AFA's Halderman will get dash of grief after sprint
LARAMIE, Wyo. • Air Force sophomore Kyle Halderman knows he'll catch grief from his teammates this week.
"It's still to come," he said with a sheepish smile.
Late in the third quarter of Saturday's 23-3 victory over Wyoming, Halderman burst through a hole and raced 74 yards. But he was caught by the Cowboys' Chris Prosinski and tripped up at the 1-yard line.
"I got ‘walked,' is what we call it," Halderman said. "Because you got caught from behind."
No matter how much ribbing he receives, it won't erase the fact that Halderman made a critical, game-breaking play for the second time in as many games. Last week he went 48 yards for a touchdown early in the third quarter of the victory over Southern Utah. This week his jaunt led to quarterback Shea Smith's 1-yard touchdown run and a 13-3 lead.
On the play, a counter option, Halderman ran in motion right, then stopped and ran left to be Smith's pitch man.
"They had been going to pitch the whole time," Halderman said. "That's why Shea had been cutting up and getting some yards."
But this time Smith pitched the ball, and Halderman had a lane "the size of a truck." And he almost made it to the end zone.
Teammates "said it looked like I was slowing down," Halderman said. "But I was trying my hardest."
