 134 third downs. Air Force has been among the national leaders all season, leading the nation seven weeks.
Blocked kicks - Air Force is one of the premier teams in the country when it comes to blocking kicks. The Falcons have blocked 95 kicks since 1990 to rank second nationally behind Virginia Tech. After going the first six games of the season without a block, Air Force has blocked three kicks in three games. Offensive lineman Robert Kraay, who was moved to the field goal and extra point block teams this season, has blocked all three kicks. The 6-foot-8 Kraay recorded the first block of his career against BYU on an extra point. He added two more blocked extra points against Notre Dame. He is the first Falcon since Justin Pendry against Tennessee Tech in 2001 to record two blocks in a game and to have three in a season.
Air Force ranks eighth - Air Force has scored in 165 consecutive games dating back to 1992. The Falcons were last shutout by Mississippi, 13-0, in the 1992 Liberty Bowl. That shutout is the only one in the 23-year career of Fisher DeBerry. Air Force's streak is the second-longest active streak in the Mountain West Conference and the eighth longest in the country.
Commander-in-Chief's Trophy - The 2006 season marks the 35th year of competition between Air Force, Army and Navy for the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy. Air Force has a 46-24-0 all-time CIC record and has won 16 trophy titles. Fisher DeBerry has led the Falcons to 14 of the 16 titles and has a 35-11 CIC record. Air Force is not able to win this year's title, following a 24-17 loss to Navy earlier this season. Air Force defeated Army, 43-7, to close out the competition with a 1-1 mark.
Air Force among national leaders in time of possession - The Falcons lead the conference and rank third nationally in time of possession with a 33:35 per-game average. Michigan leads the nation with a 34:04 mark, followed by Wisconsin with a 33:46 mark. Texas A&M and Nebraska round out the top five with 33:15 and 32:46 averages, respectively.
Air Force fullbacks - When the fullback gets rolling, the Falcons are tough to beat. Air Force is 43-12 since 1990 when the fullback position rushes for 100 or more yards. Junior Ryan Williams led the attack at Tennessee with a career-best 98 yards rushing. Scott Peeples added four yards to give the fullbacks 102 for the game. The position topped the 100-yard mark against New Mexico with 151 yards. Williams had 94 yards, Peeples 33 and Jacobe Kendrick 24. The position did it for the third time this season at San Diego State, as Kendrick carried the load with 92 yards. Williams chipped in with 13 yards to give the group 105 yards. Last year, AF fullbacks rushed for 100 or more yards four times, winning three of the games.
Fowler leads the conference, ranks among national leaders in tackles - Junior linebacker Drew Fowler leads the conference and ranks 10th nationally in total tackles with a 10.1 average. He is the first Falcon since Chris Gizzi in 1997 to lead the league in tackles. He recorded a career-high 18 tackles in the loss to Navy. His 18 stops are the most by a Falcon since All-American Chris Gizzi had 20 vs. Fresno State in 1997. He was named the conference's player of the week for his efforts against Navy. Fowler has led the team in tackles in eight of nine games this season. He had nine each against Tennessee and Wyoming and 10 vs. New Mexico. Fowler added eight tackles against Colorado State. He was held to just four vs. San Diego State which is the first game this season he has not led the team in tackles. Fowler bounced back with a team-best 13 against BYU and eight vs. Army. Fowler added a team-best 12 against Notre Dame.
Hall could be the first - Junior halfback Chad Hall is having a breakout season. Hall ranks third in the conference in rushing with a 73.4 per-game average. Hall has been the league leader three weeks this season and if he retakes the top spot, he would be the first Falcon since Beau Morgan in 1996 to lead the conference in rushing. He would also become the first halfback in Air Force history to do it. Hall rushed for a caeer-high 122 yards in Air Force's win at Wyoming. Hall hit the 100-yard mark for the second time this season and third in his career against Colorado State with 102 yards rushing. His two 100-yard efforts tie him for the team lead with quarterback Shaun Carney, who also rushed for over 100 yards against Wyoming and Colorado State. Hall nearly did it for the third time this season in the win over Army with 93 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. The 5-foot-8, 180-pound Hall has topped the 20-carry mark three this season. He had 20 carries vs. Wyoming, 25 against Colorado State and 20 for a team-high 67 yards vs. Notre Dame. Hall has carried 127 times for 661 yards on the year.
Carney and the record book - Junior quarterback Shaun Carney continues to move up the charts in the Air Force record book. Carney threw for a season-best 205 yards against Notre Dame to became the leading passer in school history in the option era (1980-present) with 3,427 yards. He ranks fifth overall in Air Force history. Carney reached rare territory in the win over Army, becoming just the fourth player in school history to reach the 5,000-yard mark in total offense. He ranks fourth in Academy history with 5,296 total yards. He is tied for third all-time in touchdown passes with 25 and needs just one more to surpass Beau Morgan (1994-96) for the outright all-time option era record. For a closer look at where Carney stands on several career charts, please turn to page 14 of this release.
Sasser kicking it - Senior Zach Sasser has been outstanding this season. The Amarillo, Texas, native is a two-time conference special teams player of the week award winner. Sasser has hit eight of 11 field goals and 24 of 26 extra points this season. He leads the team in scoring with 48 points and ranks fifth in the conference in scoring with a 5.3 per-game average. Sasser took over the punting duties in Air Force's second game and has been outstanding. He ranks fifth in the conference with a 41.9 average which is the best mark by a Falcon since Andrew Martin in 2003, who averaged 43.3 yards per punt. Sasser's first-career punt was a 59-yarder at Wyoming. He booted a career-long 68-yarder punt against Navy and added a 60-yarder vs. BYU. Kicking off may be his best asset. Sasser forced Tennessee to an averaging starting position of its own 16, including starting a drive at the one. He also had a successful onside kick in the game. He added a second successful onside kick against Navy. He has also forced muffed kickoffs against Wyoming and New Mexico, giving him four games with a turnover for the Falcons in the kicking game. Sasser had another big game against Colorado State with three touchbacks on kickoffs. The two that Colorado State returned, the team started the drive at their own 14.
