Columnist Steve Guiremand: AF’s Fisher no king with Lobos’ fans

Steve Guiremand

Friday, Sept. 6, 2002 | 9:20 a.m.

Steve Guiremand covers college football for the Sun. He can be reached at steveg@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-2324.

Air Force coach Fisher DeBerry is probably the last person in college football that you would expect to talk trash about an opponent. Colorado State quarterback Bradlee Van Pelt maybe -- more on that later -- but not DeBerry.

But you'll have a hard time convincing the New Mexico Lobos, who travel to Colorado Springs on Saturday for their Mountain West Conference opener with the Falcons.

According to a column by Richard Stevens in the Albuquerque Tribune this week, DeBerry made a promise to Air Force fans that the Falcons will not lose a fourth consecutive game to the Lobos.

DeBerry denied making any such statement.

"The guy (Stevens) called me Sunday night and wanted to know if I made such a statement," DeBerry told the Rocky Mountain News. "This was 10:15 at night and I was pretty irked that I was having to talk at 10:15 at night when I had to be at work the next morning at 5 o'clock.

"He said, 'Did you know they put up things all over their dressing room that I guaranteed that the Lobos would not beat the Falcons four years in a row?'

"I said 'I don't know what the heck you are talking about.' I've been coaching 40 years and I would like to think I'm a little smarter than that. I don't know where that came from. Maybe that's (Lobos coach Rocky Long's) ploy. They have to decorate their dressing room the way they see fit. They got to play the game on the field."

The column also hinted that DeBerry scheduled New Mexico for Air Force's homecoming game to fire up his team.

"I do not control that," DeBerry said. "I'm just a football coach here, and I don't make those kind of administrative decisions. I've been coaching here 19 years, and nobody has ever walked up to me and asked me who I'd like to play for homecoming."

Still, New Mexico players aren't happy with DeBerry's alleged remarks.

"Their head coach has promised that they'll never lose to the Lobos again," New Mexico tailback Quincy Wright said. "That's being real brash. No game is promised to anyone."

Added defensive end D.J. Renteria: "(Being the homecoming opponent) is a bit of a slap in the face. Usually teams will schedule homecoming games against opposition that they know they can beat. We need to go in and beat Air Force to prove them wrong."

There has been speculation there is no love loss between DeBerry and Long because of a couple of lopsided outcomes in recent years. Air Force whipped New Mexico 56-14 in Long's first season in 1998 while the Lobos returned the favor last year 52-33.

Wild and crazy guy

Colorado State quarterback Bradlee Van Pelt drew the ire of Colorado fans by taunting Buffaloes' safety Rod Sneed and smacking him in the face with the ball after crossing the goal line for the game-winning touchdown in an emotional 19-14 victory last Saturday.

Van Pelt waved the ball in front of Sneed as he strutted into the end zone and then fired the ball point-blank into the facemask of the Colorado defender. Stunningly, the Mountain West Conference officiating crew didn't throw a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct.

After the game, Van Pelt tossed more fuel on the fire when he said: "I turned, and I was gonna swat him in the head. I don't really care. ... I never taunt. That's never been my game. But with all those emotions built up, all I wanted to do was turn around and say: 'Catch me if you can, buddy.' "

After one Denver columnist referred to CSU as Classless State University in a story, Van Pelt decided to apologize for the incident.

"I should have never turned around," said Van Pelt, who claimed Sneed was trying to push him and grab his facemask. "By turning around, that's when he grabbed me. I should have just run right over to about 20 of my friends in the stands."

Van Pelt wasn't so remorseful for calling a Denver radio station after the game while driving back to Fort Collins and calling Colorado the worst seventh-ranked team he ever saw.

"It's the only time in my life I let a couple of things slip," he said. "Things were taken out of context and people harped on them too much."

What did Colorado State coach Sonny Lubick think of Van Pelt's behavior?

"He's an excitable kid," Lubick said. "Bradlee is a good kid, he's a warrior, he's tough. We probably have to tone it down and not have everyone in the country in our locker room."

Once around the MWC