Falcons roll over Army, 43-7

  • Published
  • By Wayne Amann
  • Air Force Academy Public Affairs
WEST POINT, N.Y. (AFPN) --  Prior to the 41st renewal of the Air Force/Army football rivalry, Falcon quarterback Shaun Carney was asked by a local West Point, N.Y., newspaper to predict the final score.

The junior signal caller said the bluesuiters would win 49-7. His teammates nearly made him a prophet.

Air Force converted five Army turnovers in the first half into 34 points and cruised to a 43-7 rout over the Black Knights Nov. 3 before 32,066, mostly stunned fans, at Michie Stadium and a national television audience on ESPN2.

"Christmas came early for us this year," said Falcon back Adam Zanotti whose team record 98-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown on Army's first possession set the tone for the game. (The play eclipsed Scott Ham's 90-yard fumble recovery for a score against Colorado in 1970). "They drove on us but we don't give up (on defense) until they're in the end zone. When I saw the ball on the ground my eyes got big and I got lucky."

Army entered the game as the nation's most turnover-prone team, 26 giveaways in eight games. The Falcons forced two more fumbles and four interceptions. The first fumble, recovered by Air Force linebacker Drew Fowler, led to a 19-yard touchdown run by halfback Chad Hall early in the second quarter.

"We called a draw play, got great blocking up front, I made one cut on the backside linebacker and ran to the end zone," said Hall who had a game-high 93 yards on 16 carries. "Points off turnovers are big. When your defense gets you the ball you can't give it back. Our defense came up huge."

Up 14-0, Falcon cornerback Garrett Rybak intercepted a pass and returned it to the Army one-yard line where fullback Ryan Williams ran it in.

On the ensuing kickoff Black Knight return man Damien Hunter mishandled the ball inside his goal line. Instead of downing the ball which would have brought it out to the 20-yard line, he tried to run it out but was tackled for a safety by Chris Thomas.

The play had the effect of another turnover since Army had to kick the ball back to Air Force. The Falcons then capped a 10-play, 62-yard drive with a six-yard Carney touchdown run.

On Army's first play from scrimmage on each of its next two possessions Falcon back John Rabold intercepted highly-touted freshman quarterback Carson Williams. The first pick set up a fumble recovery for a touchdown by Beau Suder while the second resulted in a 36-yard touchdown pass by Carney to Spencer Armstrong. The back-to-back scores completed a 36-point second quarter, an Air Force record for points in a quarter.

"We needed to cause turnovers because we didn't do that the last two weeks," (Mountain West Conference losses to San Diego State and BYU) Air Force head coach Fisher DeBerry said. "After Zanotti's fumble recovery we were in the right place and made our own breaks. Our team made a statement about its pride and toughness."

The Falcons also paid Army back for last year's 27-24 loss in Colorado Springs, which eliminated Air Force from Commander-In-Chief's Trophy contention. The CIC hardware is presented to the service academy which wins the annual three-way round robin of games among the schools. This latest Air Force win means Navy retains the trophy for the fourth straight year, even if Army beats the Midshipmen Dec. 3. Navy downed Air Force 24-17 on Oct. 7.

This victory improved the Falcons all-time record to 27-13-1 against Army and bounced the Black Knights from bowl consideration. A minimum of six wins is needed to be bowl eligible. Army is 3-7 with two games to play.

Air Force (4-4, 3-2 MWC) is back in the bowl hunt with four games left; Notre Dame, Utah, UNLV and TCU.

"We're enjoying this now," Hall said. "But come tomorrow it's Notre Dame time. We're going to shock the nation."