If Lon Sheriff was graded solely on the first half he wouldreceive an ‘A’. He led the Aztec offense to a season-high 282first-half yards and 21 points to keep it close. But, the team onlyhad three points and 78 yards of offense in the second half andSheriff had a costly interception and he and Garric Simmons gottripped up leading to a seven-yard sack on a first down. Overall hewas 14-of-26 for 269 yards and two touchdowns.
Running backs: C
Simmons and James Truvillion combined to have a pretty productiveday totaling 74 yards on 19 carries. Despite battling injuries,Truvillion was still able to score his first touchdown of the season.However, Truvillion fumbled the ball on Air Force’s 15 on the openingdrive and Simmons later fumbled. Both were costly.
Wide receivers/Tight end: A+
If Derrick Lewis had played like this from the get-go he’d bevying for All-American status. Lewis had another superb afternoonhauling in four passes for 138 yards. He set the tone on the firstplay from scrimmage with a 47-yard bomb that freed up the passinglanes all day long. He later added a super-human effort on a 50-yardpass. J.R. Tolver was finally rewarded for all of his efforts as hescored his first touchdown of the season. On the day Tolver grabbedsix catches for 75 yards. Brian Gelt only had one catch but made itcount as he went 17 yards for his first touchdown of the season.
Offensive line: C+
True, the group only gave up three sacks on the day and they gaveSheriff ample time to make good decisions. True, the ground attackhad one of its highest averages of the season (3.9 yards per carry).But, whenever the Aztecs were facing short yardage situations, theoffensive line had little to no push. Give credit to Air Force’sCorey Nelson and C.J. Zanotti but SDSU couldn’t handle the small-ballsituations.
Defensive line: D-
The defensive line had little impact as they were chop blocked andheld by the Falcons all day long. They did manage to shut down theAir Force full backs and their belly series. Unfortunately thereferees were blind to the holding calls until the fourth quarter. Bythat time it was too late. Air Force rushed for 24 first downs on theground. The group will be having nightmares of the Falcons QualarioBrown all week long.
Linebackers: F
Harsh grade, but well deserved. 418 yards. That’s not totaloffense, it’s just the rushing totals. Jomar Butler had a tough dayfighting off blocks. The whole group. He had 16 tackles, but didn’thave enough hits on Falcon quarterback Mike Thiessen. Brian Bergadded 13 tackles but the group couldn’t contain the weakside option.
Secondary: C-
The group did a good job of shutting down Ryan Fleming, one of thetop receivers in the conference. Air Force only threw the ball 17times, which didn’t allow for much work. But, the safeties bit on aThiessen fake, allowing for a 40-yard touchdown pass to Chris Jessopthat put the game out of reach.
Special teams: B
Lewis had an outstanding effort on both of his punt returns, one a41-yard return, the other a nice catch on the run. Even in the highaltitude of Colorado Springs, Col. Brian Simjanovski had a tough timereaching the end zone on kickoffs. However, he did average 42 yards apunt, including a beautiful 52-yarder. Nate Tandberg nailed his onlyfield goal attempt from 18 yards.
— Compiled by Dan Hayes
