Air Force has lousy memories of San Diego

Two years ago, a 3-2 Air Force team traveled to San Diego to face a struggling and injury-riddled San Diego State squad.

Expected to cruise to a victory, the Falcons instead came out flat. They allowed the Aztecs to hang around and then drive for a late game-winning field goal.

And they never recovered.

Starting with that 19-12 loss to the lowly Aztecs, Air Force unraveled, losing six of its final seven games en route to a third consecutive losing season and the end of the Fisher DeBerry Era.

"That (loss) kind of set the tone for the year," senior tight end Travis Dekker said. "It just kind of went south from there, and we just couldn't pull it back together."

Tonight at 7:30, Air Force will face San Diego State at Qualcomm Stadium under similar circumstances. Just like in 2006, the Aztecs are besieged by injuries and appear vulnerable. And just like in 2006, the Falcons are at 3-2 with their season at a crossroads.

Instead of thinking about the debacle of two years ago, Air Force players can draw more pleasant parallels to last season.

In 2007, just like this season, the Falcons roared to a surprising 3-0 start. And in 2007, just like this season, they then lost back-to-back games, the second to service academy archrival Navy.

But a year ago, the Falcons were able to bounce back from a difficult loss to the Midshipmen by winning their sixth game. That ignited a stretch in which they won six of their final seven regular season contests to finish second in the Mountain West Conference and earn a bid to the Armed Forces Bowl.

"We've got to move on and use last year as an example," senior defensive end Ryan Kemp said. "Same situation, same time of year, and we still did great things. And we're still capable of doing great things this year."

It starts tonight with a seemingly winnable game. Practices were intense this week and marked by plenty of yelling from coaches.

"We've got to rebound real fast," inside linebacker Ken Lamendola said.

Jefferson will get time

Coach Troy Calhoun hesitated this week when asked who would start at quarterback. But he made it clear that promising freshman Tim Jefferson would receive significant playing time.

Jefferson played one late series in the opener and then the fourth quarter of last Saturday's loss to Navy. After two shaky series against the Midshipmen, he led Air Force 84 yards for a score.

"Since preseason he's come a heck of a long way," quarterbacks coach Blane Morgan said. "Really last week I think everything kind of clicked a little bit for him, throwing the ball and doing some things. You saw that a little bit in the game on Saturday."
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Contact the Writer: 636-0365 or jake.schaller@gazette.com. Check out our Air Force blog at gazetteafasports.freedomblogging.com