Air Force Academy – Saturday was a day of introductions at Falcon Stadium. By the time Air Force had finished polishing off South Carolina State 34-3, it seemed everyone had known each other for a long time.
This wasn’t practice. It was straight- forward, eye-to-eye handshaking as Troy Calhoun made his debut as AFA coach. Calhoun gave a new look to the Falcons’ game plan. Air Force lined up in the shotgun. Air Force blitzed the safeties and even reintroduced the tight end to the passing game.
The result was an impressive win against an overmatched Division I-AA opponent before 39,364 fans.
“I loved the energy the crowd provided,” Calhoun said.
Air Force tailback Kip McCarthy said: “There’s a different attitude from practices to games for both the players and the coaches. This was our first game with new systems, but if you look at the numbers, they speak for themselves.”
McCarthy supplied some of the key numbers with 129 yards rushing, including a 50-yard gallop in the third quarter. Air Force amassed 279 yards rushing and 27 first downs. With senior quarterback Shaun Carney working out of the shotgun formation most of the game, Air Force gained 455 total yards in the season opener.
Air Force’s defense was every bit as dominant, holding the Bulldogs to 160 total yards and registering six sacks.
“For the most part we were pleased,” Calhoun said. “We missed a reverse opportunity. I was pleased with the tempo. You want to see how they respond in a game. Defensively, I thought there were parts of the game where we were dominant.”
Air Force led 24-3 at halftime.
“We just got outplayed,” South Carolina State quarterback Cleveland McCoy said. “Air Force was a little bit more prepared to play.”
South Carolina State coach Oliver Pough said he didn’t think the Falcons would have trouble adapting to a new coach.
“We depend on these guys to save our fannies,” Pough said. “There isn’t any doubt about the fact that we hope they have some smarts about them. Stevie Wonder could put in an offense with these guys. They’re smart as heck. I thought we were going to be OK after the first couple of series, but they made some adjustments and we kind of stumbled around the rest of the day.”
