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| | Monday, September 6 | |||||
| AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --The name is Bonds. Cale Bonds.
And as the quarterback of the Air Force football team, he's the
focal point for the Falcons' season, the player who, more than
anyone else, will be responsible for the team's success or failure.
"A lot of the success we have is going to depend on the play of our quarterback," said coach Fisher DeBerry, whose team went a glittering 12-1 last season. How's that for pressure? If those expectations are weighing heavily on Bonds, it doesn't show. "This isn't any one person's team," he said. "All 100 of us who are here have an equal part in this team, whether you're on the field or on the sideline. I've worked really hard this summer to get ready for what I think will be a great season, but so have all my teammates. I think the team has confidence in me, and I definitely have confidence in them." Bonds appears fully recovered from the broken bone he suffered in his throwing hand in the first major scrimmage of the spring. "My hand is stronger than it ever was," he said. "I worked a ton on throwing after my hand healed." In the past, Air Force's quarterback was mainly called on to run the ball, pitch out or hand off. But the Falcons have recently shown the ability to pass better than option teams are supposed to. Against Navy last season, for example, Bonds, subbing for the injured Blane Morgan, completed 9 of 13 passes for 194 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran 16 times for 167 yards and two scores. Twice last season, the Falcons passed for more than 200 yards in a game. "I think the thing that really helped our team as much as anything last year was our ability to throw the ball," DeBerry said. "We had some games where we made some big pass plays. As I've said every year, if we can throw the ball effectively, then we're going to be that much better of a running team. "I think Cale gives us a dimension that maybe we haven't had. He's a good passer and he takes a lot of pride in it. We'll be a better team if we can throw the ball, and I expect us to throw it better than we did last year."Still, the Falcons' bread and butter is their wishbone running game, and always will be. "We're going to run the option come hell or high water," DeBerry said. "We don't know how to do anything else."The Falcons ranked third in the nation in rushing last year, averaging 266.8 yards per game. Junior Qualario Brown, who ran for 521 yards last season despite being slowed by injuries, returns -- healthier after having off-season surgery on his big toe. Four of five starters in the offensive line also are back, and Matt Farmer is a quality receiver, having caught 35 passes for 650 yards and three touchdowns a year ago. If Bonds falters, the Falcons would turn to junior Mike Thiessen, a versatile athlete who broke a school baseball record with a 30-game hitting streak last spring. Air Force is coming off its first outright conference title and a 45-25 romp over Washington in the Oahu Bowl. Only a one-point loss at TCU marred their season. "I think our players are determined to be a better team than we were last year," DeBerry said. "I expect us to be a better team. But with the schedule we're playing, we might not win as many games." | ALSO SEE Mountain West: Playing a name game
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