Falcons ready to recapture Commander-in-Chief's Trophy

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Ken Wright
  • U.S. Air Force Academy
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AFPN) --  For Air Force Academy football players, last season was one to be remembered, but not so much for the things athletes normally enjoy reminiscing. As players walked victoriously from the field after blowing out New Mexico with a strong 42-24 win in the 2005 season finale, it felt good to finish strong.

Nevertheless, for those players who still had at least one season left to play, the triumph left them hungry for more.

That final game marked the finish of the team's first consecutive losing seasons under the leadership of Head Coach Fisher DeBerry -- 5-6 in 2004 and 4-7 in 2005. Returning players were determined to avoid a "threepeat." Instead of brooding over the disappointing season, they went straight to executing a plan to recapture the team's long-established winning ways.

Foremost on the list of things to remedy: returning the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy to the Air Force Academy, its rightful home in the team's opinion.

To keep them focused on their task, players have adopted the motto "Return to Dominance" for the upcoming season. This speaks to their desire to beat Annapolis and West Point following last year's losses to the sister service academies. Those defeats were only the second time in Air Force Academy football history the team lost to both academies in the same season.

As DeBerry talks about the losses, he glances around his office which feels a bit like a shrine to Falcon football. Positive thinking exudes from him and his confidence is contagious. But it's obvious talking about last season is not enjoyable for the coach as he enters his 23rd season leading the Falcons.

"Those losses were both by only by three points," he said. The loss to Navy was particularly frustrating for players and fans, as it was the third consecutive loss to the midshipmen, all of which were by only three points. Two were decided on the final plays of the games.

"For so many years we have dominated the commander-in-chief's series, that it's tough to take those losses," DeBerry said.

But if the tough losses to Army and Navy were anything, they were representative of a season that included four games lost by a total of only 10 points. With that said, this year's team and coaching staff are finished licking their wounds and ready for a little payback.

"There's nothing we can do about last year except learn from the positive things that happened," DeBerry said. "There were a lot of them, such as that it met nobody's expectations. Our expectations are very high and the players know it. And it's a great motivation going into this year. They are not accustomed to losing, let alone a losing season."

Following the victory over New Mexico, players headed to the weight room and began strengthening themselves for the season ahead.

"They started showing up at 0530 and then again in the afternoon after classes for training," DeBerry said. "We never had a player who was late or missed a practice, which I think shows the commitment of our players to each other and the team's goals."

Fans are hoping that commitment will pay off this year. The schedule will be as challenging as any the academy has seen as the Falcons fly to Tennessee for the season opener Sept. 9, and then face Notre Dame at Falcon Stadium Nov. 11.

There's no question Notre Dame will be the favored team going in, but Notre Dame is always favored against Air Force.

"Nevertheless, I believe we are the only team in history to beat them four years in a row," DeBerry said. "We accept the challenge. And we want to play that caliber of schedule and team. We also won't be favored against Tennessee. They, like us, have traditions in their program, plus an orange sea of 108,000 fans, but we will not be intimidated."

Air Force has always played a dominant game when it comes to offensive rushing, being ranked in the top five nearly every year for more than two decades.

As for tactics, the time-tested triple-option is still the best option for the Falcons according to DeBerry. Without the luxury of recruiting the behemoth players found on civilian university teams, it's hard to argue against his choice of weapons.

When you ask the coach which players he expects to lead the team through the challenges ahead, get comfortable -- it might take awhile before he's finished rattling off virtually everyone on the team roster.

"I like the way this team has come together and the respect they have for one another," he said. "Their greatest strength is togetherness and brotherhood, and the attitude of not letting each other down."

Developing cadets into great football players is not the only thing in which the veteran coach is interested. He knows the young men on his team are headed for far greater challenges than what they'll find on any football field. DeBerry believes football is the consummate team game and draws a correlation between his team and the Air Force team.

"Everyone has their own responsibilities within the framework of the team. Football teaches you better than any other sport, the importance of teamwork. It's also a game of ups and downs," DeBerry said.

"Day-to-day activities within the Air Force also go up and down, so I think this game really prepares them to handle the adversity and tough times ahead," he said. "We've had some great players that have made great Air Force officers, and that's what we are all about."

2006 Air Force Football Schedule

Date Time Opponent Series

Sept. 2, Open
Sept. 9, TBA at Tennessee, UT 1-0
Sept. 16, Open
Sept. 23, 2:30 p.m. at Wyoming* (Mtn), AF 21-19-3
Sept. 30, Noon, New Mexico* (Mtn), AF 14-9
Oct. 7, Noon, Navy (CSTV), AF 25-13
Oct. 12, 6 p.m., Colorado State* (CSTV), AF 24-19-1
Oct. 21, 6 p.m. at San Diego State* (Mtn), AF 16-8
Oct. 28, Noon, BYU* (Mtn), BYU 20-6
Nov. 3, 6 p.m. at Army (ESPN2), AF 26-13-1
Nov. 11, 2 p.m., Notre Dame (CSTV), ND 21-5
Nov. 18, 2/5 p.m., Utah* (CSTV/Mtn), AF 13-9
Nov. 24, 5 p.m. at UNLV* (CSTV), AF 8-3
Dec. 2, 2:30 p.m. at TCU* (CSTV/Mtn), TCU 3-1-1

* - MWC game
All times Mountain
Mtn - The Mountain, MountainWest Sports Network
CSTV - College Sports Television