Air Force Academy – Air Force junior tight end Travis Dekker has some extra inspiration Saturday for Air Force’s first home game of the season, against New Mexico, and it isn’t anticipation for a big day of catching passes.
Dekker already has half the number of catches for Air Force’s tight ends of last year with one, but he isn’t setting his sights on a banner season.
Against New Mexico, Dekker is facing his hometown team from Albuquerque.
“They have an extremely fast defense,” Dekker said. “I know a lot of players on their defense. They played on my (high school) team, and I played against a lot of them. They’re very fast individuals, and they have an instinct for the ball. With an option offense, if you don’t have an instinct for the ball, your head is going to be on a swivel.”
Dekker’s attention will be focused on three of the Lobos, one of which he might see a lot of in the game. He could be paired up against sophomore linebacker Zach Arnett as a blocker, and should the Falcons throw again to the tight end, Dekker could come face to face with cornerback Frankie Baca.
Arnett is sixth on New Mexico’s tackle chart with 16. Dekker’s best friend probably is Lobos fullback Matt Quillen.
“We’ve had some pass plays to the tight end in our game plan each time,” Dekker said.
But, he added, “we’re going to go with what the defense gives us. We only threw seven times last week and our total offense (367 yards) was amazing.”
Dekker missed the entire season a year ago because of injury, but this is his second game against the Lobos. He played in one varsity game as a freshman in 2004, and it was against New Mexico, which Air Force won 28-23.
Air Force coach Fisher DeBerry thinks highly of Dekker, even off the football field, where the tight end is in the running to be wing commander next year.
Quarterback Shaun Carney isn’t predicting any change in the action for the tight ends.
“We’re going to do what we have to do to win the game,” Carney said. “If that means running the ball 70 times, that’s what we’re going to do.”
Footnotes
There will be inspiration all around for the Falcons in the home opener. Players have been asked to dedicate their performance to a meaningful person in their lives. Cornerback Garrett Rybak is dedicating his game to his grandmother Lucille, who lives in Texas. “She just turned 91, and she’s always been a big part of my life,” Rybak said. “When my mother passed away when I was 12, she did a lot for me, my brother and father. She always took care of me and was a good supporter .” … The academy is asking fans to join the team for the inaugural “Blue Walk.” The team’s buses will stop at Tunnel Road east of the stadium at 10 a.m., and fans can line the road as the players walk to the stadium.
GAME BREAKDOWN: Saturday, noon
Players to watch
New Mexico (2-2): Strong safety Quincy Black and right safety OJ Swift have been busy, and they will be again as the keys to stopping the triple option. Black leads the team in tackles with 37 and has forced a fumble. Swift is second in tackles with 28 and has forced two fumbles. Tailback Rodney Ferguson is averaging 93.2 yards a game, but he’s facing a rushing defense that ranks third in the conference at 78 yards a game.
Air Force (1-1): Halfback Chad Hall leads the conference in rushing at 101.5 yards a game, but he’s only part of the effort as the Falcons lead the conference in rushing offense at 304.0 yards per contest. Safeties Bobby Giannini and Julian Madrid and cornerback Chris Sutton are among Air Force’s defensive leaders, but the Falcons remain vulnerable to the pass, allowing 251 yards a game.
Key stat
Air Force has 34 first downs rushing in two games and a healthy 21:52 advantage in possession time.
Key for New Mexico
The Lobos can’t allow the Falcons to duplicate last week’s possession time advantage of 40:25-19:35 at Wyoming.
Key for Air Force
If necessary, quarterback Shaun Carney has to show he can switch to a passing game. He has thrown only 16 passes in two games, completing 10 for 167 yards and a touchdown.
Irv Moss can be reached at 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
