 Air Force Vs. Nicholls State
Sept. 5, 2009
Team Notes The victory margin of 72 points is a school record, breaking the previous mark of 69 (69-0) vs. Northern Colorado in 1984. Air Force posted its first shutout since beating Wofford, 40-0, in the 2003 season opener. The shutout is the first in the Troy Calhoun-era. Air Force's 576 total yards are the second most under head coach Troy Calhoun and the most since Air Force had 670 vs. San Diego State in 2007 in Calhoun's first season. Air Force held Nicholls State to just seven first downs which is the seventh fewest in school history and fewest since holding Southern Methodist to six in 1971. Air Force held Nicholls State to just 151 total yards which is the eighth fewest in school history and fewest since holding Army to 100 in 1999. Air Force improved to 33-19-2 all-time in season openers, including a 28-8 mark at home. The victory is the team's third straight at home to open the season. The victory is the 12th straight season opening win vs. a non-ranked opponent dating back to 1994. Head coach Troy Calhoun improved to 3-0 in season openers and is now 18-9 in his career. Air Force improved to 14-0 all-time vs. teams from the Football Championship Subdivision. Air Force improved to 7-4 overall and 4-1 at home vs. non-conference foes under head coach Troy Calhoun. Air Force extended its school-record consecutive games scoring streak to 195 games dating back to 1992. The streak is the fourth longest active streak in the country. The 194-game streak is the 15th longest in NCAA history. Air Force forced four turnovers (all fumbles) to mark the fourth straight game forcing multiple turnovers dating back to last season. The Falcons have now forced multiple turnovers in 14 of their last 17 games dating back to 2007. Air Force has forced multiple turnovers in 22 of the 27 games the Troy Calhoun has coached. Air Force matched a school record for points in a half with 45 in the first half. Air Force also scored 45 points in the a half vs. New Mexico in 1987, Northern Colorado in 1984 and Utah in 1990. All three of those games the record also came in the first half. Air Force's first-half shutout vs. Nicholls State is the first since the season opener last season vs. Southern Utah (21-0). Air Force uses game captains. The captains for the Nicholls State game were seniors Peter Lusk (OL), Chris Thomas (DB) and Brandon Geyer (SPC).
Individual Notes - Freshman LB Alex Means is the first Air Force freshman to start on opening day since Shaun Carney vs. California in 2004. Means is the first defensive player to start the season opener since A.J. Scott vs. BYU in 1981. Means finished the game with five tackles, which is the third most on the team, and a fumble recovery.
- The Falcons had 11 players make the first start of their careers in the game: Ryan Gonzales (Sr., OL), A.J. Wallerstein (So., OL), Michael Hampton (Sr., OL), Jonathan Warzeka (So., WR), Myles Morales (Sr., DL), Rick Ricketts (Jr., DL), Alex Means (Fr., LB), P.J. Adeji-Paul (So., DB), Jon Davis (So., DB), Erik Soderberg (SO., SPC), Colton Reid (So., DS).
- Senior LB Justin Moore recovered the first fumble of his career. The turnover, which is the fourth of his career (2 FF, 1 INT, 1 FR), led to a field goal to give Air Force a 10-0 lead.
- Sophomore SPC Erik Soderberg hit the first field goal attempt of his career, a 23-yard boot in the first quarter. Soderberg scored the first point of his career earlier in the quarter when he hit the first extra point of his career.
- Sophomore QB Tim Jefferson recorded a career high in rushing touchdowns with two. Jefferson scored both touchdowns on one-yard runs.
- Sophomore WR Jonathan Warzeka recorded the first catch of his career, a four-yard catch in the second quarter which set up a touchdown to give Air Force a 31-0 lead in the second quarter.
- Junior FB Jared Tew rushed for 57 yards and scored a career-high three touchdowns. Tew has scored five touchdowns in his last two games, as he scored a pair in the 2008 Armed Forces Bowl vs. Houston. Tew has scored at least one touchdown in four straight games.
- Junior WR Kevin Fogler recorded the longest reception of his career, a 57-yard catch for a touchdown in the second quarter.
- Junior TE Chaz Demerath recorded the first catches of his career. He finished the game with two for 14 yards.
- Senior TE Sean Quintana recorded the longest catch of his career, a 27-yard reception in the first half. His previous long was 18 yards vs. UNLV last season.
- Sophomore QB Connor Dietz played the first game of his career. He finished the game with career bests of seven carries for 83 yards and a long run of 52 yards. His 83 yards and 52-yard run were the best by a Falcon in the game.
- Junior FB Nathan Walker scored the first touchdown of his career, a six-yard run in the third quarter to give Air Force a 52-0 lead. Walker finished the day with career highs of eight carries for 73 yards. He ranked second on the team in each category.
- Freshmen Darius Jones (RB) and Drew Coleman (WR) each played in the first game of his careers and scored their first-career touchdowns. The touchdowns mark the third straight season opener for Air Force in which a freshman has scored a touchdown. Last year, Jonathan Warzeka scored vs. Southern Utah and Savier Stephens scored vs. South Carolina State.
- Senior LB John Falgout led the team with seven total tackles to mark the first time in his career he's led the team in tackles for a game.
Post-Game Quotes Air Force Head Coach Troy Calhoun "It's always good to win. The one thing that was evident is that our guys were excited to play. I was really pleased with the preparation for this game. I thought they were dialed in from the get-go. A lot of times you go into your first game, and some of your concerns are substitutions, you get caught, you have 10 guys out there, 12 guys out there, and a lot of that's mental, that's concentration. We didn't have any of that. We had 11 guys out there for all of our special teams. Same thing offensively and defensively, we handled those substitutions well." "Certainly there are some concerns, more than a few. I think any time you have seven penalties, that's definitely something you need to work on. I think offensively, any time you take a sack in the red zone, it can't happen. Defensively, what I think what we needed to do--I think our first defense needed to force more turnovers. The couple [of turnovers] that we got with that unit were center-quarterback exchanges, rather than us being able to force that part of it." "You love whenever cadets at the Air Force Academy have a chance to play and a bunch of them were able to, especially with moms and dads here. You can't replace what it means for anybody to be able to get into a game, be a part of a winning team, and for your family to be here, too, because most of the families were in town this weekend." "We had a bunch of young ones that I think down the road are going to be good players. What we're going to do, is we're going to ask them to do it real soon. We did see some glimpses of them today. Just seeing these guys when they go through two spring balls, they get to a point where they're first-season two-degrees at the Air Force Academy as cadets. That's an awful lot they've got to get through over these next 24 months, but if they do, they're going to be guys that are gonna do some good things for us down the road." Nicholls State Head Coach Jay Thomas "We learned a lot today. We've got a lot of work to do, obviously. Our center-quarterback exchanges have to get a lot better. It's the simple things, playing the game. Air Force does a tremendous job of handling the football and protecting the football and tackling the football and hustling to the football. I think our guys came out and gave a lot of effort, I don't want to discredit that. I felt like our guys played hard, we just could never get anything going at all. We shot every toe we had on our foot, and all of our fingers. We did not help ourselves one bit." "If you find a positive in it, besides not getting anyone seriously hurt, we played a ton of freshmen today. A ton of guys that have never played a game before had the opportunity to get out and play."
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