Updating the Numbers

Fisher DeBerry's record after 244 games, through the New Mexico game of 2003, as head coach at Air Force stands at 156-87-1(.641) overall; 73-56-1(.565) on the road or at neutral sites and 83-31(.728) in home games.

FISHER'S IMPACT. Entering the San Diego State game AFA's all-time record stands at 294-242-13(.547) in 549 games. Fisher's tenure as head coach spans 44% of the total number of games the Falcons have played in their history, yet has produced 53% of the academy's victories. Another mark of Fisher's success is that his teams have registered only 36% of the academy's all-time losses while having played 44% of the total number of games in AFA's football history. DeBerry has already won 18 more games than all other head football coaches in AFA's history combined.

       DEE-FENSE, DEE-FENSE?  From November 18, 1999, through this season's New Mexico game, Air Force has played forty-seven games against division 1-A opponents. In 30 (63.8%) of those games Air Force has allowed 24 or more points to the opposition. In those 30 games when allowing 24 or more points AFA has gone 12-18 (.400). In the seventeen games in which the defense has allowed fewer than twenty-four points AFA has gone 15-2(.882). When AFA limits the opposition to fewer than 24 points it wins. When AFA allows twenty-four points or more its chances to win decrease rapidly and the figures support this assessment.

       In these forty-seven games against division 1-A opponents Air Force has compiled a 27-20(.574) record. The last time AFA allowed a team to score at least twenty-four points and still posted a victory was September 20, 2003, at home, against Wyoming when AFA beat the Cowboys, 35-29. 

       On October 19, 2002, Notre Dame became the first team to defeat AFA when scoring fewer than 24 points since Utah beat the Falcons, 21-15, in the Snow Bowl on October 16, 1999. The only other game Air Force has lost since November 18, 1999, when allowing fewer than twenty-four points is the 2002 San Francisco Bowl to Virginia Tech by a, 20-13, score.

       A CHANCE TO ADVANCE. Here is a look at the leading rushers in AFA history through the New Mexico game of the 2003 season. Lost in the team's disappointing record over the second half of the current season is the continuing climb up the career rushing chart by Chance Harridge. With the seventy yards he gained against the Lobos this past weekend, Harridge moved past Pat Evans and Brian Bream into fourth place on the academy's all-time rushing list. Harridge will finish his football career as the Falcons' fourth leading ground gainer in history.
        

         1. 3612     Dee Dowis
         2. 3379     Beau Morgan
         3. 2726     John Kershner
         4. 2289     Chance Harridge <==
         5. 2284     Brian Bream
         5. 2284     Pat Evans
         7. 1993     Greg Johnson
         8. 1860     Marty Louthan
         9. 1762     Jason Jones
       10. 1760     Rodney Lewis
       11. 1702     Rob Perez
       12. 1677     Bart Weiss
       13. 1633     Terry Issacson
       14. 1630     Ken Wood
       15. 1551     Shelby Ball
       16. 1534     Mike Thiessen
       17. 1478     Jake Campbell
       18. 1470     Leotis Palmer
       19. 1406     Qualario Brown
       20. 1400     Scotty McKay
       21. 1371     Mike Quinlan
       22. 1354     Spanky Gilliam
       23. 1347     Larry Thomson
       24. 1296     Nakia Addison
       25. 1242     Keith Boyea
       26. 1233     Johnny Smith
       27. 1129     Blane Morgan
       28. 1107    Anthony Butler <==
       29. 1091     Curtis Martin
       30. 1074     Bill Berry
       31. 1029     Darnell Stephens <==
       32. 1005     Joel Carlson
      
      

       Anthony Butler continues his climb up the chart of career rushing leaders at the academy. Butler had a tough day against the stingy New Mexico defense managing just three yards on a similar number of carries. He stands twenty-two yards in back of Blane Morgan on the Falcons' all-time rushing list. In his career Butler has carried the ball 206 times for 1,107 yards, 10 TDs and a 5.37 yards per carry average.

       The newest name to be added to the list of career rushers to have met or surpassed the 1,000 yard mark is Darnell Stephens. The junior from Midwest City, Oklahoma accounted for the team's only TD of the game over the weekend in AFA's, 24-12, loss to New Mexico. Stephens' career slate shows him having carried the ball 181 times, for 1029 yards, a 5.68 yards per carry average and 6 TDs. The simultaneous presence of Chance Harridge, Butler and Stephens on the roster gives this year's AFA team three of the program's top thirty-one ground gainers in its distinguished history.

       The next player to join this elite company could be current sophomore HB Matt Ward. Through the New Mexico game Ward's career ledger shows he has 97 carries for 617 yards, a 6.36 yards per carry average and 6 rushing TDs.
      



       AND JUST FOR KICKS. PK Joey Ashcroft continues his assault on establishing himself among the most accomplished kickers in AFA history. He hit both his field goal attempts in the New Mexico game and moved past Dave Adams and Dennis Leuthaser into fourth place in number of FGs made in a kicking career at the AFA. Have a look where he stands in some prominent categories in AFA place-kicking annals.



       AFA Career FG Percentage Leaders
                           FGM-FGA          PCT.
1. Jackson Whiting-1998-99    19-23                    .826
2. Joe Wood-1989-91         39-49              .796
3. David Adams-1998-2000      26-34                   .765
4. Carlos Mateos-1984            12-16                   .750
5. Joey Ashcroft-current        28-38             .736 <==

       Career Field Goals Made
1. Dave Lawson 51 (1972-75)
2. Sean Pavlich 42  (1980-83)
3. Joe Wood 39  (1989-91)
4. Joey Ashcroft  28 (2002-present) <==
5. Dennis Leuthaser 27 (1967-69)
6. Dave Adams 26 (1998-2000)
7. Jim Sturch 25 (1978-79)
8. Randy Roberts  22 (1994-95)


       Field Goals Made in a Season
1. 19 Dave Lawson 1974
1. 19 Dave Adams 2000
3. 17 Joe Wood 1991
4. 16 Jim Sturch 1978
4. 16 Joey Ashcroft 2002

       AFA AGAINST THE POINTS. From 2001 to the present here's look at how the Falcons have fared against the point spread. Bear in mind that Las Vegas does not set a line for a game matching a division 1-A team against a division 1-AA team. In 2001, Air Force went 3-8 against the spread. In 2002, AFA went 9-4 against the point spread. The Falcons are 4-6 against the spread this year. The Falcons were 4 1/2 point underdogs against New Mexico and did not cover the spread.


       WHITEWASHED. Air Force posted its ninth shutout during Fisher DeBerry's tenure as head coach when it beat Wofford, 49-0, to open the 2003 season. Army (1991), The Citadel (1993), San Jose State (1996) Colorado State and Army (1997), Wake Forest (1998), Army (1999) and Tennessee Tech (2001) are the other shutouts administered by the Falcons in the DeBerry era.

       TAKING THE OFFENSIVE. Chuck Petersen has been the offensive coordinator for the Falcons from the outset of the 2000 season. Since Petersen has assumed the reins to the Air Force attack the Falcons have posted a record of 29-18(.617) in forty-seven games through the team's effort versus New Mexico.

       LOOKING BACKWARD AND FORWARD. Wofford is 10-1 on the year. Northwestern is 5-6; North Texas 8-3; Wyoming 4-6; BYU 4-7; Navy 6-4; UNLV 5-5; CSU is 6-5; Utah is 8-2; Army is 0-11 and New Mexico is 7-4. The overall record of the teams Air Force has played through eleven games of its schedule is 63-54(.538). The Falcons' final regular season opponent--San Diego State--has a 5-6 record bringing the aggregate record of AFA's opposition to 68-60(.531).

       


       IS LESS MORE...or is it really less? Here's a brief comparative look at Chance Harridge's offensive production through the first eleven games of the 2002 and 2003 seasons.

2002 Rushing: 212 carries for 1042 yards 19 TDs and a 4.91 yards per carry average.
2003 Rushing: 165 carries for 879 yards 12 TDs and a 5.32 yards per carry average.

2002 Passing: 54 for 113 and 846 yards/ 5 ints/ 9 TDs and a 47.7% completion mark.
2003 Passing: 73 for 143 and 930 yards/ 6 ints/ 6 TDs and a 51.0% completion mark.

2002 Total offense: 1,888 yards and 28 TDs with a team record of 8-3.
2003 Total offense: 1,809 yards and 18 TDs with a team record of 7-4.

       In 2002 Harridge ran 234 times for 1,159 yards in the regular season and carried the ball, on average, 19.5 times a game. In 2003, Harridge is averaging 15 carries a game through the team's first eleven contests and is on a pace to register 180 rushing attempts in the regular season, or four and half fewer carries per game.

       ANOTHER MOUNTAIN TO CLIMB. It might be too much of a challenge for him to move into the top rungs of this list, but have a look at where Chance Harridge stands in relation to the all time total offense leaders at AFA.

1. 6,627--Beau Morgan 1994-96
2. 6,482--Dee Dowis 1986-1989
3. 5,511--Dave Ziebart 1976-1979
4. 4,997--Marty Louthan 1980-1983
5. 4,740--Rich Haynie 1971-1973

       Entering the San Diego State game on November 22nd, Harridge has amassed 2,289 yards rushing and 2,111 yards passing for a total offensive output of 4,400 yards. He would need to account for 340 yards over the course of the remainder of his career to tie Rich Haynie for fifth place on the total offense chart in AFA football history. Assuming a best case scenario--that Harridge remains healthy and that AFA earns a bowl bid--he'd need to average 170 yards a contest over the next two games to move into a fifth place tie with Haynie. Harridge completed passes for over 100 yards for the second time this season in the team's loss last weekend to New Mexico. The 115 yards through the air pushed Harridge past the 2,000 yards passing mark for his career at Air Force. He joins Beau Morgan and Dee Dowis as the only AFA quarterbacks to have surpassed the 2,000 yard mark in both rushing and passing in their college careers placing Harridge in select company in Falcons' football history.



       OUTPACING THE OPPOSITION.  Since the start of the 2001 season and before facing San Diego State this coming weekend, the Air Force Falcons have played thirty-six games. AFA has compiled a 21-15 (.583) in those games. Here's a game by game look at the yards gained and allowed by the Falcons in this time and a look at how this performance correlates to AFA's record over the time span.

2001

AFA  249      Oklahoma  398    Loss  44-3
AFA  379      Tenn Tech  268    Win  42-0
AFA  427      S.D. State  403    Win  45-21
AFA  371      Navy          412    Win  24-18
AFA  524      Wyoming    516    Win  24-13
AFA  502      BYU           611    Loss 63-33
AFA  278      New Mex.   620    Loss  52-33
AFA  282      Army          486    Win  34-24
AFA  481      CSU           300    Loss  28-21
AFA  336      UNLV         353    Loss  34-10
AFA  603      Hawaii        572    Loss  52-30
AFA  274      Utah           543    Win  38-37

2002

AFA  523      N'western    221    Win  52-3
AFA  360      New Mex.   362     Win  38-31 (OT)
AFA  317      California    335     Win  23-21
AFA  287      Utah          290      Win  30-26
AFA  536      Navy          347      Win  48-7
AFA  463      BYU          304      Win  52-9
AFA  161      N. Dame    447      Loss 21-14
AFA  424      Wyoming   484      Loss 34-26
AFA  250      CSU          341      Loss 31-12
AFA  531      Army         330      Win  49-30
AFA  468      UNLV        469      Win  49-32
AFA  538      S.D.State  398      Loss 38-34
AFA  318      Va. Tech   278      Loss 20-13 (S.F. Bowl)

2003

AFA  469      Wofford    175       Win  49-0
AFA  409      N'western 452       Win  22-21
AFA  427      N. Texas  260       Win  34-21
AFA  510      Wyoming 486       Win  35-29
AFA  328      BYU        306       Win  24-10
AFA  362      Navy        326       Loss  28-25
AFA  324      UNLV      250        Win  24-7
AFA  430      CSU        564       Loss  30-20
AFA  362      Utah        459       Loss  45-43 (3OT)
AFA  446      Army       199       Win 31-3
AFA  273      NMex.     364       Loss 24-12

       In their past thirty-six games the Falcons have outgained their opponents 18 times and posted a 13-5 (.722) record in doing so. In the remaining 18 games the Falcons have been outgained and posted a record of 8-10 (.444). It has been a crapshoot for AFA when being outgained since the start of the 2001 season. On the other hand it's clear that the Falcons' ability to pile up yardage has led to an increased likelihood of victory.


       IN A RUSH. Coaches speak at length about the importance of establishing the rushing game as a means by which to secure victories. Here's a look from the start of the 2001 season to the present at how AFA and its opponents have done when one or the other has produced at least one back who's rushed for 100 or more yards in a game.

OPPONENTS

Date                Site            Player           Production       Result
1.Sept. 1, 2001      AFA         Quentin Griffin         26-201-1TD       Okla. 44-3
2.Sept. 29, 2001   @SDS       Larry Ned               24-178-2TDs      AFA 45-21
3.Oct. 6, 2001      @Navy       Brian Madden         27-110-1TD        AFA 24-18
4.Oct.13, 2001       AFA         Nate Scott(Wyo)     22-148-0TD        AFA 24-13
5.Oct. 20, 2001     @BYU       Luke Staley           14-134-2TDs       BYU 63-33
6.Nov.3, 2001         AFA         C.J. Young(Army)   25-104-2TDs       AFA 34-24
7.Nov. 8, 2001       @CSU       Duan Ruff        19-108-2TDs       CSU 28-21
8.Dec. 1, 2001        AFA         Dameon Hunter      28-226-2TDs       AFA 38-37
9. Dec. 1, 2001        AFA         Adam Tate(Utah)    26-140-2TDs       SAME
10.Sept. 7, 2002     AFA         Quincy Wright(NM) 25-145-0TD         AFA 38-31(OT)
11.Sept, 28, 2002  @Utah       Brandon Warfield    30-193-3TDs       AFA 30-26 
12.Oct. 12, 2002    AFA          Ryan Grant(ND)      30-190-1TD         N.D. 21-14
13.Oct. 31, 2002    AFA          Cecil Sapp             29-132-2TDs       CSU 31-12
14.Nov. 14, 2002   @UNLV      Dominique Dorsey  11-101-0TD         AFA 49-32
15.Sept. 6, 2003     @N'wst.   Jason Wright            22-108-1TD       AFA 22-21
16.Oct.   4, 2003     @Navy     Kyle Eckel           33-176-1TD       Navy 28-25
17.Oct. 16, 2003     @CSU     Bradlee Van Pelt      17-125-2TDs     CSU 30-20
18. Nov. 15, 2003   @ NMex.  DonTrell Moore         36-188-2TDs     NMex 24-12

       In the past seventeen games in which AFA has allowed one of more back to gain 100 yards the Falcons have posted a record of 9-8(.529).

AIR FORCE

Date           Site             Player         Production          Result
1.Oct. 6, 2001  @Navy               Keith Boyea     19-118-1TD           AFA 24-18
2.Oct. 13, 2001 AFA(Wyo)         Keith Boyea     26-196-0TD           AFA 24-13
3.Oct.20, 2001 @BYU               Anthony Butler  8-120-1TD             BYU 63-33
4.Nov. 8, 2001  @CSU               Keith Boyea     35-188-3TDs          CSU 28-21
5.Nov. 24, 2001 @Hawaii            Keith Boyea    18-132-1TD            Hawaii 52-30
6.Nov. 24, 2001 @Hawaii            Dan Shaffer     15-101-1TD            Same
7.Dec. 1, 2001   AFA(Utah)         Keith Boyea   19-110-2TDs           AFA 38-37
8.Sept.7, 2002   AFA(NM)           Leotis Palmer  15-125-1TD           AFA 38-31 (OT)
9.Sept.21, 2002 @Cal                Chance Harridge 25-124-3TDs       AFA 23-21
10.Oct. 5, 2002 AFA(Navy)         Chance Harridge 19-164-4TDs       AFA 48-7
11.Oct.12, 2002 AFA(BYU)        Chance Harridge  22-104-4TDs       AFA 52-9 
12.Oct.31, 2002 AFA(CSU)        Chance Harridge  26-115-1TD        CSU 31-12
13.Nov. 16, 2002 @UNLV           Chance Harridge 21-114-2TDs       AFA 49-32 
14.Nov.23, 2002 AFA                 Chance Harridge 22-117-3TDs       SDS 38-34
15.Nov.23, 2002 AFA                 Steve Massie  12-123-1TD             Same
16.Sept.6, 2003 @Nwst.            Anthony Butler  12-107-1TD           AFA 22-21
17.Sept.20, 2003 AFA(Wyo)       Chance Harridge 15-117-0TD         AFA 35-29        
18.Oct.4, 2003   @Navy        Chance Harridge 21-129-2TDs       Navy 28-25
19.Oct. 16, 2003 @CSU             Chance Harridge 22-136-2TDs       CSU 30-20

       There are two interesting trends to note. AFA has compiled a 10-7(.588) record in the last seventeen games in which it has produced at least one, one hundred rusher. In the past seven games in which an AFA back has gained at least 100 yards, the Falcons have posted a disappointing 3-4 record. On the past two occasions on which the Falcons have had two players gain more than 100 yards rushing, Air Force has lost both contests (to Hawaii and San Diego State).
 

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