Falcons home opener a true blue success

  • Published
  • By Wayne Amann
  • U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFPN) --  Air Force football fans were rewarded for their patience Sept. 30 as the Falcons' long-awaited home opener resulted in a 24-7 bluesuiter victory over the University of New Mexico Lobos at Falcon Stadium.

Head coach Fisher DeBerry's troops wasted little time taking command of the Mountain West Conference matchup.

On the second play of the game Air Force free safety Julian Madrid forced a fumble by New Mexico running back Rodney Ferguson, which Falcon senior corner back Chris Sutton pounced on at the Lobo 15 yard line.

Three plays later, Air Force quarterback Shaun Carney powered his way for a 3-yard touchdown run to give the Falcons a 6-0 lead they would never relinquish. The Air Force has scored a touchdown on its first drive in every game this season.

"That set the tone," said DeBerry, "but I didn't think we tackled well in the second quarter, and I got on them about it at halftime."

He was referring to the screen pass New Mexico tailback Rodney Ferguson caught and turned into a 58-yard touchdown by breaking several Air Force tackles in the second quarter. It was the only letdown by the Falcons all afternoon.

On the previous possession, Air Force halfback Chad Hall raced 38 yards around left end to extend Air Force's lead to 13-0.

"I haven't seen a halfback show that kind of spurt in a long time," DeBerry said. "When he ran down the sideline he was really motoring."

The Falcons were running on all cylinders, much to the approval of the 40,453 spectators on what was billed as the "Blue Out" game. Fans were asked to wear something blue in the stands to show their support of and welcome back their Falcons, who were finally playing a home game on their new turf field after a scheduling quirk had them idle for two of the first three weeks of the season.

New Mexico (2-2, 0-1 MWC) was sporting its familiar cherry red and silver colors but felt blue after a costly mistake early in the fourth quarter.

Air Force had just upped its lead to 17-7 thanks to Zach Sasser's 48-yard field goal, the longest of his career. Sasser's ensuing kickoff was a line drive that Lobo return man Glover Quin fumbled off his shin. The ball was recovered by Falcon Aaron Kirchoff at the New Mexico 20 yard line. It was Kirchoff's third fumble recovery of the campaign, all on kickoffs.

DeBerry told reporters Sasser simply missed the ball when asked if that was a planned play. Sasser agreed.

"It was supposed to go middle deep, but I hit it a little high," the kicker admitted. "I was excited about making the field goal, and I tried to kill it. Luckily it worked out."

His teammates cashed in on the turnover when fullback Ryan Williams, who had a game-high 94 yards on a career-high 22 carries, ran the ball in from two yards out to cap the scoring.

The Falcons gave New Mexico's defense a steady diet of their fullbacks, especially in the second half. The trio of Williams, Scott Peeples and Jacobe Kendrick combined for 151 of Air Force's 262 net rushing yards. Their success on the ground enabled Carney to pass sparingly, just 3-of-5 for 19 yards.

"We said let's make them stop what we do best," the junior signal caller explained. "As long as our fullbacks were giving them trouble by getting first downs, there was no need to change anything."

The Air Force has scored a touchdown in 159 consecutive games, dating back to a 13-0 loss to the University of Mississippi in the 1992 Liberty Bowl. It's the ninth longest streak in the nation.

The win leaves the Falcons (2-1, 2-0 MWC) alone on top of the conference.

"We like where we are now," said DeBerry, who leads all active MWC coaches with 99 conference victories. "But there's some unfinished business."

The Air Force battles Navy Oct. 7, the three-year holder of the coveted Commander-In-Chief's Trophy, symbolic of inter-service football supremacy.

"My class lost it our freshman year so this is a big game for us," Sutton said. "We don't have to prove anything to Navy. We have to prove it to the Air Force, the academy and who we represent. We want to prove to the graduates who won this trophy we're good enough to get it back and keep it."