Cadets earn all-conference football honors

  • Published
  • By Dave Toller
  • U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFPN) --  Seven U.S. Air Force Academy football players were chosen for all-conference honors Dec. 5 by Mountain West Conference officials.

Leading the way was Air Force junior linebacker Drew Fowler who was named first-team all-Mountain West Conference.

Senior offensive lineman Robert Kraay and junior halfback Chad Hall each earned second-team all-conference honors. Four other Falcons including junior quarterback Shaun Carney, junior safety Bobby Giannini, senior center Stuart Perlow and senior defensive lineman Gilberto Perez, earned honorable mention honors.

Fowler is the first Falcon to earn first-team honors since 2003. The linebacker from Clayton, N.C., led the conference in tackles with 123, an average of 10.2 per game. He is the first Falcon since 1997 to lead the conference in tackles. Fowler led the team in tackles in 10 of 12 games this season.

Hall is 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. Hall led the Falcons and was fourth in the conference with 65.3 yards rushing per game. The halfback from Atlanta had 155 carries for 784 yards and five touchdowns. He also caught 11 passes, third on the team, for 117 yards and a score.

Kraay, from Tucker, Ga., was second on the team with 124 knockdown blocks and helped lead an injury-riddled offensive line. He averaged 12.2 knockdowns per game and had a season-best 18 vs. New Mexico. Kraay helped pave the way for the Falcon rushing game that led the MWC and ranked third in the nation with 229.4 rushing yards per game. Kraay also blocked four extra points, the fourth most in a single season in school history. He earned MWC Special Teams Player of the Week honors when he blocked two PATs vs. Notre Dame.

Carney was second in the league in passing efficiency (among players with more than 50 attempts) and was eighth in the conference in rushing yards per game (51.5) and seventh in passing yards per game (99.3). He completed 82 of 137 passes for 1,192 yards and 12 touchdowns with three interceptions. The North Olmsted, Ohio, product rushed for 618 yards on 188 carries with eight touchdowns.

Giannini, from Hawthorn Ill, was third on the team with 64 tackles and also had an interception and two pass break-ups.

Perlow, from Lancaster, Ohio, led the team with 202 knockdown blocks and had a career-high 29 vs. New Mexico.

Perez, from Tampa, Fla., battled through a variety of injuries all season. A preseason all-conference selection, Perez finished the year with 20 tackles, two pass break-ups and a forced fumble.