Falcon football to kickoff at 'home' in Seattle

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Don Nelson
  • Air Force Print News
SAN ANTONIO --  Air Force Falcons will kickoff their season as the “home” team 1,400 miles away from Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colo. The Falcons begin their 2005 campaign against the University of Washington at Qwest Field in Seattle on Sept. 3.

The season opener also will feature several demonstrations and events that highlight the Air Force. The activities include a free tailgate party, a pregame flyover, presentation of the colors by the McChord Air Force Base, Wash., honor guard and the singing of the national anthem by the Air Force academy band’s Blue Steel.

Halftime festivities will feature an enlistment ceremony and a live performance by the Falcon mascot. Following the game, Blue Steel will perform a 30-minute concert in the south end zone.

Coming off a 5-6 record last season, the Falcons are looking to get back on track this season, Air Force head coach Fisher Deberry said.

"I can't wait to get back on the field," DeBerry said. "Our strength staff has done a good job of bringing out the athleticism of our players in the off-season, and now we need to get them on the field and develop it with practice."

The Falcons have five games at Falcon Stadium this season with the opener Sept. 10 against San Diego State University to begin Mountain West Conference play. Other home games include University of Wyoming on Sept. 17, University of Nevada-Las Vegas on Oct. 15, Texas Christian University on Oct. 22, and Army on Nov. 5.

Air Force will hit the road for three games in a row beginning Sept. 22 against the University of Utah. The Falcons go to Fort Collins, Colo., on Sept. 29 to play Colorado State University and then to Annapolis, Md., to take on Navy. The road schedule concludes with a game at Brigham Young University on Oct. 29 and at University of New Mexico on Nov. 19.

Offensively, the Falcons were solid last season finishing second in the conference in scoring and total offense. Deberry said the team looks to improve on last year.

"I think our defense is going to be considerably better this season. I like what we're doing with the defense and I think we have a lot of guys that can help us," he said.

If history repeats itself, they will bounce back. Following each of Air Force's other two losing seasons under DeBerry, the team won eight games the next year.