10/6/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Post-Game Quotes
Air Force vs. UNLV (Oct. 6, 2007)
Air Force Head Coach Troy Calhoun
"I think (our) kids are capable of doing something. We have to be a team that plays to the hilt every single week. Effort-wise, we won't lie around. Assignment-wise, concentration-wise, just doing the raw basics of the game, we've got to be a heck of a lot better. Right now, we...don't have any consistency. That's defense, that's offense, and the special teams are decent.
"Jimmy Ollis did put the ball on the ground twice. You're a senior, and you've got to play better. He's not the only one. We've got a bunch that didn't play like veteran football players. I think we're going to go back tomorrow morning and start from scratch in some ways."
"We didn't play like a hard-nosed football team tonight. We have got to grow and make strides in the back half of the season."
UNLV Head Coach Mike Sanford
"We had opportunities in the first half to get first downs and score touchdowns, and we didn't do that ... we got ourselves into a hole and they some made big plays on us ... we just didn't play well enough to win ... We have to give Air Force credit ... we felt going into this game that the team that bounced back the best was going to be the team that did the best tonight ... I'm not to going to allow this team be defeated ... defeat means that you give up, and we're not giving up ... we're going to fight back."
Air Force Post-Game Notes
Vs. UNLV (Oct. 6, 2007)
Team Notes
- Air Force is using game captains this season. The team captains for the UNLV game were senior inside linebacker Aaron Shanor and junior tight end Travis Dekker. The team also has honorary captains for each game. The honorary captains for the UNLV game were Gen. Kevin Chilton, a 1976 graduate and former Air Force space command commander, who is taking over U.S. Strategic Command, along with Ted Sundquist, a 1984 graduate and four-year letterwinner at fullback, who is the general manager of the Denver Broncos and Dr. Orderia Mitchell, a 1973 graduate and 1971 All-American, who is currently an orthopedic surgeon in Colorado Springs.
- Air Force extended its consecutive games scoring streak to 174 games. The last time Air Force was shutout was Dec. 31, 1992, vs. Mississippi (13-0) in the Liberty Bowl. The 174-game streak is the longest in school history and ranks as the eighth-longest active streak in the nation.
- Air Force snapped a two-game losing streak overall and improved to 4-2 overall and 3-1 in conference play.
- Air Force's three conference wins this season in just four games matches last year's mark when the team finished 3-5 overall.
- Air Force improved to 9-4 overall, including a 9-3 mark in conference games. The Falcons improved to 5-1 in Falcon Stadium vs. UNLV.
- The Falcons improve to 1-0 in the month of October. Air Force has recently struggled in October, winning just one game during the month in each of the last four years. The Falcons entered this season 4-10 in the month of October since 2003.
- Air Force improved to 3-0 this season at home. The Falcons have also beaten South Carolina State and TCU in Falcon Stadium this season.
- Air Force's stop of UNLV running back Frank Summers on fourth-and-one from the Air Force one is the team's second stop of its kind this season. The tackle was made by Ben Garland and John Rabold. Earlier this season against Utah, the Falcons stopped Utah's Darryl Poston on a fourth-and-one from the one in the fourth quarter. Drew Fowler and Hunter Altman made the stop against Utah.
- Air Force scored a touchdown on its opening drive of the second half (Chad Hall 52 run). The touchdown is Air Force's fourth score in six games on its opening drive of the second half. Air Force has scored touchdowns vs. South Carolina State, Utah and UNLV and a field goal vs. Navy. The team also punted vs. TCU and BYU.
Individual Notes
- Sophomores Ben Garland (LE) and Stephen Larson (NG) made the first starts of their careers.
- Senior FS Bobby Giannini returned to the starting lineup. Giannini started the first two games of the season, than came off the bench the last three before the UNLV game.
- Senior TB Chad Smith made his first start of the season and fourth of his career. The start is the first for Smith since the New Mexico game in 2005. Smith scored his first touchdown of the season on a one-yard run in the first quarter to give AF a 7-0 lead. The touchdown is the second of his career and first since scoring one vs. CSU in 2005.
- The pass-catching trio of wide receivers Chad Hall and Mark Root, along with tight end Travis Dekker have each caught at least one pass in every game this season. Root's first catch of the game was good for 56 yards which is a career long. His previous long was 43 yards vs. Notre Dame last year.
- Freshman CB Reggie Rembert recorded the first turnover of his career in the second quarter, recovering a fumble.
- Senior WR Chad Hall rushed for 169 yards vs. UNLV to record the fourth 100-yard rushing game of his career. He had one in 2005 vs. Colorado State and two last year (vs. Colorado State and Wyoming). Hall scored on a career-long run of 52 yards in the third quarter. His previous career-long run was 43 yards vs. Colorado State in 2005. Hall is the fourth different Falcon with a 100-yard game this season. He joins Kip McCarthy (129 vs. South Carolina State), Shaun Carney (113 vs. Utah) and Jim Ollis (138 vs. TCU). Hall's 169 yards are the most by a Falcon since Keith Boyea rushed for 188 yards vs. Colorado State in 2001. The 169 yards are the most by a Falcon running back since fullback Jason Jones rushed for 171 vs. Notre Dame in 1991. Hall finished the game with two touchdowns which is a career high.
- Senior QB Shaun Carney recorded a career-long 71-yard run for a touchdown in the third quarter. His 71-yard run matches the longest by a Falcon this season. Jim Ollis also had a 71-yard touchdown run this season vs. TCU. Carney's touchdown moves him into 10th place on the Air Force career scoring list with 164 points. He moves past Joey Ashcroft (2001-03), who scored 163. The touchdown is Carney's sixth rushing touchdown in his career vs. UNLV. He has also passed for five scores against the Rebels.
- Junior PK/P Ryan Harrison recorded a career-long 66 yard punt in the fourth quarter. The punt was downed at the UNLV one by Chris Thomas.
- Senior OLB John Rabold recorded a career-best 12 tackles for loss, including 2.5 tackles for loss and 2.0 quarterback sacks. His previous career best for tackles for loss was 2.0 vs. South Carolina State in the season opener. Rabold's 2.5 tackles for loss are the most by a Falcon this season.
- Senior ILB Drew Fowler recorded 11 total tackles to notch the 11th double-figure tackle game of his career.
