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ACADEMY » Tevye Schuettpelz- Rohl tied a school record with four field goals, Air Force’s hastily reconstructed defense stymied Navy’s offense and the Falcons opened their season with a 40- 7 win over the Midshipmen on Saturday night.
Sophomore QB Haaziq Daniels rushed for a score in his first career start as the Falcons ( 1- 0) took a big first step toward capturing the coveted Commander- inChief’s Trophy between the service academies.
Schuettpelz- Rohl connected from 48, 35, 32 and 40 yards in front of a crowd that consisted only of Air Force cadets given the COVID- 19 restrictions. It’s the 11th time a Falcons kicker has made that many in a game.
There was no telling what the Falcons would resemble on the field with quite a few players taking military turnbacks ( an option a cadet has to leave the academy for up to two semesters). A big portion of the missing personnel was on defense, but the Falcons didn’t miss a beat in shutting down Navy ( 1- 2). They held the Midshipmen to 90 yards rushing. The last time Navy was held under 100 yards rushing was at Air Force in 2016 when the team had 57, according to Navy’s game notes.
In addition, Air Force forced two turnovers and had three sacks.
The Falcons improved to 14- 0 in season openers under coach Troy Calhoun.
It’s the latest
Air
Force has kicked off a season -- and the first time opening with rival Navy.
Daniels earned the starting quarterback spot in an extended fall camp. The team is missing QB Donald Hammond III, who remains a cadet not in good standing, meaning he can practice but can’t represent the school.
Before the game, Navy announced starting QB Dalen Morris was out for health reasons not related to COVID- 19.
Tyger Goslin stepped in and had a 73- yard TD toss to Myles Fells. But Navy never found its groove on offense.
Air Force plays at Army on Nov. 7, as part of the Commander- InChief series.
The takeaway
Navy. Coach Ken Niumatalolo and Navy haven’t won at Falcon Stadium since 2012.
Air Force. The Falcons extended their winning streak to nine straight dating to last season. It was Calhoun’s 99th career win at Air Force.