AIR FORCE ACADEMY — The only question for Air Force defensive lineman Harry Kehs is whether he should play the drum or the fife, like the walking wounded in the Revolutionary War.
The Falcons have lost five defensive linemen to injuries this season, including several who made it back only to be hurt again.
Kehs, a 6-foot-4, 255-pound senior from Vienna, Va., appeared to be done for the season after he injured his left shoulder in the Oct. 29 game against New Mexico.
But Air Force coach Troy Calhoun has a good reason for calling Kehs a “Six Million Dollar Man,” referring to the 1974-78 television series starring Lee Majors, whose character had a bionic arm, legs and eye.
“It looked as if I wouldn’t be playing again initially,” Kehs said. “It was a dislocation and a torn labrum, but it wasn’t broken. It popped out twice and it was a pretty rough process putting it back in place.”
Kehs surprised everybody by getting back on the field last weekend for Air Force’s 45-17 victory over Nevada-Las Vegas at Falcon Stadium. He’s expected to play Saturday when the Falcons (6-5, 2-4 Mountain West) complete the regular season against Colorado State (3-7, 1-4) in Fort Collins.
Kehs is wearing a brace to protect his shoulder, but says the injury bothers his classroom work the most because he’s left-handed.
Although he didn’t become a starter until the second game of the season, Kehs has been Air Force’s best defensive lineman. His 28 tackles in nine games lead the linemen and rank 11th on the team.
The Falcons have survived the patchwork on their defensive line and kept their season from coming apart at the seams. They will be eligible to play in a bowl game if they beat CSU.
“We’re a pretty resilient group,” Kehs said. “For a lot of us, this is our last year of playing football. We had to do everything we could to get back on the field.”
Lamendola update.
Ken Lamendola might play against CSU after all. The senior linebacker had hoped to resurrect his football career during an extra semester this fall.
Lamendola led Air Force in tackles as a sophomore with 118 in 2008, but missed the next two seasons because of injuries. He was granted the extra semester because of missed military and academic work because of the injuries.
But more injuries have kept him off the field most of this 2011 season.
“I had some bad luck, but I don’t have any regrets,” Lamendola said.
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
