New quarterback, stingy defense carry Air Force to rare blowout of Navy
Air Force cadets hold a huge sign before the team faced off against the Navy in an NCAA football game at Falcon Stadium at the U.S. Air Force Academy on Saturday in Colorado Springs. Air Force did indeed sink Navy to the tune of a 35-7 shellacking.
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Donald or D.J.?
Before anything else, there was a need to iron out the preferred name of Air Force’s new quarterback. Because based on his performance in a 35-7 trouncing of Navy, it’s a name that will be used in these parts with great frequency.
“You can go with Donald,” the sophomore said.
Air Force must be awfully glad it went with Donald Hammond III at quarterback, as it was rewarded with a performance that will go down in the history of this heated rivalry.
Three rushing touchdowns. A 61-yard touchdown pass. An option pitch to Joseph Saucier that helped spring a 48-yard score. Contributions that included 142 yards in the air and 60 on the ground. All of this in his first start, played in front of 40,175 at Falcon Stadium.
Oh, and he missed time after a hit to the head resulted in a targeting call and the ejection of Navy linebacker Taylor Heflin. Hammond went into the locker room to undergo concussion protocol.
And perhaps most stunning, Hammond didn’t learn he would be starting until the end of the team’s morning walk-through.
“Ate breakfast,” Hammond replied when asked what he did after learning the news. “That was about it. I didn’t tell anybody. I was just focused.”
Hammond had provided a spark in Air Force’s offense in a tantalizing relief appearance last week against Nevada, nearly leading a comeback victory after facing a 28-10 deficit. He turned that into a bonfire against Navy by allowing all of the Falcons’ offensive weapons to throw a log on the inferno.
“When the pieces are working, we’re unstoppable,” said junior receiver Geraud Sanders, who caught three passes for 55 yards — including an are-you-kidding-me throw across the middle in traffic that was unlike anything most Air Force quarterbacks would have attempted, let alone completed. “I feel like we’re one of the best offenses in the nation.”
This complete performance from the Air Force offense was complemented by a complete domination of a Navy offense that, frankly, lent itself to such treatment.
The nation’s leading rushing attack was held to 129 yards on the ground and completed just 3-of-12 passes for 49 yards. Air Force made eight stops behind the line of scrimmage.
The Midshipmen, in a rare extended slump that has now seen them lose nine of 13, ran nearly everything through quarterback Malcolm Perry, who carried 19 times for just 54 yards (and that was with a long of 20 yards). There was a nearly nonexistent threat from the passing game. The fullback position, usually a team strength, was a non-factor.
Air Force, which has been stout against the run this year, limited this attack to nine first downs while forcing seven punts.
“We got our butts whooped, all the way around” coach Ken Niumatalolo said after Navy’s most lopsided loss in this series since 2002. “A good old-fashioned butt whooping. Give Air Force the credit, no excuses, they beat the crap out of us.”
The only score Air Force allowed came after a 26-yard Falcons punt gave Navy field position at the Air Force 34. The Midshipmen went three and out seven times and they had no drives that covered more than nine plays or 50 yards.
“I think beating Navy is one good thing,” said Air Force linebacker Brody Bagnall, who led the way with 13 tackles, “but destroying Navy is another good thing.”
Air Force entered Saturday on a three-game losing streak. It had lost seven of eight against FBS competition.
It also had a full-fledged quarterback controversy, with Isaiah Sanders, Arion Worthman — both with experience and impressive credentials — competing with Hammond.
Maybe it’s fool’s gold given by the dismantling of an oddly inept Navy squad, but things suddenly feel different. The struggles seem distant, even if coach Troy Calhoun sternly warned that the “dumbest thing we can do is think all of the sudden everything is peachy. Because it’s not.”
As for the quarterback issue, the only question remaining after these sterling 60 minutes was which of his frequently used names the new starter preferred.
“We knew we had to make a statement to say that we’re still here,” Donald Hammond III said. “Air Force hasn’t gone anywhere. We made that statement today.”
“We knew we had to make a statement to say that we’re still here. Air Force hasn’t gone anywhere. We made that statement today.” Donald Hammond III, Falcons quarterback
“When the pieces are working, we’re unstoppable. I feel like we’re one of the best offenses in the nation.” Geraud Sanders, junior receiver who caught three passes for 55 yards
Air Force Falcons quarterback Donald Hammond III (5), right, stiff-arms Navy Midshipmen cornerback Khaylan Williams (7) at the U.S. Air Force Academy on Saturday in Colorado Springs.
Air Force Falcons celebrate following the singing of their alma mater as they defeated the Navy Midshipmen at Falcon Stadium at the U.S. Air Force Academy on Saturday in Colorado Springs.
The tradition of exchange of the prisoners has Air Force Falcons cadets wearing letters that spell out “sink Navy” at Falcon Stadium at the U.S. Air Force Academy on Saturday in Colorado Springs.
Navy Midshipmen quarterback Garret Lewis (7), left, avoids the tackle from Air Force Falcons linebacker Kyle Johnson (40) at Falcon Stadium at the U.S. Air Force Academy on Saturday in Colorado Springs.
(Lindsey Smith, The Gazette)
Air Force cadets salute during the playing of the national antherm prior to Saturday’s game against Navy. Photo by Lindsey Smith, The Gazette.
Scenes from the Air Force vs. Navy game. (Katie Klann/The Gazette)