By J.T. Keith
Eastern New Mexico University blew out Sul Ross University 55-24 in the Lone Star Conference Football Festival at AT&T Stadium in Dallas on September 13.
The Greyhounds trailed 12-0 with 12 minutes left in the first half before dominating the undermanned Lobos.
Instead of taking their bye week, the Greyhounds will play Air Force Academy JV at 2 p.m. Saturday at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colo.
The Air Force Academy JV is a Division I team, so this game will not count in the standings. Instead, it will be played as an exhibition game.
The Falcons are coached by Lt. Col. Steve Pipes. He is in his second year of coaching the reserves.
When the Hounds play the Falcons, it might seem as if they playing a carbon copy of themselves. However, there are subtle differences.
The main difference is that the Falcons will run the same plays out of different formations in an attempt to confuse and wear down defenses to cause mistakes. For example,
The Air Force game will be a good chance for the Greyhounds to get some work in, to see film of how the other team runs their offense, and to see how other teams will attack the Hounds defensively.
Expect the Falcons to run their bread and butter plays:
* Fullback Dive, where the fullback will run straight into the line, hoping to break a long run.
* The Quarterback Option, where the quarterback fakes the ball to the fullback going into the line of scrimmage, pulls it out and options the defensive end, forcing him to decide whether to take the running back for a pitch or let the quarterback turn the ball up the field.
* The Quarterback Trail, where the quarterback fakes the ball to the fullback and then follows him into the hole.
* The Tailback Lead, this is a stacked I formation where they have three running backs directly behind the quarterback. One of the running backs will lead directly into the hole where the ball is going. The other running back will block the defensive end, or run the opposite way. Finally, the deep running back will get the ball and run to where the hole is.
The Falcons will run a variety of formations throughout the game. Their base offense is an inverted wishbone with two slot receivers. They also will run an unbalanced line, which mean there is an extra lineman to the strong side of the formation. Out of this formation especially down by the goal line, they will run the ball to the boundary side of the field, or to the sideline.
Defensively, the Falcons run a 3-4 look with three down lineman and four linebackers.
The ‘Hounds will step up in competition this week going against Division I talent.
Look for the Hounds to wear down physically, on the offensive line they lack maulers, and are prone to turnovers. Against Sul Ross, they turned the ball over three times.
On defense they have catchers “catch the blockers” they receive the hits. Sul Ross ran the ball on them 50 times for 298 yards.
On defense, they have a hard time getting off the field on third down. Expect little passing from the Falcons, this will be nothing more than hand to hand combat.
Falcons 52 –Hounds 17