AIR FORCE ACADEMY — For Chad Hall, Nevada Avenue in Colorado Springs can’t hold a candle to Peachtree Street in Atlanta.
And the way the Air Force senior is running with the ball this year, it seems he’s trying to run all the way back to being among the dogwood and magnolia blossoms that line Atlanta’s most famous street.
“Oh, yeah,” Hall answered when asked if he still is a Southern gentleman. “I ran the Peachtree Road Race when I was in high school. But it’s a lot more fun there now that I’m 21.”
Hall’s quiet manner doesn’t suggest he won the Mountain West Conference’s offensive player of the week award the past two weeks. It almost seems as if he’s crediting somebody else.
But his most recent heyday Saturday against Colorado State, when he scored four touchdowns and rushed for a school- record 256 yards, surely will make him a marked player the rest of the season.
“I’ll look at it as a challenge if they look at it that way,” Hall said. “If they key on me, we have other players who can make big plays and are waiting to make big plays.”
Jemal Singleton, Air Force’s running backs coach, works with Hall about half the time because the 5-foot-8, 180-pound, do-it-all player is listed as a wide receiver in Air Force’s new offense.
“He has more opportunity to blossom this year,” Singleton said. “He touches the ball more than anyone else. He’s getting more direct handoffs this year, whereas last year he was catching pitches in the triple option. If the opposition keys on him, we do a lot of different things.”
Hall calls it a chance to run downhill.
“I’m getting the ball in better places,” Hall said. “Last year I usually was running toward the sideline and rarely started out running straight up the field.”
Hall also is running out of time as a football player. With only five regular-season games remaining in his AFA career, he wants to make every step count.
“I’ve been playing football since I was 6 years old,” Halls said. “It’s going to be a different life for me without it. Last week when we were waiting out the lightning delay at CSU, we heard they were talking about canceling the game. I said ‘No way.’ I can’t afford to lose a single game.”
AFA coach Troy Calhoun sees it a different way: The rest of the team couldn’t afford to miss playing a game without Hall.
“He’s a winner,” Calhoun said. “As the season goes on you find out more and more about him. He’s a spunky guy who loves to practice, loves to play and he’s a guy you love to have as a teammate, which these guys are fortunate to have.”
Hall learned to look at sports as a way of life while growing up in Atlanta. He credits his mother, Leslie, with the willingness to take him and his sisters, Jenny and Kelly, to sports venues of any kind.
“We were a real athletic family,” Hall said. “My mom would drive us around wherever we had to go. We tried everything from baseball to swimming to soccer to field hockey.”
Hall played quarterback when he first arrived at the academy after playing quarterback and defensive back in high school. His team was 20-6 over his last two years. He still does the job of a quarterback with the Falcons by knowing what every player does on every play.
Hall is bringing his own cheering section Saturday to Falcon Stadium for the Wyoming game in hopes of helping Air Force, which hasn’t had a winning season since 2003, stay on the winning track. The Falcons are Mountain West contenders at 5-2 overall and 4-1 in conference games.
Hall’s older sister, Jenny, a cheerleader at Florida State during her college days, and younger sister Kelly, a cheerleader at Georgia, are coming to lend a hand.
“We always argue about who’s the best athlete,” Chad said. “We’re real competitive. I probably care the most about it.”
Footnote. Hall was named the AT&T All-America player of the week Thursday for his performance against CSU.
Irv Moss: 303 954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
The Lowdown
By Irv Moss, The Denver Post
AIR FORCE (5-2, 4-1 MWC)
Player to watch:
QB Shaun Carney
Carney has to be able to step up if Wyoming’s defense neutralizes the potent running game by receiver/tailback Chad Hall. Carney has completed 61.8 percent of his passes, but for only three touchdowns.
Key for the Falcons: Clamp down on the Cowboys’ running backs.
Air Force must keep Wyoming running backs Devin Moore and Wynel Seldon in check. If the Falcons can stop the run and force the Cowboys to pass, they have a shot against Wyoming quarterback Karsten Sween, who has thrown nine interceptions.
WYOMING (4-2, 1-1)
Player to watch:
QB Karsten Sween
After Wyoming’s offense struggled to score last week in the Cowboys’ 20-3 loss to New Mexico, it is up to Sween to generate more points. The sophomore has completed 61.8 percent of his passes and has seven touchdown passes.
Key for the Cowboys: Beware of the
Falcons’ running game.
Air Force’s running game has returned to the performance of years ago, when the Falcons consistently ranked among the top rushing teams in the country. The Falcons rank fifth now, averaging 260.4 yards per game.
