Air Force Hosts UNLV Saturday Night
10/1/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 1, 2007
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UNLV (2-3, 1-0) vs. Air Force (3-2, 2-1)
Saturday, Oct. 6, 7 p.m. MT
Falcon Stadium (46,692), USAFA, CO
Television - The UNLV-Air Force football game will be carried on the Mountain West Sports Network (The Mtn.). Rich Cellini play-by-play), Jon Berger (color) and Dave Benz (sideline) will call the action. Air Force is 4-4 all-time in games played on the network.
Radio - KVOR AM 740 in Colorado Springs, 1510 KCKK in Denver and 1570 KSXT in Northern Colorado. 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.
Last Week - Air Force lost at Navy, 31-20, last Saturday, Sept. 29. UNLV lost at Nevada, 27-20, last Saturday, Sept. 29.
Next Week - Air Force plays at Colorado State next Saturday, Oct. 13, at 3:30 p.m., Mtn. Time. The game will be televised by the Mountain West Sports Network (The Mtn.). UNLV hosts BYU next Saturday, Oct. 13, at 6:30 p.m., Pacific Time. The will be televised by the Mtn.
Streaks - Air Force has a two-game losing streak and a one-game conference losing streak. UNLV has a one-game losing streak and a one-game conference winning streak.
Last Meeting - UNLV defeated Air Force, 42-39, last year (Nov. 24) at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas.
Rankings - Neither team is ranked.
Coaches - Air Force is coached by Troy Calhoun (Air Force, 1989), who is 3-2 in his first season.
UNLV is coached by Mike Sanford (USC, 1978), who is in his third season. He has led the Rebels to a 6-22 record.
Key Fact - Air Force is 4-1 at home all-time against UNLV. Despite the three-point UNLV win last year, the series has historically been marked by blowouts. In the 12 games played between the two schools, just four of the games have been determined by three points or less, while the other eight games have been determined by 17 or more points.
Did you know? - Air Force has won just one game in the month of October each year, dating back to 2003, a string of four years. Air Force is 4-10 during that span, with three of the wins coming at home and two against UNLV. The Falcons went 1-3 in 2006 and 2005 and 1-2 in 2004 and 2003.
The Series - Air Force and UNLV meet for the 13th time overall and 12th time as conference foes. Air Force holds an 8-4 overall lead an 8-3 mark in conference games. Air Force is 4-1 at home and 4-3 on the road. The Falcons defeated UNLV, 42-7, the last time the two played in Falcon Stadium. The teams first played in Las Vegas in 1981. The Rebels won the game, 24-21. AFA won the next four games, all as conference games from 1996-1999, before UNLV won back-to-back games in 2000-01. AFA had won four-straight in the series until the Rebels won a 42-39 shootout last year. The winning team has scored at least 24 points in every game. Air Force has averaged 33.5 points against UNLV in the series, while the Rebels have averaged 21.4.
Year by Year1981 - UNLV 24-21 (A)1996 - AFA 65-17 (A)1997 - AFA 25-24 (H)1998 - AFA 52-10 (A)1999 - AFA 35-16 (H)2000 - UNLV 34-13 (A)2001 - UNLV 34-10 (H)2002 - AFA 49-32 (A)2003 - AFA 24-7 (H)2004 - AFA 27-10 (A)2005 - AFA 42-7 (H)2006 - UNLV 42-39 (A)
Last Meeting vs. UNLV - Air Force was beaten, 42-39, by UNLV in Las Vegas, Nev., as the Rebels snapped a four-game losing streak to Air Force. The Falcons got on the board first with a Zach Sasser 23-yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead. UNLV countered with a David Peeples six-yard touchdown run to take a 7-3 advantage. The teams exchanged touchdowns to push the score to 26-24 UNLV at halftime. The Falcons scored their three touchdowns on passes from Shaun Carney to Victor Thompson, Chad Hall and Beau Suder. The Falcons appeared to take control in the third quarter when Carney added a touchdown run to make it 31-26. Peeples responded with a touchdown run to give UNLV back the lead, 32-31, with 6:35 left in the third. Ronnie Smith added a touchdown run late in the third quarter to extend the lead to 39-31. Sergio Aguayo added a field goal late in the fourth quarter to make it a two-possession game, 42-31, with 3:44 left. Air Force added Carney's career-best fourth touchdown pass with 2:26 left and added a two-point conversion to cut the lead to 42-39. UNLV recovered the onsdie kick and ran out the clock to make up the final margin. UNLV rolled up 555 total yards, the most given up by Air Force on the year, and controlled the clock with a 33:17 time of possession mark. Quarterback Rocky Hinds led the Rebels with 351 yards on 26 of 34 passing. Peeples added 95 yards rushing while Casey Flair and Ryan Wolfe each topped the 100-yard mark in receiving with 100 and 108, respectively. Air Force was led by Carney, who hit 10 of 18 passes for 211 yards and four touchdowns. Hall added 58 yards rushing while Mark Root added four catches for 82 yards. Air Force had 415 total yards. Drew Fowler led the defense with a game-high 12 tackles.
Last Time vs. UNLV At The Academy - Air Force defeated UNLV, 42-7, in Falcon Stadium on Oct. 15, 2005. The Falcons dominated the game throughout on both sides of the ball to gain some much-needed confidence after four straight losses entering the game. After a scoreless first quarter, quarterback Shaun Carney got the Falcons on the board with an 11-yard TD run to give the Falcons a 7-0 lead. Following a UNLV fumble on the the kickoff return, Carney added an eight-yard run to put the team in front 14-0 just 47 seconds later. UNLV got on the board with a 58-yard touchdown pass on a wide receiver pass from Tremayne Kirkland to Casey Flair to cut the lead to 14-7 with 12:38 left in the half. Backup fullback Scott Peeples scored the first touchdown of his career on a 20-yard run to put Air Force in front 21-7 at halftime. The second half was all Falcons. Carney added his third TD of the game on an eight-yard run and chipped in with his fourth early in the fourth quarter to put AFA in front 35-7. Jim Ollis capped the scoring for Air Force with his first-career TD run to make up the final margin. The Falcon offense rolled up 412 total yards, including 333 rushing. Carney and backup quarterback Adam Fitch combined to hit 10 of 12 passes for 96 yards. Carney led the team in rushing with 83 yards on 12 carries. Fullback Ryan Williams added 73 yards on 13 carries while Peeples chipped in with 40 on four carries. The Falcons had 13 players carry the ball in the game. The defense was also impressive, holding UNLV to 217 total yards. The Rebels had just two yards rushing which is the fewest allowed by Air Force since 2002. Denny Poland led the way with seven tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack. John Taibi added a team-high eight tackles while Chris Sutton chipped in with six tackles, a pass breakup and an interception. UNLV was led by Jarrod Jackson, who hit 18 of 25 passes for 157 yards. Erick Jackson rushed for 46 yards on 14 carries and caught seven passes for 59 yards.
Air Force-UNLV Ties
- UNLV defensive coordinator Vic Shealy has ties to the Air Force Academy. Shealy coached at Air Force from 1999-2004. He coached the secondary all six years he was at the Academy. Prior to his stint at Air Force, Shealy was head coach at Azusa Pacific where he posted a 27-14-1 record and led the school to the NAIA national championship in 1998. Shealy's son, Vic, is a sophomore at the Academy and a wide receiver on the football team.
- Air Force wide receiver Spencer Armstrong joins Shealy as the lone two Falcons on the roster from Nevada. Armstrong hails from Henderson, Nev., and attended Silverado high school).
Comparing Air Force and UNLV - Several statistical categories will clash this week when the Falcons and Rebels battle. A closer look follows (MWC/National rank):
Air Force is 7/99 in scoring with an 20.0 average per game.
UNLV is 8/102 in scoring with a 19.4 average per game.
Air Force is 1/13 in rushing offense with a 225.8 average per game.
UNLV is 5/43 in rushing defense with a 127.2 average.
Air Force is 9/111 in passing offense with a 152.0 average per game.
UNLV is 8/86 in passing offense with a 199.6 average per game.
Air Force is 9/109 in defensive fourth-down conversions, allowing 75% of conversions.
UNLV is 1/16 in defensive fourth-down conversions, allowing 27.3% of conversions.
Air Force is 1st in the MWC in defensive red-zone stops allowing scores 61.5% of the time.
UNLV is 8th in the MWC in offensive red-zone opportunities, scoring 68.4% of the time.
Air Force career statistics vs. UNLV
Air Force player's career statistics against UNLV follow:
RushingName G Att-Yds-TDsShaun Carney 3 46-186-5Ryan Williams 2 17-122-0Chad Hall 2 21-89-0Scott Peeples 1 4-40-1Chad Smith 2 5-23-0Jim Ollis 1 3-8-1Kip McCarthy 2 1-3-0
PassingName G C-A-Int-Yds-TDShaun Carney 3 28-39-0-424-6
ReceivingName G #-Yds-TDMark Root 1 4-80-0Chad Hall 2 2-46-1Spencer Armstrong 1 1-34-0Ryan Williams 2 1-2-0
TacklesName G UT-AT-TotalDrew Fowler 2 8-6-14Bobby Giannini 3 7-6-13Julian Madrid 3 1-8-9John Rabold 2 5-2-7Austin Randle 1 4-1-5Carson Bird 3 1-4-5Jake Paulson 1 3-1-4Aaron Kirchoff 1 1-3-4Ryan Kemp 1 1-2-3Garrett Rybak 2 2-0-2Hunter Altman 1 1-0-1Chris Thomas 1 1-0-1
Navy Recap
AP Article - Playing before a record crowd and with Navy's four-year hold on the Commander-in-Chief's trophy on the line, quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada stepped up with two fourth-quarter touchdown runs, leading the Midshipmen to a 31-20 win over Air Force on Saturday. Kaheaku-Enhada had touchdown runs of 2 and 78 yards.. Air Force quarterback Shaun Carney had a record day in defeat, gaining 300 total yards to become the program's all-time leader with 6,780 yards from scrimmage. Carney also threw for a career-best 237 yards. Trailing 20-17 early in the fourth quarter, Navy drove 73 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. Kaheaku-Enhada hit O.J. Washington for 53 yards to the Air Force 20. Eric Kettani converted a fourth down at the 11, and then Kaheaku-Enhada scored on fourth down from the 2, giving Navy the lead with 13:01 to play. After an Air Force punt, Kaheaku-Enhada broke loose for 78 yards to put the Midshipmen up 31-20 with 9:18 left. Navy, which entered the weekend as the nation's top rushing team, produced 302 rushing yards and 381 yards total. The Falcons outgained the Midshipmen with 474 yards, but were held without a score three times inside Navy's 20-yard line. Joey Bullen's 29-yard field goal staked Navy to a 17-13 lead before Chad Hall's 5-yard run put Air Force ahead 20-17 late in the third. Carney completed 18 of 23 passes and ran for 63 years. Hall had career highs with 8 catches for 108 yards, and he scored both Falcon touchdowns - both on the ground. Jim Ollis had 73 yards rushing, but his fourth-quarter fumble allowed Navy to run some time off the clock and protect its 11-point lead. The Falcons' Ryan Harrison hit field goals of 28 and 21 yards, but he also missed from 41 and 32. The latter miss was one of three missed opportunities deep in Navy territory. Ollis was dropped for a loss on fourth down at Navy's 4 in the second quarter, and the Falcons later had to punt after three penalties pushed them back from the Navy 15.
Post-game notes vs. Navy
Team Notes
• Air Force is using game captains this season. The captains for the Navy game were senior fullback Ryan Williams and sophomore safety Chris Thomas. They were joined by honorary captain Col. Bart Weiss, a 1986 graduate of the Academy. Weiss was Air Force's starting quarterback in 1984-85 and led the Falcons to a 12-1 mark as a senior in 1985.
• Air Force extended its consecutive games scoring streak to 173 games with Ryan Harrison's second-quarter field goal. The last time Air Force was shutout was Dec. 31, 1992, vs. Mississippi (13-0) in the Liberty Bowl. The 173-game streak is the longest in school history and ranks as the eighth-longest active streak in the nation.
• Air Force's opening scoring drive (Harrison 28 FG) used up 13 plays and 5:58 off the clock. The 13 play-drive ties as the most in a drive this season. AFA also used 13 plays in a touchdown drive in the season opener vs. South Carolina State. The 5:58 off the clock is a new season best. The previous was 4:50 on a touchdown drive vs. South Carolina State.
• Air Force's second-quarter touchdown (Hall 16 run) is its first touchdown in the first half since the season opener vs. South Carolina State. The Falcons scored 24 first-half points in the SCSU game. Since then, the Falcons had scored three points vs. Utah, three points vs. TCU and were shutout vs. BYU in the first half prior to the Navy game.
• The Navy game is the first this season that Air Force didn't force any turnovers.
• Air Force racked up a season-high 474 yards of total offense and passed for a season-high 237 yards.
• Air Force blocked its 101st kick since 1990, deflecting a field goal attempt in the third quarter.
Individual Notes
• Senior QB Shaun Carney became the career leader in total offense for Air Force. Carney, who has 6,780 total yards, moved past Dee Dowis (1986-89), who had 6,482 and Beau Morgan (1994-96), who had 6,627 total yards. Carney threw for a career-best 237 yards. His previous best was 231 yards vs. San Diego State in 2005.
• Senior TB Jim Ollis recorded a 34-yard run in the second quarter. The 34-yarder is the second-longest of his career. His career-long of 71 yards came earlier this season vs. TCU to set up Air Force's overtime victory.
• Sophomore DT Stephen Larson recorded a career-high seven tackles. His previous best was three last week vs. BYU.
• Senior ILB Drew Fowler led the Falcons with 16 tackles to mark the 10th double-figure tackle game of his career. Fowler has now led the team in tackles 14 times in his career.
• Freshman KR Reggie Rembert recorded a career-long 32-yard kickoff return in the fourth quarter.
• Senior WR-Z Chad Hall had career-high's in receptions and reception yardage with a team-leading eight catches for 108 yards. Hall also had a career-high 182 all-purpose yards.
• Sophomore WR-X Sean Quintana had a career-high three receptions for 24 yards.
• Junior DE Ryan Kemp blocked his first-career kick, getting a hand on a field goal attempt.
Carney becomes all-time total offense leader at Air Force - With 300 yards of total offense against Navy, senior quarterback Shaun Carney leapfrogged former Falcon quarterback greats, Beau Morgan and Dee Dowis, to become Air Force's all-time leader in total offense. Carney's 237 yards passing and 63 yards rushing gave him 6,780 career yards, surpassing Morgan (1994-06), who has 6,627 career yards and Dowis (1986-89), who has 6,482. Carney, a North Olmsted, Ohio native currently ranks second all-time in passing yardage with 4,660 yards and needs just 130 yards to surpass Dave Ziebart, who passed for 4,789 yards in 1976-79.
Falcon offense good and bad vs. Navy - Air Force had its best game yardage-wise against Navy but had its worst game in the red zone where it mattered. Air Force was able to take the ball up and down the field against Navy, punting just twice in the game. The Falcons had a season-high 474 yards of total offense, surpassing the previous high of 455 against South Carolina State. Air Force ran and passed for exactly 237 yards each, reaching a season-high in passing yards. The Falcons averaged 6.3 yards per play and 10.3 yards per pass, both season-high's. Air Force struggled in the red-zone however, coming away with scores on just four-of-seven attempts, two of which were for field goals.
Big plays hurt Falcon defense against Navy - Air Force allowed 381 yards of total offense in 63 plays against Navy. In 60 of those plays, however, Air Force gave up just 213, including just 187 on the ground against a Navy team that entered the weekend averaging a nation-leading 360s yard rushing per game. Navy had 78-yard and 37-yard touchdown runs and a 53-yard reception that proved costly for the Falcons.
Running game still key to Falcons' success - Air Force is 3-0 when out-rushing its opponents and 0-2 when getting out-rushed this season. The Falcons are also 3-0 when they have a player rush for over 100 yards and 0-2 when they don't. Air Force enters the UNLV game averaging 225.8 yards rushing per game, ranking 13th in the nation. The Falcons have rushed for over 200 yards in three of five games and over 300 yards twice. The Falcons rushed for a season-best 334 yards on 63 carries vs. Utah. Air Force averaged 229.4 yards rushing per game in 2006.
Four different rushing leaders in five games - Through five games in 2007, Air Force has had four different players lead the team in rushing. Senior tailback Jim Ollis is the lone Falcon to lead the team in rushing more than once, having done so twice this season.
Game Leading Rusher, Pos. Carries-Yards-TD's Long run of gameSCSU Kip McCarthy, TB 22-129-1 50Utah Shaun Carney, QB 16-113-0 53TCU Jim Ollis, TB 16-138-1 71BYU Chad Smith, TB 2-47-0 45Navy Jim Ollis, TB 15-73-0 34
A similarity between all four is that they each had the longest runs of the game--all longer than 34 yards-- in those games. McCarthy had a 50-yard run vs. SCSU and Carney a 53-yard run vs. Utah. Ollis had a 71-yard TD run vs. TCU and a 34-yard run vs. Navy and Smith had a 45-yard run vs. BYU.
Ollis running strong at tailback - Senior tailback Jim Ollis has made the most of his senior season after spending most of his sophomore and junior season on the sidelines as a backup quarterback and halfback. Despite missing the season opener with an ankle injury, the Columbus, N.C. native leads the Falcons with 278 rushing yards. That total is good for seventh in the Mountain West Conference. His 5.9 yards-per-carry average ranks second amongst the MWC top-10 rushers. Ollis broke out against TCU with 138 yards on 16 carries, which included a 71-yard run that tied the game up at TCU.
Breaking down the run game - So how have the Falcons been able to rack up their yards on the ground? Broken down statistically through the first three games, the Falcon running game has been able to run the ball in four different ways, via: tailback, fullback, z-wide receiver and quarterback. The tailbacks have carried the brunt of the load, averaging the most yards (127.4) and carries (24.4) per game. The tailbacks also lead the way in yards per carry, averaging 5.2 yards a pop, followed by the z-wide (5.1), fullbacks (4.6) and quarterbacks (3.2).
A breakdown of the Falcon running game by position
Carries Yards Touchdowns Average per carryTailbacks 122 (48.9%) 637 (56.4) 5 5.2Quarterbacks 63 (25.3) 199 (17.6) 1 3.2Z-Wideouts 30 (12.1) 152 (13.4) 3 5.1Fullbacks 32 (12.9) 146 (12.9) 0 4.6* Falcons also have two team rushes for -5 yards
Hall-Purpose - A year after leading the Falcons with 784 yards rushing as a halfback, senior Chad Hall is making a smooth transition to z-wide receiver and return specialist in 2007. Hall is averaging 140.2 yards of all-purpose yardage, ranking fourth in the conference. His 25 catches ranks sixth in the conference. Hall leads the team in receptions, receiving yardage (281), punt returns, kick returns and touchdowns (three). Hall has led the team in receptions the last three games, including a career-high eight catches against Navy. His 25 receptions put him on pace for 60 receptions. Ernie Jennings holds the school record with 74 receptions in 1970. Hall is also one of the top return specialists in the conference, ranking third in punt-return average (14.8) and eighth in kick return average (21.6).
Hall Game-By-GameOpp. Rushing Receiving Punt-Ret. Kick-Ret. TotalSCSU 4-21-1* 2-31 2-48 -- 100Utah 11-74 3-14 1-4 3-77 169TCU 5-15 6-48 1-4 2-46 113BYU 2-19 6-80 -- 1-38 137Navy 6-33-2* 8-108 2-33 1-12 182Total 25-281-3* 25-281 6-89 8-173 701*TD's
Tight Ends making impact - Through five games, the Air Force tight ends have caught 14 passes, which is more than tight ends caught in the last three seasons combined. Junior Travis Dekker has hauled in 11 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown and junior Keith Madsen has three receptions for 29 yards and a TD. Against TCU, Dekker hauled in a 50-yard reception that led to a nine-yard TD pass to Madsen on the next play.
Tight end catches over the past five seasons at Air Force Year #
2007 14
2006 4
2005 2
2004 7
2003 6
Several Falcons rank amongst MWC top-10 defense lists - Seniors Carson Bird, Drew Fowler and John Rabold lead several Falcons ranking in the top-10 in several defensive categories. Fowler is second in the MWC with 46 tackles. Fowler led the conference as a junior with 123 tackles. Rabold ranks third in tackles-for-loss with six, third in fumbles forced with two and is tied for ninth in sacks with 2.0. Senior Carson Bird leads the conference with five takeaways and is tied for the MWC lead with three interceptions and two fumbles recovered. Sophomore Chris Thomas is sixth in the conference with 42 tackles and 1.0 passes defended per game.
Harrison earns Groza Place-Kicker Award Star of the Week honor - With his performance against TCU, junior Ryan Harrison was named a Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award Star of the Week for his performance vs. TCU. Harrison connected on a career-long and NCAA season-long 57-yard field and later hit a game-winning 33-yard overtime field goal to help Air Force defeat the Horned Frogs 20-17. The field goal ties the sixth-longest in school history and is the second-longest in Mountain West Conference history. He is tied with Dennis Leuthauser vs. Wyoming in 1968 and Sean Pavlich vs. Notre Dame in 1982. Harrison's 57-yard field goal is the longest by a Falcon since Joey Ashcroft kicked a 59-yarder vs. Army in 2003.
Fowler Earns MWC Defensive Player of the Week Honor - Air Force senior linebacker Drew Fowler was named Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the week for his performance against Utah. Fowler, a native of Clayton, N.C., recorded a game-high 14 tackles, including six solo stops, in Air Force's 20-12 victory against the Utes. Ten of his tackles came in the second half and the 14 total were the second-most of his career. Fowler and teammate Hunter Altman combined to stop Utah running back Darryl Poston on a fourth-and-goal with just over minute to play in the game to preserve the Falcon victory. Fowler led the Falcons in tackles for the 13th time in his career. This is Fowler's second MWC player of the week honor.
An Old School Look - For the first time since 1979, Air Force football is not featuring the blue and silver striping in the center of its helmet. In addition to the Lightning Bolts on each side, the Falcons have had the stripes on the helmet from 1980 to 2006. Air Force originally had just the Lighting Bolts on the helmet for the first 25 years from the program's inception in 1955. There is also a slight alteration to the Lightning Bolts as the silver lining of the blue bolts has been replaced by an all-blue bolt.
Rookies on the roster - Several newcomers have come in and immediately made their presence felt, as 17 freshmen have made the roster while seven have cracked the two-deep depth chart.
# Name Pos. Hometown8 Reggie Rembert* CB Flower Mound, TX18 Will McAngus QB Justin, TX31 Patrick Hennessey OLB Strongsville, OH36 Andre Morris Jr.* OLB Newnan, GA38 Stephan Atrice CB Fairburn, GA41 William Keuchler* OLB Westerville, OH42 Savier Stephens* TB Jacksonville, FL46 Eric Collins CB Madison, AL53 Ken Lamendola* ILB Westlake, OH66 Ben Leung OG Fort Worth, TX70 Matt Markling* OT Cleveland, OH75 Jake Morrow OG Austin,TX78 Rick Ricketts DE San Jose, CA83 Kyle Halderman WRZ Katy, TX84 Steve Shaffer TE Austin, TX92 Chad Gross PK Suwanee, GA94 Zack Bell* PK Darien, IL* On the two-deep depth chart
A New Era At Air Force - The 2007 season ushers in a new era of Air Force football with Troy Calhoun taking over for the legendary Fisher DeBerry as head coach. DeBerry retired in December after 23 years at the helm. Calhoun, a 1989 Academy graduate, takes over as the sixth coach in school history and first graduate to lead the program. Calhoun returns to the Academy after serving as the Houston Texans' offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach last season. Texans head coach Gary Kubiak brought Calhoun along with him from the Denver Broncos where he served as the assistant to the head coach in 2005. Calhoun had become a well-rounded NFL coach, working as a defensive assistant, special teams assistant and offensive assistant with the Denver Broncos prior to last season. Prior to the NFL, Calhoun was an offensive coordinator for six seasons on the collegiate level. He began his coaching career at Air Force where he worked as a graduate assistant from 1989-90. He started at quarterback for the Air Force Academy in 1986 and was a four-year letterwinner. He was one of only two freshmen to letter for the 1985 team that finished fifth in the final polls with a 12-1 record. Calhoun served his country from 1989-95 as an active duty officer in the Air Force. He was the Falcons' recruiting coordinator and the junior varsity offensive coordinator in 1993-94. He moved to Ohio University in 1995 where he served as the quarterbacks coach for two seasons. Calhoun was promoted to offensive coordinator in 1997. He moved to Wake Forest in 2001 as offensive coordinator.
Young coaching staff with familiarity - The new Air Force coaching staff isn't really all that new. Ten of the staff's 14 members either played or previously coached at Air Force. Along with head coach Troy Calhoun, assistant head coach Brian Knorr (Air Force, 1986), defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter (Air Force, 1985), cornerbacks coach Capt. Charlton Warren (Air Force, 1999), running backs coach Jemal Singleton (Air Force, 1999), co-offensive coordinator/quarterback coach Blane Morgan (Air Force, 1999), wide receivers coach Mike Thiessen (Air Force, 2001), tight ends Ben Miller (Air Force, 2002), junior varsity head coach Lt. Col. Steve Senn (Air Force, 1990) and junior varsity assistant head coach Maj. Anthony Roberson (Air Force, 1989) all played and graduated from the Academy. Only offensive line coach Clay Hendrix (Furman, 1986), defensive line coach Ron Burton (North Carolina, 1987), outside linebacker coach Matt Weikert (Ohio, 2002) and offensive assistant Patrick Covington (Furman, 2006) have no previous experience at the Academy. In addition to familiarity, no coach on the staff graduated from college prior to 1985. Tim DeRuyter, at age 44, is the oldest member of the staff.
Air Force Academy grads comprise 71.4 percent of the coaching staff (10 of 14). No other Div. I football program has over 50 percent of its staff coaching for their Alma Mater.
Coach - Position Year graduatedTroy Calhoun - Head Coach 1989Brian Knorr - Assistant Head Coach/ILB's 1986Tim DeRuyter - Defensive Coordinator/Safeties 1985Blane Morgan - Co-Offensive Coordinator/QB's 1999Jemal Singleton - Running Game Coordinator 1999Lt. Col. Steve Senn - JV Head Coach 1990Maj. Anthony Roberson - JV Assistant Head Coach 1989Capt. Charlton Warren - Cornerback/Recruiting Coord. 1999Capt. Mike Thiessen - Wide Receivers 2001Ben Miller - Tight Ends 2002
101st Blocked Kick - Junior Ryan Kemp blocked Navy kicker Joey Bullen's field goal attempt in the fourth quarter, giving Air Force its 101st blocked kick since 1990. The 101 blocks ranks second nationally since 1990, trailing only Virginia Tech. Air Force got the 100th blocked kick against TCU, when Chris Thomas blocked Chris Manfredini's 20-yard attempt in the third quarter.
Blocked kicks
- The Falcons have blocked 101 kicks since 1990 to rank second nationally behind Virginia Tech.
- Air Force blocked seven kicks last season, including five extra points and two punts.
- Jake Paulson (PAT vs. UNLV), Hunter Altman (Punt vs. UNLV) , Chris Thomas (FG vs. TCU) and Ryan Kemp (FG vs. Navy) are current Falcons with a blocked kick
Year-by-Year Blocks Since 1990Year Total Punts FGs PATs1990 6 3 1 21991 3 1 1 11992 8 6 1 11993 5 2 3 01994 5 4 1 01995 3 1 2 01996 4 1 3 01997 11* 7 3 11998 7 4 3 01999 8 6 1 12000 9 4 2 32001 7 2 3 22002 4 3 1 02003 7 3 3 12004 2 0 0 22005 3 2 0 12006 7 2 0 52007 2 0 2 0Totals 101 51 30 20* - school record
Air Force ranks eighth
- Air Force has scored in 173 consecutive games dating back to 1992.
- The Falcons were last shutout by Mississippi, 13-0, in the 1992 Liberty Bowl.
Air Force's streak is the second-longest active streak in the Mountain West Conference and the eighth longest in the country.
# School Streak Last Shutout1. Michigan 279 Oct. 20, 1984 at Iowa (0-26)2. Washington State 266 Sept. 15, 1984 at Ohio State (0-44)3. Oregon 261 Sept. 28, 1985 at Nebraska (0-63)4. Florida 234 Oct. 29, 1988 vs. Auburn (0-16)5. Colorado 227 Nov. 12, 1988 at Nebraska (0-7)6. TCU (MWC) 181 Nov. 16, 1991 at Texas (0-32)7. Nevada 179 *--All games: joined Div I-A in 19928. Air Force (MWC) 173 #--Dec. 31, 1992 vs. Mississippi (0-13)(*--315 games dating back to I-AA days; #--Liberty Bowl)
Commander-in-Chief's Trophy - Air Force, Army and Navy compete each year for the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy, which is emblematic of service academy football supremecy. The trophy goes annually to the winning academy with the best record in round-robin competition. The President of the United States presents the trophy to the seniors from the winning team each year at a ceremony at the White House. The 2007 season marks the 36th year of trophy competition. Last year, Navy won the trophy for the fourth consecutive year after beating both Air Force and Army. The Falcons were 1-1 in CIC games. Air Force was beaten by Navy, 24-17, in Falcon Stadium and defeated Army, 43-7, at West Point. Air Force has a 46-25-0 all-time CIC record and has won 16 trophy titles. Air Force's overall record and number of trophy titles are best among the three academies. Air Force is out of the running for the 2007 CIC Trophy after its 31-20 loss at Navy last weekend.
Team Record Pct.Air Force 46-25-0 .648Navy 34-36-1 .486Army 25-44-1 .364
Air Force outright CIC title years:
`82, `83, `85, `87, `89, `90, `91, `92, `94, `95, `97, `98, `99, `00, `01, `02
Falcons on watch lists - Air Force has three players on four award watch lists to start the 2007 season. Senior linebacker Drew Fowler is on the "watch list" for the Lombardi Award, which recognizes the college football lineman of the year. Fowler is also on the watch list for the Butkus award, which recognizes the best down lineman in college football. Senior center Blaine Guenther is on the Rimington Trophy watch list, which recognizes the top collegiate center each year. Senior quarterback Shaun Carney is on the Davey O'Brien watch list for the third consecutive season. The O'Brien award recognizes the top quarterback in college football.
Air Force Announces Inaugural Hall of Fame class - The Air Force Academy is proud to announce the inaugural class for induction into the Air Force Academy Athletic Hall of Fame. The six inductees, Alonzo Babers, Bob Beckel, John Clune, Chad Hennings, Michelle Johnson and Brock Strom will be inducted on Friday, Oct. 19, at the Broadmoor Hotel. The dinner ceremony will be the night before the Air Force-Wyoming football game on Oct. 20th. The inductees, or representative, will then be honored during halftime of the football game on Saturday, kickoff is at 12 p.m. Mountain Time. The six inductees represent one track athlete, one men's basketball player, one women's basketball, two football players and one athletic director. The group includes an Olympic Gold Medalist, a Super Bowl champion, two Air Force generals, three members of the Academic All-America Hall of Fame and a member of the National Association of College Director's of Athletics Hall of Fame.
Alonzo Babers - 1983 grad. - Track & Field
Bob Beckel - 1959 - Basketball
John Clune - Air Force Athletic Director from 1975-91.
Chad Hennings - 1988 - Football
Michelle Johnson - 1981 - Basketball
Brock Strom - 1959 - Football
