Air Force Academy – The rugby kick still is part of Air Force’s game plan. So is the shield punting formation.
But the difference in the Falcons’ punting game Saturday against Nevada-Las Vegas was they rarely had to kick and when they did, junior Christopher Carp took some of the adventure out of it. Carp had to punt only one time, and he came through with a 38-yarder in a 42-7 rout of the Rebels that ended the Falcons’ four-game losing streak.
Donny Heaton, who had been the AFA punter before the UNLV game and was involved in what had become almost weekly follies on special teams, held for the extra points. But Carp, a junior from Katy, Texas, doesn’t want Air Force to change its strategy in using different punting formations.
About the shield formation, where three linemen stand a few yards in front of the punter, Carp said: “I like the formation because you have more players going downfield to cover the punt. You have the three biggest players on the team blocking for you. I like the options it gives you.”
As for the rugby kick, where the punter rolls out, Carp said: “The rugby kick is a perfect play. If the defense doesn’t play assignment football, it’s an easy first down if you can run instead of punting the ball away.”
AFA coach Fisher DeBerry said Carp’s technique allows him to get the punt away faster than Heaton. “He doesn’t take as long of strides,” DeBerry said.
Tom Miller, the AFA special- teams coach, overhauled much of his kicking game for the UNLV game. Carp made his AFA debut and so did junior Zach Sasser and freshman Ryan Harrison, who split the kickoffs. Even though Carp was productive on his punt and Sasser and Harrison were steady with their kickoffs, Miller said, “I’m not settled on what we’re going to do in either situation.”
Miller said it was tough to take the punting duties away from Heaton, a senior.
“Donny gives you the 60-, 70- yarder that you drool over, but we had too much inconsistency,” Miller said. “We need to get the ball out of there and have some hang time.”
Footnotes
The Falcons (3-4) are in a better frame of mind as they prepare for Saturday’s home game against Texas Christian. “If we could beat TCU, it would open up the conference race,” special- teams captain Mark Carlson said. “We’re a confident group and we’re going to have that same confidence this week.” … Air Force’s Oct. 29 conference game at Brigham Young will start at 1 p.m.
Irv Moss can be reached at 303-820-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
