Falcons Open MWC Play At Utah
9/3/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 3, 2007
CSTV's Going West Roadtrippers vist with the Air Force football team
Air Force-Utah Release in PDF Format
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Air Force (1-0) vs. Utah (0-1)
Saturday, Sept. 8 t 4 p.m. Mtn.
Rice-Eccles Stadium (45,017), Salt Lake City, Utah
Television
The Air Force-Utah football game will be carried on the Mountain Sprts Network (Mtn.). James Bates (play-by-play), Todd Christiansen (color) and Sammy Linebaugh (sideline) will call the action. Air Force is 3-3 all-time in games played on the network.
Radio
KVOR AM 740 in Colorado Springs and KBJD 1650 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.
Last Week
Air Force defeated South Carolina State 34-3 in its season open at Falcon Stadium.
Utah lost 24-7 at Oregon State in its season-opener last Saturday.
Next Week
Air Force hosts No. 23 TCU next Thursday, Sept. 13, at 6 p.m. Mountain time. The game will be televised by CSTV.
Utah hosts UCLA on Saturday, Sept. 15.
Streaks
Air Force has a one-game winning streak.
Utah has a one-game losing streak.
Last Meeting
Utah defeated Air Force, 17-14, last year (Nov. 18( at the Academy.
Rankings
Neither team is ranked.
Series History
Air Force and Utah have played each other 23 times, with the Falcons holding a 13-10 lead in the series. The Utes have had the upper hand in the series of late, however, having won the last four meetings, including a triple-overtime thriller that started the streak in 2003. Air Force last won at Utah in 2002.
Coaches
Air Force is coached by Troy Calhoun (Air Force, 1989), who is 1-0 in his first season.
Utah is coached by Kyle Whittingham (BYU, 1984), who is in his third season. He has led the Utes to a 15-11 career record.
The Series
Air Force and Utah meet for the 24th time. The Falcons lead the series 13-10 overall and 12-9 in conference games. Air Force is 7-4 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 next 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 four games with a 17-14 win at the Academy last year.
Recently the series has been marked by very close games. The three games from 2001-03 were decided by a combined seven points and nine of the last 10 games have been decided by less than 10 points.
Last Meeting
In a series marked by close games, Air Force and Utah added another chapter in Falcon Stadium. The Utes defeated Air Force, 17-14, on a 37-yard field goal by Louis Sakoda as time expired. Utah opened the scoring on an Eric Weddle six-yard touchdown run to take a 7-0 lead with 4:29 remaining in the first quarter. Neither team scored until a wild fourth quarter. Air Force tied the score at 7-7 when Shaun Carney hit Victor Thompson with a six-yard scoring strike. The Utes answered with Weddle's second touchdown of the game to take a 14-7 lead with 9:46 left. Air Force responded with a Carney one-yard run to tie the game with 4:07 left. The Utes then drove 60 yards in 13 plays to set up Sakoda's game-winner. Utah was led by Weddle, who rushed for 73 yards on 12 carries. Weddle also chipped in with eight tackles on defense. Brett Ratliff hit 24 of 38 passes for 236 yards while Brian Hernandez caught nine passes for 55 yards. The Utes finished the game with 355 yards. Air Force was led by Carney, who hit 16 of 22 passes for 218 yards, including a season-long 45-yard pass. He also rushed for 33 yards. Chad Hall led the Falcons in rushing with 38 yards on 11 carries. Thompson added career bests of five catches for 99 yards. Drew Fowler led the defense with 12 tackles. Air Force finished the game with 334 total yards.
Last Time in Rice-Eccles
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 scoreless the rest of the way and the 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.
Air Force career statistics vs. Utah
Air Force player's career statistics against Utah follow:
RushingName G Att-Yds-TDsShaun Carney 3 46-144-4Ryan Williams 2 19-81-2Chad Hall 2 16-76-0Chad Smith 2 6-29-0Kip McCarthey 1 2-13-0
PassingName G C-A-Int-Yds-TDShaun Carney 3 34-51-1-521-2
ReceivingName G #-Yds-TDHall 2 5-27-0Root 1 3-62-0
TacklesName G UT-AT-TotalBobby Giannini 3 7-17-24Carson Bird 2 4-5-9John Rabold 2 9-14-23Drew Fowler 2 3-15-18Julian Madrid 2 2-3-5Ryan Kemp 1 3-2-5Aaron Kirchoff 1 3-1-4Garret Rybak 1 1-3-4Jake Paulson 1 0-4-4Chris Thomas 1 2-1-3Hunter Altman 1 1-2-3
South Carolina State Recap
So much for the question of whether Air Force could successfully implement its new offense. Shaun Carney passed for 176 yards and a touchdown, and Kip McCarthy ran for 129 yards to lead Air Force past South Carolina State 34-3 Saturday. New coach Troy Calhoun brought with him a book of new plays for the Falcons' attack, and many of them worked against the Bulldogs. At one point, Air Force (1-0) lined up with five wide receivers and only Carney in the backfield. The next play, three running backs lined up directly behind the Falcons' quarterback. It all seemed to confuse the Bulldogs (0-1), who play in the Football Championship Subdivision, formerly Division I-AA. South Carolina State forced Air Force to punt only once with it's first-team offense on the field. All four of the Air Force touchdowns were scored on drives 70 yards or more. The senior quarterback Carney led the Falcons 79 yards on 13 plays for a touchdown on the team's first drive, going 3-for-4 for 49 yards. McCarthy capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run, the first of his career. Tight end Travis Dekker, who had only four receptions and no touchdowns last year, was Carney's primary target in the first half. The senior had three catches for 64 yards and a touchdown. Calhoun dialed back the passing attempts in the second half with a big lead, but he felt the Falcons did exactly what he wanted them to offensively. Chad Hall, the Falcons' leading rusher last season who was moved to wide receiver in the spring, took a reverse for an 8-yard touchdown in the second quarter. South Carolina State led the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in rushing last year, but was held to just 70 yards on 34 carries. Air Force pressured quarterback Cleveland McCoy all afternoon, collecting six sacks and forcing two turnovers. Cornerback Carson Bird was in on both with a fumble recovery and an interception. The Bulldogs' brightest spot of the afternoon was the kicking game. Punter Aaron Haire had a 61-yard punt, and kicker Stephen Grantham tied a school-record with a 51-yard field goal. Air Force snapped a four-game losing streak dating back to last year.
Post-game notes vs. S.C. State
Team Notes
• Air Force improved its consecutive games scoring streak to 169 games. The streak is the eighth longest active streak in the nation and second-best among teams in the Mountain West Conference (TCU, 176). Michigan leads the nation with a streak of 274.
• Air Force played its first game without stripes on its helmet since 1979. The Academy added stripes to the helmet in 1980 and they remained until this season.
• Air Force is using game captains this season for the first time since 1995. The team was represented by Garrett Rybak and Blaine Guenther for the South Carolina State game. The honorary team captain was David Hlatky, who is a 1989 graduate and a three-year letterwinner as an offensive lineman.
• Air Force recorded six sacks vs. SCSU. The team's single-game best last year was five vs. New Mexico. Players with sacks included: Jake Paulson with 1.5, John Rabold, Stephen Larson one (first of his career), Josh Clayton one and Hunter Altman, Chris Thomas and Ryan Kemp with a half sack each.
• Air Force's three touchdown drives in the first half all had at least 10 plays and took at least four minutes in length.
• Air Force snapped a four-game losing streak dating back to last season with the win over South Carolina State.
• Air Force won its first-ever game against a team from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) with the win over South Carolina State.
• Air Force improved to 12-0 all-time against teams in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly knows as Division I-AA).
• Air Force improved to 31-19-2 all-time in season openers. The Falcons have won 11 consecutive home openers dating back to 1994 vs. Colorado State.
• Air Force's 31-point victory margin is its largest since defeated Army, 43-7, last season. The margin is the largest on opening day since beating Wofford, 49-0, in 2003.
Individual Notes
• Air Force head coach Troy Calhoun won his first game as a collegiate head coach. Calhoun, who is the sixth head coach in Academy history, is the fifth coach to win his opening game as Air Force head coach.
L.T. Buck Shaw, 1956 at San Diego University W 46-0Ben Martin, 1958 at Detroit W 37-6Bill Parcells, 1978 at UTEP W 34-25Ken Hatfield, 1979 vs. Tulsa L 7-24Fisher DeBerry, 1984 vs. San Diego State W 34-16Troy Calhoun, 2007 vs. South Carolina State W 34-3
• Senior WR-Z Chad Hall has now gone 115 touches (104 rushes, nine catches and two punt returns) without a fumble. His last fumble came on a pass play against Colorado State in 2006. His last rushing fumble was vs. Army in 2005. The rushing streak covers 14 games and 56 quarters.
• Air Force had seven players make their first-career start.
- Offense: Keith Williams (LT), Chris Monson (RT), Scott Peeples (FB), Kip McCarthy (TB)
- Defense: Hunter Altman (OLB), Chris Thomas (SS)
Special Teams: Ryan Harrison (PK/P)
•Junior TE Keith Madsen made the first catch of his career on the team's first offensive drive of the game.
• Senior TB Kip McCarthy recorded career highs in every rushing category. McCarthy set a new career high with six carries on Air Force's opening drive of the game which he capped with his first-career touchdown on a one-yard run. He finished the game with 22 carries for 129 yards rushing to record his first-career 100-yard game. His previous career highs were four carries and 17 yards which were both set vs. Colorado State last season. McCarthy also recorded a career-long run of 50 yards. His previous long was 12 yards vs. TCU in 2005. McCarthy is the first Falcon with a 100-yard rushing game since Chad Hall vs. Colorado State last season.
•Junior PK/P Ryan Harrison scored the first points of his career in his first-career start with an extra point on Air Force's opening drive. Harrison also kicked his first-career field goal, a 48-yarder in the second quarter. He also added his first-career tackle on a South Carolina State kickoff return. Harrison also punted twice for a 48-yard average in his first-career game as a punter.
•Senior TE Travis Dekker recorded his career-long reception in the first quarter with a 31-yard catch on Air Force's second drive. Dekker recorded career bests in catches with three and yards with 64. His previous bests were two catches for 15 yards last season vs. Navy. Dekker entered this season with four career catches and 40 career yards.
• Junior DE Jake Paulson recorded his career high with 2.0 tackles for loss. Paulson's previous best was 1.5 vs. Wyoming in 2006.
• Senior CB Carson Bird recorded his third-career interception. Bird also had interceptions in 2004 and 2005. Bird also added his second-career fumble recovery. He also had a fumble recovery in 2004 as a freshman.
• Freshman TB Savier Stephens had a solid collegiate debut. Stephens rushed for 29 yards on seven carries and scored his first-career touchdown on a one-yard run in the third quarter. He is the first Air Force freshman to score a touchdown since Shaun Carney is 2004. Stephens is the first freshman to score on opening day since Jacobe Kendrick vs. Wofford in 2003. Kendrick's score was the last by a freshman running back until Stephens' touchdown.
• Senior OLB John Rabold recorded a career-best 2.0 tackles for loss. His previous best was 1.5 vs. Utah in 2005.
Offense Efficient Against South Carolina State
Air Force's offense racked up 455 yards of total offense against South Carolina State, the most yards in a game by the Falcons since piling up 464 yards in the season finale of 2005 at New Mexico on Nov. 19. Air Force ran for 279 yards on 60 rushes and threw for 176 yards in 18 pass attempts. The Falcons had four scoring drives of over 10 plays.
Offense spreading the wealth
Air Force completed passes to seven different receivers in the win over South Carolina State (all were thrown by Shaun Carney). The seven different receivers tie as the third-most in school history. In 2000, Air Force completed passes to eight different receivers twice. Mike Thiessen found eight different receivers against Notre Dame while Thiessen, Keith Boyea and Bryan Blew hit eight vs. Cal-State Northridge in 2000. Since 1980, the Falcons have hit seven or more different receivers in a game just 15 times in 327 games.
Tight Ends making impact
After one game, the Air Force tight ends have caught as many passes (4) as they did the entire 2006 season. Senior Travis Dekker hauled in three passes for 64 yards and a touchdown--all leading numbers for the Falcons--and junior Keith Madsen added a 15 yard catch.
Tight end catches over the past five seasons at Air Force Year/#
2007/4
2006/4
2005/2
2004/7
2003/6
McCarthy making most of opportunity
After being used sparingly the last two years, running back Kip McCarthy made the most of his promotion to first-string tailback. McCarthy made his first-career start a memorable one, erupting for a caree-best 129 yards rushing on 22 carries and a touchdown. The 129 yards rushing were the most by a Falcon halfback/tailback since Qualario Brown ran for 140 yards on 18 carries against San Diego State on Nov. 14, 2000. The senior from Wichita Falls, Texas, also showed some big-play ability by breaking off a career-long 50 yard run. McCarthy entered the season having rushed for 144 yards on 29 carries in 21 career games.
Defense dominant in opener
The Air Force defense made a statement in the season-opener against South Carolina State, holding the Bulldogs to just three points and 160 yards of total offense. The three points allowed were the fewest by the Falcons since a 31-3 win over Army on Nov. 8, 2003. The Falcon defense sacked the S.C. State quarterbacks six times and allowed just 2.1 yards rushing per carry. The Air Force secondary held the Bulldogs to just 90 yards passing while forcing one interception. S.C. State's longest passing play was 15 yards.
Strong special teams
The special teams units for Air Force looked very solid in the season opener. Air Force kicker/punter Ryan Harrison did it all for the Falcons, hitting a pair of field goals and averaging 48 yards on his two punts, including one downed inside the 20. Harrison booted his first-career field goal, a 48 yarder with plenty of room to spare and later connected on a 22 yarder. In kickoff duties, Harrison had three touchbacks in seven tries and recorded a touchdown-saving tackle. Senior Chad Hall also had a good game against S.C. State, averaging 24 yards in two punt returns. After a 15-yard return earlier in the game, Hall took his second return 33 yards into Bulldog territory, eventually leading to an Air Force field goa.
An Old School Look
For the first time since 1979, Air Force football will not feature 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 striples 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 immedately made their presence felt, as 13 freshmen have made the opening week roster while five have cracked the two-deep depth chart.
# Name Pos. Hometown8 Reggie Rembert* CB Flower Mound, TX18 Will McAngus QB Justin, TX36 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, CA84 Steve Shaffer TE Austin, TX* 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 familarity
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 familarity, no coach on the staff graduated from college prior to 1985. Tim DeRuyter, at age 43, 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 graduated
Troy Calhoun - Head Coach - 1989
Brian Knorr - Assistant Head Coach/ILB's 1986
Tim DeRuyter - Defensive Coordinator/Safeties - 1985
Blane Morgan - Co-Offensive Coordinator/QB's - 1999
Jemal Singleton - Running Backs - 1999
Lt. Col. Steve Senn - JV Head Coach - 1990
Maj. Anthony Roberson - JV Assistant Head Coach - 1989
Capt. Charlton Warren - Cornerback/Recruiting Coord. - 1999
Capt. Mike Thiessen - Wide Receivers - 2001
Ben Miller - Tight Ends - 2002
Blocked kicks
- The Falcons have blocked 99 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) and Hunter Altman (Punt vs. UNLV) 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 5Totals 99 51 28 20* - school record
Air Force ranks eighth
- Air Force has scored in 169 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 275 Oct. 20, 1984 at Iowa (0-26)2. Washington State 262 Sept. 15, 1984 at Ohio State (0-44)3. Oregon 257 Sept. 28, 1985 at Nebraska (0-63)4. Florida 230 Oct. 29, 1988 vs. Auburn (0-16)5. Colorado 223 Nov. 12, 1988 at Nebraska (0-7)6. TCU (MWC) 177 Nov. 16, 1991 at Texas (0-32)7. Nevada 175 *--All games: joined Div I-A in 19928. Air Force (MWC) 169 #--Dec. 31, 1992 vs. Mississippi (0-13)(*--311 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 surpremecy. 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 46-24-0 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.
Team Record Pct.Air Force 46-24-0 .657Navy 33-36-1 .479Army 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.
Hall moves to WR-Z after all-conference RB campain in 2006
Chad Hall had a breakout season in 2006, becoming the first halfback to lead the team in rushing since Jake Campbell in 1994. Hall ranked ranked fourth in the conference in rushing with a 65.3 per-game average and topped the 100-yard mark twice. He rushed for a career-best 122 yards at Wyoming and had 102 against Colorado State, marking the second straight year he rushed for 100 or more yards vs. the Rams. The 5-foot-8, 180-pound Hall topped the 20-carry mark three times last season. He had 20 carries vs. Wyoming, 25 against Colorado State and 20 for a team-high 67 yards vs. Notre Dame. Hall hit the 1,000-yard mark for his career during the season, becoming the 34th player in school history to rush for over 1,000 yards. He ranks 31st in school history with 1,128 career yards. Hall, who moved to the z-wide receiver position during spring drills, was named second-team all-conference becoming just the third Air Force halfback in school history to earn all-conference honors and the first since Greg Johnson was a first-team all-Western Athletic Conference selection in 1989.
Falcon to honor Air Force units with patches on uniforms in 2007
The Air Force football team will honor several different units throughout the Air Force by wearing their official patches on its uniforms in 2007. The team will honor 10 of the Air Force's Heritage Wings and Groups by wearing patches on their home uniforms; and six USAF Air and Space Expeditionary Wings by wearing patches on their away uniforms. The Heritage Wings and Groups date back to the foundations of the Air Force, beginning on Aug. 1, 1907, when the U.S. Army Signal Corps established a small Aeronautical Division to take "charge of all matters pertaining to military ballooning, air machines and all kindred subjects." But, it was not until May 26, 1909, that military aviation was born, when Lts. Frank P. Lahm and Benjamin D. Foulois made their first ascent and qualified as the airship's first Army pilots. The National Security Act of 1947 created a separate Department of the Air Force, headed by a Secretary of the Air Force; from that law, today's Air Force was officially born on Sept. 18, 1947. The 10 patches represent active duty units that have colorful and distinguished histories. These "heritage units" not only represent the legacy of the Air Force past, but also the promise of its future. Each Air Force mission and capability is represented with this cross-section of units. The Air and Space Expeditionary Force concept is the Air Force's vision for the 21st century to organize, train, equip and deploy forces for contingency operations while remaining ready to meet national crises. AEF also helps create a mindset and culture that embraces the unique characteristics of air and space power - range, speed, flexibility and precision. A typical AEF consists of a full spectrum of air and space capabilities and is balanced, flexible and sustainable. It is also tailored to meet combatant commander requirements. Military personnel that are deployed become a part of one of these six wings.
A listing of each Heritage wing/group follows: 8th Fighter Wing: Located at Kunsan Air Base.
31st Fighter Wing: Located at Aviano Air Base, Italy.
3rd Wing: Located at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska.
14th Flying Training Wing: Located at Columbus Air Force Base, Miss.
2nd Bomb Wing: Operating from locations around the world.
19th Air Refueling Group: Located at Robins Air Force Base, Ga.
9th Reconnaissance Wing: The wing is headquartered at Beale Air Force Base, Calif.
341st Space Wing: Headquartered at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont.
1st Special Operations Wing: The wing is located at Hurlburt Field, Fla.
315th Airlift Wing: The Air Force Reserve wing, along with its active wing, the 437th Airlift Wing, is headquartered at Charleston Air Force Base, S.C.
A detailed listing of each Air and Space Expeditionary Force wing follows.
380th Air Expeditionary Wing: Located in the Southwest Asia Area.
455th Air Expeditionary Wing: Located at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan.
379th Air Expeditionary Wing: The specific location of the wing is not releasable due to host-nation sensitivities.
332nd Air Expeditionary Wing: Located at Balad Air Base in the southeastern corner of the Sunni Triangle.
376th Air Expeditionary Wing: Located at Manas International Airport, Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic.
386th Air Expeditionary Wing: Located in Southeast Asia, the wing can trace its roots to the deactivated 386th Bombardment Group. The wing has a diverse mission which canvases the CENTCOM AOR. The wing is the primary aerial hub for Operation Iraqi Freedom, and provides airlift support for Operation Iraqi Freedom and the Horn of Africa. The wing is comprised of the 386th Expeditionary Maintenance, Mission Support, Medical and Operations Groups and the 586th Expeditionary Mission Support Group.
