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Air Force Vs. Army
Nov 7, 2009
- Air Force uses game captains. The captains for the Army game were Ben Garland, Ryan Gonzales, Brandon Geyer and Nick Charles.
- Air Force improves to 6-4 overall, including 4-1 in Falcon Stadium, this season.
- Air Force improved to 30-13-1 all-time vs. Army, including an 18-3 mark at home and a 27-11 mark in Commander-in-Chief's Trophy games. The Falcons have won four straight and 12 of the last 13 games against the Black Knights.
- Air Force improved to 49-27 all-time in Commander-in-Chief's Trophy games, including a 1-1 mark this season.
- Air Force head coach Troy Calhoun improved to 23-13overall. The coach improved to 13-4 at home, 8-6 in non-conference games, 3-3 in service academy games and 3-0 vs. Army.
- Air Force improved to 12-4 under head coach Troy Calhoun in the second half of the season (last six games). The team is 3-1 this season. The Falcons were 12-24 overall the last six seasons prior to 2007.
- Air Force improved to 326-273-13 in its 54th year of varsity football, including a 176-113-3 mark at home.
- Air Force extended its school-record consecutive games scoring streak to 204 games dating back to 1992. The streak is the fourth longest active streak in the country. The 204-game streak is the 15th longest in NCAA history.
- Air Force's punt-return touchdown (Anthony Wright, 88 yards) is its sixth non-offensive touchdown of the season. The Falcons have also scored on three interception returns and two fumble returns.
- The crowd of 46,212 is a season high and the most since 46,339 attended the Navy game on Oct. 4 of last season.
- Air Force forced a punt on Army's opening drive of the second half. The Falcons have allowed the opponent just one score on its opening drive of the second half all season, a touchdown by Utah. Air Force has forced six punts, recorded an interception, a fumble and forced a turnover on downs in the other nine games.
- Sophomore DB/PR Anthony Wright became the first Falcon to return a punt for a touchdown since Matt Farmer vs. New Mexico on Oct. 5, 1998. Wright's 88-yard return is the second-longest in school history and longest since Mike Quinlan set the school record vs. Colorado in 1960. Wright finished the game with 125 punt return yards on three returns which is the second most yards in a single game in Air Force history and the most since Chip Hough had 179 vs. SMU in 1971. He averaged 41.7 yards per return which is the second in school history and best since Hough had a 59.7 average vs. SMU in 1971.
- Sophomore RB Asher Clark scored the team's first offensive touchdown of the game on a 36-yard run. The touchdown run is his first this season. Clark also moved into a tie for 31st on the career rushing list with 1,129 yards. He is tied with Blane Morgan (1996-98). Clark moved past Bill Berry (1971-73), who had 1,074 yards and Curtis Martin (1968-70), who had 1,091 yards.
- Senior LB John Falgout recorded 14 tackles vs. Army to mark the fourth time in his six starts this season that he's had double figures in tackles. His 14 tackles are a career high. His previous high was 13 vs. Navy earlier this season.
- Sophomore SPC Erik Soderberg missed a career-long field goal attempt of 59 yards. The miss snapped a streak of seven consecutive made field goals by Soderberg.
- Sophomore QB Tim Jefferson and junior WR Kevin Fogler connected on a 73-yard touchdown pass to give Air Force a 21-7 lead in the third quarter. The reception is the longest of Fogler's career and the second-longest of Jefferson's. Fogler's previous long catch was 53 yards vs. Navy last season.
- Sophomore QB Tim Jefferson threw for 131 yards to mark his second straight game and fourth this season with 100 or more yards passing. Jefferson also connected on the second-longest completion of his career with a 73-yard strike for a touchdown.
- Junior FB Jared Tew rushed for 102 yards on 25 carries. His 102 yards rushing marks his second 100-yard game this season (105 vs. Wyoming) and third of his career (149 vs. Houston in the Armed Forces Bowl last season). Tew has 982 career rushing yards.
Post-Game Quotes
Air Force Head Coach Troy Calhoun
"First off, hats off to Army. They came in exceptionally well-prepared and played great football. In the first half, they dominated the football game. And probably in some ways, we were a little bit fortunate that it was only tied at halftime. I thought in the second half, we just flipped a switch and played about as good a half as we've played all season. I thought last week when we played the second half in Fort Collins, it was a good half, and the same today.
"On a much bigger picture, the reality is that every guy that was on that field today is a winner. As a country, we're fortunate as can be that we have young men and young women at these schools that are going to serve for us. They make it where we are able to enjoy some of the freedoms that we do have in our country."
"Our biggest adjustment we made [at halftime] was just attitude. Not that [we had a bad attitude]. It's just that to play well in one of these games, you've got to be at an optimal pitch-and for us, that's how we've got to be every week."
Army Head Coach Rich Ellerson
"We battled hard for a half. We were trying like crazy to get out of that third quarter and see if we could take that as a one-position game going into the fourth quarter. We were outcoached, no doubt about it. We got outplayed, we got outhit. They got very patient with the fullback and they had a couple of ideas and they made us pay for them. They didn't get a little bit, they got a lot. This is the time of the year, this challenges your soul. It's a real challenge for this football team to stay together."
"[Air Force] had a couple of little ideas (in the second half), but they were little ideas that they do a job of executing, and frankly, we don't. Some of the things were happening in the first half, they continued to do and be patient with; they ran a little harder and broke a few tackles and blocked a little bit better. Some of it, they caught us not at home, they got us ill-aligned a couple of times. We have to be able to survive something like that. Misalignment can't be six points-it's going to be a first down, but it doesn't need to be a touchdown."
"I think the way we were going to play [Air Force], we were going to dare them to try (long) throws. When they had to, they did, and when they wanted to, they did, and we weren't up to it. Against a team that's going to involve their quarterback's legs like they do, and is as good with the option part of their game as they are, there are going to be one-on-ones, and you have to hang in there one-on-one."
