Air Force notes: Lamendola gets hurt in return to Falcons

Linebacker Ken Lamendola made it back on the field for Air Force. The bad thing is he didn’t make it out of the game completely healthy.

Lamendola suffered an undisclosed injury, not related to the ankle injury he suffered in training camp that postponed his 2011 debut until Saturday.

“He got nicked again,” Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said. “He’s got a ways to go, probably. Part of it might be conditioning, playing down in and down out.”

That Lamendola was back at all is pretty impressive. His last game before Saturday was Oct. 3, 2009. He suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee against Navy that day, which led to almost two years of knee and ankle injuries and rehabilitation. Lamendola, who had 118 tackles as a sophomore, had a solo tackle and assisted tackle on Saturday.

Jefferson’s record

Quarterback Tim Jefferson set a record with his 23^rd win as Air Force’s starting quarterback, passing Dee Dowis for the top spot on that list. He said it was an honor and credited his teammates, but downplayed the accomplishment.

“I’m sure down the road I’ll think about it, but during the season there’s no reason to think about that,” said Jefferson, who was pulled early in the second half with Air Force holding a big lead. “It’s one game at a time. We’re not thinking about records, we want to go out and play the game and we’re just going out to win.”

Lee comes up big

Freshman tailback Jon Lee has been impressive in practice, had a good season for the prep school last year, but didn’t get his first carry until Saturday. He made it count, taking his first career carry 49 yards for a touchdown against Tennessee State.

“He’s still has a good ways to go,” Calhoun said. “To be able to get him out there today will be something that will help him.”