Air Force looks to rebound from off year

Steve Guiremand

Monday, Aug. 28, 2000 | 10:43 a.m.

Facts and figures on the Air Force Falcons:

Head coach: Fisher DeBerry (126-69-1, 17th season)

1999 record: 6-5 (2-5, 7th Mountain West)

Returning starters: 6

Player to watch: QB Mike Thiessen

Guy they'll miss: WR Matt Farmer

Key game: Sept. 9 at BYU

Sun projection: 5th place

There haven't been too many years that Air Force has crash-landed during Fisher DeBerry's 16 years in Colorado Springs. But 1999 was one of them.

The Falcons, coming off a 12-1 campaign in 1998 and with high hopes of another big year in 1999, took a nose dive to 6-5, including a dismal 2-5 record in their first year of Mountain West Conference play.

With just six starters returning from that disappointing squad, it will be interesting to see if 1999 was just a blip on the Air Force football radar screen or a sign that perhaps the rest of the MWC might finally be catching up to the Falcons' wishbone attack.

DeBerry places much of the blame for last year's problems on injuries and a struggling passing game that produced just four touchdown passes.

But with quarterback Mike Thiessen returning along with a bevy of talented backs led by versatile Scotty McKay and injury-prone Qualario Brown, DeBerry believes the Falcons have the right stuff to make a run at another conference title.

"We expect to be in the thick of the race," DeBerry said. "We'll be a very competitive team if we can stay healthy. I think we have as talented a group of running backs as we've ever had."

The big key is how well a defense that returns just two starters from a unit that allowed 74 points in its final two games against Colorado State and New Mexico can rebound.

One big plus is that linebacker C.J. Zanotti, a key starter on the 12-1 squad in 1998, returns after sitting out last season with a broken wrist. And DeBerry says junior defensive tackle Justin Pendry "has a lot of Chad Hennings in him."

But the secondary, which struggled at times last year, has to be rebuilt. And with September games against BYU and at Utah and UNLV, there isn't much time to break in the newcomers.

DeBerry says how the Falcons fare that first month, including a season-opening game against Cal State Northridge on Saturday, will be the key to the season for his squad.

"We need a fast start," DeBerry said. "The month of September is very important for us. We'll know where we stand in this conference by the end of September."