Air Force Academy – The second-team, no-huddle offense that surprised Washington in Seattle last weekend fizzled. Air Force’s fancy new offense was fluff.
But when the Falcons turned the page back to the staple of an “old-fashioned” triple-option offense, they rode the legs of fullback Jacobe Kendrick to a 41-29 victory over San Diego State in the teams’ Mountain West Conference opener Saturday before 30,101 fans at Falcon Stadium.
Kendrick hammered the Aztecs’ defense for 128 yards and four touchdowns on 26 carries, powering Air Force to a 2-0 start in its 50th season of varsity football.
Kendrick’s last two touchdowns, on 1-yard runs, came in the last five minutes and helped the Falcons pull away.
The 6-foot, 230-pound junior from Midland, Texas, also scored two of Air Force’s first three touchdowns, the first cutting into San Diego State’s 10-0 lead and the second giving the Falcons a 20-10 advantage with 4:01 left in the first half.
“We got back to some of the basics in our offense, and that’s establishing the fullback game,” AFA coach Fisher DeBerry said. “That was our focus going into the game. They gave us some things we had to adjust to during the game, but I thought from the sidelines that our players handled it very well.”
When Kendrick wasn’t running loose in the secondary, sophomore quarterback Shaun Carney gave the Aztecs (0-2) plenty else to think about.
Carney was sensational in the passing game, completing 10-of-12 attempts for 231 yards, including a touchdown on a 38-yard pass to senior tight end Robert McMenomy after scrambling away from the pass rush. Carney also rushed for 81 yards and a touchdown as the Falcons totaled 503 yards.
But the Falcons struggled in the kicking game. Scott Eberle failed to convert two field-goal attempts and an extra point, which kept the Falcons from securing a safe lead. Sophomore safety Bobby Giannini provided the clinching play when he intercepted Kevin O’Connell at San Diego State’s 44-yard line with 4:33 left and returned the ball to the Aztecs’ 9.
The performances of Kendrick and Carney were not overlooked by San Diego State coach Tom Craft.
“It started with their fullback,” Craft said. “He gained over 100 yards and ran the ball tough. Their quarterback threw very well, and those two things were the big differences for them.”
Kendrick and Carney helped the Falcons finish with an advantage of nearly 11 minutes in time of possession.
“It feels good to win your first conference game,” DeBerry said. “But obviously we have a big conference game next week against Wyoming (at Falcon Stadium), and then two more right after that (Utah and Colorado State on the road).”
Air Force converted two San Diego State turnovers into 14 points in the second quarter, and DeBerry was especially pleased with an 80-yard scoring drive to start the second half that pushed the Falcons ahead by 14 points on McMenomy’s touchdown catch.
“That was a thing of beauty,” DeBerry said of that eight-play drive. “Our offense drove the ball and scored, and then our defense came back out and took them off the field after they got one first down. That’s the message you’re supposed to send to start the second half.”
O’Connell, a 6-6, 220-pound sophomore, tormented the Falcons with 279 yards of offense, rushing for 52 and a touchdown and completing 24-of-39 passes for 227 yards and a touchdown.
“We had some confidence on offense, but we had a couple of exchange problems,” O’Connell said. “We’ll figure out how to clean that up for next week.”
DeBerry twice brought in quarterback Adam Fitch and the second team, once in the first quarter and again in the third quarter. The Falcons were unable to pick up a first down either time.
Staff writer Irv Moss can be reached at 303-820-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
