AIR FORCE ACADEMY — Coach Troy Calhoun has talked all season about how he would like to have his Air Force starting offensive line back next year.
All five linemen are seniors — center Michael Hampton, guards Nick Charles and Peter Lusk and tackles Chris Campbell and Ryan Gonzales. They received their share of plaudits Saturday after paving the way for 557 yards of total offense, the Falcons’ most against a Mountain West Conference team this year.
Sophomore tailback Asher Clark mentioned the linemen. So did sophomore quarterback Tim Jefferson.
“For our seniors to conclude the games they’ve played in Falcon Stadium this way, you couldn’t be happier for a group,” Calhoun said after the Falcons’ 45-17 victory over Nevada- Las Vegas. “They’ve been great workers.”
Said Hampton: “We didn’t want to start flat like we did in the Army game (Nov. 7). We wanted to put together a complete game. We didn’t say much because we didn’t want to treat this as the end of the season. It was the way to go out here.”
Weather report.
UNLV coach Mike Sanford called the weather conditions a “little crazy” but not a factor in the game, which drew a crowd of 25,370. Air Force linebacker John Falgout said the Falcons had fun playing in the snow and cold.
The snow began with seven minutes left in the third quarter and continued the rest of the game.
“It was a blast,” Falgout said. “Everybody had fun. I’m just happy to go out like this. The weather didn’t play too much of a factor for us.”
Footnotes.
With seven victories this year, Calhoun became the first Air Force coach to have seven or more wins in each of his first three seasons. . . . The opening drive of 95 yards was the longest scoring drive of the season for the Falcons.
Irv Moss, The Denver Post
