Air Force Academy – The more coaches Tom Craft of San Diego State and Fisher DeBerry of Air Force talk about Saturday’s game at Falcon Stadium, the more it seems a big defensive play will determine the outcome.
San Diego State has won the last three games in what has become a high-scoring series. Each coach is looking for his defense to step up in the Mountain West Conference opener for both teams. The matchup starts at noon.
San Diego State’s offense is led by quarterback Kevin O’Connell, running back Lynell Hamilton and receiver Jeff Webb, a trio that ranks among the MWC’s best. Hamilton has missed the past two games against Air Force with injuries.
“San Diego State has an outstanding quarterback who played very well against us last year,” DeBerry said. “They have a great running back (Hamilton). They’ve always had great athletes at the receiver positions.”
Craft said Air Force, coming off a season-opening victory against Washington, provides similar problems on defense.
“Air Force beat Washington because their offense was quicker than Washington’s defense,” Craft said. “They have a lot of weapons and a promising quarterback (Shaun Carney) who can make big plays.”
The stage appears set for another high-scoring game. San Diego State, which won last year in the snow, 37-31, allowed 44 points in a season-opening loss to UCLA. Craft, though, isn’t about to get down on his team.
“We saw some encouraging things last week, particularly on defense,” Craft said. “We’ll make some minor changes this week.”
Air Force’s defense, meanwhile, demonstrated an ability to make big plays against Washington when it was needed most. In the first quarter, cornerback Chris Sutton stopped Washington’s fourth-down pass play a yard short of a first down at the Air Force 18. The Huskies were held to a field goal until the third quarter.
Air Force strong safety Julian Madrid, from San Diego, expects more firepower from the Aztecs. He’s familiar with many of their players, having competed with and against several in high school.
“I played with Brandon Bornes, one of their running backs, in an all-star game,” Madrid said. “I know about Kevin O’Connell’s passing. He had a lot of passing yards on us last year. I know receiver Robert Ortiz.”
It is San Diego State’s second consecutive trip to Air Force, a scheduling quirk caused by the addition of Texas Christian to the league this season.
San Diego St. (0-1) at Air Force (1-0)
PLAYERS TO WATCH
San Diego State: QB Kevin O’Connell piled up 314 yards total offense against AFA a year ago, including 232 yards passing. RB Lynell Hamilton is back after missing last season with an injury and ran for 84 yards and two scores against UCLA last week. He also caught five passes. WR Jeff Webb grabbed 71 passes a year ago; he had five receptions for 71 yards last week.
Air Force: QB Shaun Carney needs a strong performance. He was 9-of-14 against Washington a week ago. S Bobby Giannini might be the key to solving San Diego State’s balanced attack. He had nine tackles in the opener. FB Jacobe Kendrick, who had 51 yards against the Huskies, will be counted on to pound the middle.
KEY STAT
The Falcons didn’t score a touchdown last week until the fourth quarter. A better start on offense is needed.
KEY FOR SAN DIEGO STATE
Not allowing Air Force to dominate time of possession. The more Air Force’s offense is on the field, the fewer chances O’Connell has to do his damage.
KEY FOR AIR FORCE
Converting in the red zone. These teams annually play high-scoring games. In the past 10 games in the series, the winner has scored 45 points twice, more than 30 points four times and more than 20 points three times.
Irv Moss can be reached on 303-820-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
