THREE HEADED MONSTER.
Senior fullback
Dan Shaffer and sophomore
fullback
Jacobe Kendrick combined for 176 yards
on the ground and one TD in leading the way for
the
Air Force rushing attack. Not since the
San Diego State game of the 2002 season had the AFA
FB game produced such a robust performance.
Five AFA HBs combined for 128 yards, a pair of
rushing TDs
and another via a reception and QB
Shaun Carney
added another 62 as the Falcons' backfield
amassed a healthy 366 yards in the running game.
Short first quarter TD bursts by Carney and HBs
Darnell Stephens and Eddie Moss staked Air Force
to a twenty-one point lead it never
relinquished.
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT.
Eagles' QB Erik Meyer, successfully probed the
middle of the AFA secondary for two touchdown
passes in the second quarter to pull the
visitors within striking distance, but when DL
Gilberto Perez blocked EWU's second conversion
attempt the Falcons gained an emotional edge.
After Meyer connected with Eric Kimble and
Craig McIntyre for second quarter scores the
Falcons
closed the scoring in the first half when Carney
found Stephens on a perfectly executed swing
pass, the halfback sprinted 21 yards to the end
zone and Air Force established a solid 15 point
halftime lead.
The teams traded long touchdown drives on their
initial possessions of the second half, after
which Air Force held EWU scoreless for the final
twenty-four minutes of play.
Kimble ended the Eagles' opening thrust of the
third quarter with his second TD grab of the
game. The Falcons answered with Carney's nine
yard toss to
Justin Handley, as the sophomore
from Stone Mountain,
Georgia scored the first TD
of his career.
While the Falcons were torched for 573 yards
of total offense by
California on opening day,
defensive coordinator Richard Bell's squad was
able to cut that figure to 403 against the
visitors from the Big Sky Conference. Most of
Meyer's completions on the day--and there 21 of
them--were directed between the hash marks of
the field at the soft spots in AFA's secondary.
Coach Fisher DeBerry works tirelessly to field
teams which excel in the kicking game. Punter
Donnie Heaton and kickoff specialist
Michael Greenaway give the Falcons a strong presence in
both areas. Eastern
Washington demonstrated the
Falcons still have much work to do in kick
coverage as Air Force
repeatedly was victimized by solid punt and
kickoff returns as evidenced by the fact that
for the second consecutive week Heaton was
forced to make a tackle.
Carney led the Falcons on three productive
first quarter sorties and helped Air Force to
duplicate the precision it showed against Cal in
the first half of last week's game. Just as in
last week game the Falcons experienced a lengthy
period of little productivity as the Eagles
defused the Falcons' option for most of the
second quarter.
ODDS AND ENDS. DeBerry
promised that his 2004 team would rely more
heavily on the FB game than has been the case
over
the past two seasons. The combined play of
Shaffer and Kendrick in the absence of injured
started
Adam Cole, may allow DeBerry to keep his
promise.
While the FB game may be awakening after a two
year fallow period, the HB game may be receiving
another shot of adrenalin from the joint
presence of sophomores Justin Handley and Eddie
Moss, each of whom scored his first career TD in
today's game.
Carney has completed 18 of 29 passes--a 62%
completion rate--222 yards and 3 TDs as a true
freshman.
