Return to Pointer View home page November 4,  2005

Army looks for first win at Air Force since 1977

Story and photos by Eric S. Bartelt
Assistant Editor

Army (1-6) heads into its inter-service rivalry match up Saturday with Air Force (3-6) at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colo., coming off a 20-0 victory against Akron Oct. 22. The shutout was the first produced by the Black Knights versus a Division I-A opponent since 1991.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Air Force’s defense has been a gateway to the end zone as they have given up 110 points in the last two weeks against TCU and Brigham Young. But, Army football head coach Bobby Ross still believes Air Force’s 62-41 loss to BYU showed what they’re still capable of at any moment despite their 3-6 record.

“I think that game shows the resilience of the Air Force program,” Ross said. “They were down 41-7 and came back to within striking distance twice. They actually had the ball with nine minutes left in the game down only 14 points, it was a remarkable comeback.”

The Falcons bring to the game their wishbone attack, which features two quarterbacks, senior Adam Fitch and sophomore Shaun Carney.

However, the Falcons attack is not solely ground-based as they like to pass often and have a couple of solid receivers in their arsenal.

“They have a premiere receiver in (Jason) Brown,” Ross said. “He’s a big guy who they line up sometimes at the tight end position. He’s about 6’4”, 230 pounds.”

Brown, a senior, has 40 receptions for 708 yards and four touchdowns this season, while his classmate, Greg Kirwood, has added 25 receptions for 449 yards and three touchdowns.

Army returns after a bye week and has had more than a week’s worth of enthusiastic practices leading up to this week’s Commander-in-Chief game.

“There was a little bit of zip to practice. I think it is heightened even more by the Air Force game,” Ross said. “I think this game coming up requires consistency, commitment and effort. We’ll need all of them (to win).”

The respite definitely helped senior running back Carlton Jones, who has been fighting a myriad of injuries all season long.

“I think the extra week off was good for Carlton (Jones),” Ross said. “He came back (Monday) and had a lot of zip in his legs. He’s probably as fresh as he’s been since we started the season and I’m pleased about that.”

With the extra time to prepare for the game Saturday, Ross has had the players concentrate more on film study than extra reps on the field.

“I’ve shortened practices by 10 minutes (per day) this week, so that we can squeeze in extra film work,” Ross said. “We’ve got to practice well and mentally prepare well with additional film work.”

The group on the team that has taken full advantage of practices and preparation as the season has moved along as been the offensive linemen. The maturation process has been noticeable throughout the season and continues down the home stretch of the season.

“I’ve been pleased with their development. I thought it would be a slow development process at the beginning of the year, but I think they have gotten much better as the season has worn on,” Ross explained. “We’re down in numbers with Nathan Collier and Sean Whaley (injured), but overall I have been pleased and it has shown with the (rushing) yardage that we’ve put up in recent weeks.

“They’re a bunch of bulldogs. They grit their teeth and go to work every day,” he added. “As a result of that, they have gotten better.”

The only returning starter to the offensive line was senior center Pete Bier, although he had to make the transition from guard to center. He, more so than anyone else, has noticed how the line has grown together as the season has progressed.

“We’re coming together. We still have a lot of room to grow, but we’ve made good strides since the beginning of the season,” Bier said. “I’m looking forward to the last four games.”

Saturday’s game will be televised on ESPN Classic at 3:30 p.m. with Gary Bender, Bill Curry and Dave Ryan as the game announcers. The game can also be heard on 77WABC radio.