Air Force Academy – After working on fundamentals during a week off, Air Force sophomore quarterback Shaun Carney said Monday he believes the Falcons can salvage some confidence going into the offseason with a victory in their season finale Saturday at New Mexico.
The Lobos (6-4, 4-3 Mountain West Conference) are bowl- eligible after defeating Utah 31-27 last week and look to lock up a bowl berth with a victory.
“We believed in ourselves all year, but we haven’t done well against the top teams,” Carney said. “But we know we can compete against them. New Mexico knows it’s going to get the best from us. We spent a lot of time doing the little things last week, the fundamentals of football and the option offense.”
Carney said he concentrated on improving his footwork and making better reads on the option.
Showing New Mexico it can compete against an upper-division team is about all that’s left for Air Force (3-7, 2-5), which needs a victory to avert the worst record in coach Fisher DeBerry’s 22 seasons.
“We have to stay on the field as long as we can,” Carney said of the offense. “We have to do everything we can to keep New Mexico’s big-time players off the field. As the quarterback, it’s important for me to help turn this program around and get it back on track.”
DeBerry said the week off allowed some players to recover from bumps and bruises. AFA fullback Jacobe Kendrick, center Jon Wilson, halfback Justin Handley and nose guard Russ Mitscherling probably benefited the most from the rest. DeBerry said junior defensive end Gilberto Perez (knee) is out.
“We have some things we need to sharpen,” DeBerry said Monday. “I thought our players had a lot more spring in their legs today. We finalized our game plan today. We did today what we normally do on Tuesday, and that’s the advantage of an open date.”
DeBerry said his preference would be an open week closer to the middle of the Falcons’ season, however.
“But our players need a break any time because they get worn down physically and mentally,” he said.
Irv Moss can be reached at 303-820-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
