AIR FORCE ACADEMY — There was a good, old-fashioned game of rock ’em, sock ’em football Saturday at Falcon Stadium — or was it rugby?
Air Force coach Troy Calhoun assured it was football and that his Falcons earned a 20-3 slugfest against Army while using a brand of the game that once was called 3 yards and a cloud of dust.
“It was a tough, tough game,” Calhoun said in his postgame appraisal. “Army made it tough on us, and that’s a credit to Army.”
It was the fifth consecutive loss for Army (2-7) at Falcon Stadium.
But he also credited his own team for carrying the battle to the Black Knights and securing the fruits of the struggle before a crowd of 37,716, many of whom might have wondered if the players were wearing the old leather helmets of football’s past.
They watched as the Falcons (6-3) gained bowl eligibility with the win.
Representatives from the Armed Forces Bowl attended Saturday’s game.
Calhoun took the achievement in stride.
“I want our players to be proud of what they did today,” Calhoun said. “But we’re going back to work Monday morning.”
Army coach Jeff Monken credited Air Force with outplaying his team.
“Our defense played tough, but we gave up some big plays,” Monken said. “They (Falcons) held onto the ball and did some nice things sustaining their drives.”
The Falcons got Army’s attention with a ground game that hacked out 196 yards.
And Air Force quarterback Karson Roberts added just enough passing to thwart Army’s defense. He completed 7-of-10 passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns.
Roberts found tight end Garret Griffin wide open on a 3-yard strike with 2:12 left in the second quarter as the Falcons went up 10-0. He came back to Griffin again with 8:11 left in the game on a 23-yard pass that pushed Air Force’s lead to 20-3. Roberts’ third pass completion of the game, a 59-yard play down the east sideline to Garret Brown, set up Griffin’s first touchdown.
“Both of us were just running up and down the field and getting nowhere,” Roberts said of the course of the game.
Army’s only points came on a third quarter 42-yard field by Daniel Grochowski that spoiled a chance for a shutout for an Air Force defensive unit that otherwise had control of the game. Defensive end Alex Hansen and safety Weston Steelhammer each had five unassisted tackles.
