West Point, N.Y. – Last week, Air Force coach Fisher DeBerry asked where his big-play players were and he received a whole bunch of answers Friday night in Michie Stadium.
The Falcons took advantage of a comedy of errors by Army’s Black Knights on the way to a record-setting 43-7 victory, allowing DeBerry to say that his team was back on track after two straight losses. But now Air Force’s express runs into an obstacle on the tracks called Notre Dame. The Irish come to Falcon Stadium for as Saturday match up that will have Air Force in the role of a decided under dog. The Falcons evened their record at 4-4 with the victory. The Falcons gathered in seven Army turnovers.
“We were hungry for the ball,” DeBerry said. “We made great emphasis to our defensive team because Army had shown tendencies to turn over the ball. Our scheme for the game was outstanding for our defense.”
Air Force’s victory assures that Navy will retain the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy that goes to the Army-Air Force-Navy series. After beating Air Force earlier 24-17, the Midshipmen could win the trophy again outright Dec. 2 by beat Army. Should Army win, Navy keeps the trophy for another year as the incumbent.
There wasn’t a bigger play in the game for the Falcons than a crushing 98-yard fumble return by strong safety Adam Zanotti, a theft that deflated the Black Knights to a soft spongy force that never got going again.
Zanotti’s turn of events halted an Army that threatened to give the Black Knights the first score of the game.
“I saw coach DeBerry running and he was beating me down the sideline,” Zanotti said. “That might have been the longest play in Air Force history, time wise. “They came olut and hit us in the teeth. We talk about not giving up until they’re in the end zone. The quarterback fumbled the snap. It took the wind out of their sails.”
We got that spark and everything went our way after that,” strong safety John Rabold said.
Once ahead, the Falcons cruised to their biggest victory in their series with Army, surpassing a 33-point margin in 1973. Zanotti’s run on a fumble recovery and Air Force’s 36 points in the second quarter were school records.
Army’s contribution to the Air Force victory was overwhelming in the second period. In one stretch of 12:10, Army turned he ball over on four consecutive plays, including a safety on a kickoff return by freshman Damion Hunter. Hunter stepped into the end zone after fielding the ball and was met by Air Force’s Chris Thomas for the two points.
Three of the four turnovers were on first-down passes by Army’s freshman quarterback Carson Williams. Rabold picked off two of the passes and cornerback Garrett Rybak got the other. Army didn’t have the ball on offense outside of its 30-yard line in the entire period. The Black Knights scored the only points of the second half, driving 83 yards, scoring on a 15-yard pass from quarterback David Pevoto to Corey Anderson with 1:39 left in the game.
Air Force quarterback Shaun Carney, who left the heavy work up to his defense and halfback Chad Hall, did some fancy work leading up to the game. He was quoted in a Middleton, N.Y. newspaper, saying the Air Force was going to win 49-7.
“You could tell it was posted in their locker room,” Carney said. “I was just trying to get our guys fired up. It worked for us. A lot of players on our offense said they were glad I said it.”
Army linebacker Cason Shrode said his team was well aware of the comment.
“Of course it was motivation for us,” Shrode said. “We don’t want them to come in and beat us in our own house. We just didn’t get the job done tonight, that’s the bottom line.
Hall led the Air Force offense with 93 yards and a touchdown. Carney passed only four times, completing two for 44 yards and a touchdown.
Army coach Bobby Ross didn’t comment to the media after the game because of a family matter. Defensive coordinator John Mumford filled in.
“It’s difficult to overcome seven turnovers (including the safety),” Mumford said. “That’s the most glaring factor of the game.”
A 7-1 advantage in turnovers wasn’t the only statistic that favored the Falcons. They engineered a 19-12 advantage in first downs, a 68-48 advantage in plays and a 311-247 advantage in total offense.
Irv Moss can be reached at 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
Report card
Offense: B The Falcons elected to take the ball after winning the coin toss. They were penalized for a false start on first down. They went out on three downs and a 20-yard punt by Zach Sasser gave the Black Knights their first possession at the Air Force 46-yard line.
Defense: A After being absent the last two weeks in losses to San Diego State and BYU, Air Force’s defense came back with a strong performance. Besides the six turnovers gained by the defensive unit, Air Force’s defense limited Army to 25:02 of possession time and three conversions on eight third-down attempts.
Special Teams: B A safety during Army’s collapse in the second period helped improve the grade. It would have been worse with a missed extra point by kicker Zach Sasser and his 20-yard punt early in the first quarter when the Falcons needed better for field position.
Overall: A Because it was against a service academy opponent and on Army’s field, the average adds up to the top grade despite a couple of blunders by the offense and special teams.
