Football

0 View Gallery  View Comments DENVER - Air Force basketball coach Dave Pilipovich gave props to a surprising source after overcoming a 22-point deficit to beat Denver on Saturday. The recipient was his football counterpart at the academy. “I tell you who I’m going to credit for this victory – coach Troy Calhoun,” Pilipovich said. Pilipovich, whose team had dropped 22 straight road games before Saturday, said he discussed the road woes with Calhoun this past summer, laying out the full road schedule and routine in search of some help. Normally, in a week like this, Pilipovich would have had his team practice Thursday after returning home on a flight after Wednesday’s home game. They would then practice again Friday and play Saturday. At Calhoun's suggestion, Pilipovich eased up on that schedule. “He said, why don’t you do something on the road before your flight takes off?” Pilipovich said. “So, we changed that. We watched … [Read more...] about Air Force basketball coach Dave Pilipovich credits advice from football coach Troy Calhoun in snapping skid

0 View Gallery  View Comments These are undoubtedly dark times for athletics at the Air Force Academy. The football (1-4) team dropped its fourth straight game on Saturday when Navy ripped its heart out with a game-winning touchdown with 15 seconds remaining. The Falcons had come back from 21-point deficits of 28-7, 31-10 and 38-17 to briefly take the lead in the final minutes, only to have it taken away. Yes, the academy has 27 sports. But football drives the bus in terms of revenue and public perception. So as football goes, so goes the sports mood. But all is not dark. Currently, Air Force has three sports programs ranked in the Top 25. Here they are… Hockey The Falcons entered the season picked first in the Atlantic Hockey Conference and ranked No. 17 in the USCHO.com poll. Coach Frank Serratore’s team opened the season this weekend at Alaska, going 1-0-1. Air Force came one goal short last year of reaching the Frozen Four. Senior defenseman Phil Boje and … [Read more...] about Sure, football is down, but Air Force currently sports three Top 25 programs

0 View Gallery  View Comments Garrett Kauppila’s debut for Air Force football was almost a brief one. The safety was flagged for targeting early in the second quarter against VMI on a call that was then overturned by replay. VMI quarterback Austin Coulling had rolled to his right when cornerback Robert Bullard got ahold of him just as Coulling appeared to begin a knee-first slide. Kauppila, closing in, hit Coulling high across the body as he went down. Related: Oh, the places the Falcons will go this season The Keydets were still awarded 15 yards, by rule, even when the targeting portion of the call was waved off. Coulling stayed on the ground and was strapped to a back brace before being carted off the field. The Roanoke Times reported he was able to travel back with the team Saturday night, though his status for the next game is in question. The play apparently elicited a strong reaction from VMI, as Air Force radio announcer Jim Arthur said on Twitter that a … [Read more...] about Garrett Kauppila’s debut for Air Force football almost a brief one after VMI quarterback injured

By Jeff Miller | [email protected] | Orange County RegisterDecember 27, 2017 at 6:11 pm COSTA MESA — First, they have to beat the Raiders. Then they need the Titans to lose and the Ravens to win. Unless the Bills lose, in which case the Ravens can go ahead and lose, too. The path to the playoffs is a rather twisted one for the Chargers. The good news is they don’t need the most twisted thing of all to happen. They don’t need the Browns to win, the Browns being so bad that their coach on Wednesday promised to cap the season by jumping into Lake Erie. “I gave it probably about a good 30 minutes,” Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said of considering all the necessary scenarios, “and then I was done with it.” The possibilities for Lynn’s team aren’t endless. But then the Chargers’ season isn’t ended, either, something that appeared to be a real possibility when they went 0-for-September and then opened October with another loss. … [Read more...] about Miller: Philip Rivers and Chargers have a twisted path to January football

Colorado State coach Mike Bobo locked in 17 players during the program’s early signing period, but the Rams would have reached 19 had they not suffered late-season coaching vacancies at both offensive and defensive coordinator. “I’m willing to sacrifice losing those two players to make sure I find the right fit for a coordinator,” Bobo said, “and I’m in the process of doing that right now.” Bobo could fill the openings using several different combinations of job duties, but these titles remain open: offensive coordinator, offensive line coach, defensive coordinator, defensive line coach, linebackers coach, cornerbacks coach, special teams coordinator, and an additional 10th full-time assistant. The defensive coordinator will also have the authority to hire his own staff, Bobo said. Division I coaches are allowed to hit the road for in-person prospect visits starting Jan. 12, and having a full staff to recruit before National Signing Day (Feb. … [Read more...] about Who will Colorado State football choose to fill its many assistant coaching vacancies?

Rod Sherman is out as the Valor Christian football coach, the school announced Friday. In the five seasons under Sherman, the Eagles went 57-11 and won three Class 5A state championships. Valor Christian was undefeated in the regular season this year and earned the top seed in the playoffs before being upset by Grandview at home in the quarterfinals. It was only the second postseason loss in the program’s ten-year history. Prior to being named head coach in 2013, Sherman served as the team’s offensive coordinator and helped the team win four straight titles from 2009-12. He was also the school’s athletic director from 2007-14, and then the Director of Institutional Advancement from 2015 to present. During Sherman’s tenure as coach, the Eagles emerged as the state’s preeminent big-school football power, as the program churned out a long list of Division I recruits including running back Christian McCaffrey (Stanford), defensive back Eric Lee Jr. … [Read more...] about Valor Christian football coach Rod Sherman steps down

It’s official: Max Borghi is headed to Washington State. The highly-recruited Pomona tailback who won the 2017 Gold Helmet award had been verbally committed to the Cougars since June, but didn’t send in his National Letter of Intent to the Cougars on Wednesday, the first day of Division I football’s early signing period. That led to speculation that Borghi, who led the Panthers to their first Class 5A title this fall, might be leaning toward signing with Stanford, as the Cardinal made a late offer. But Borghi will play at the Palouse after all, where he will be under the direction of Cougars’ running backs coach Jim Mastro. Welcome to the WSU Cougar Family @max_borghi! #GoCougs #JoinTheHunt pic.twitter.com/SJJDGN3en8 — WSU Cougar Football (@wsucougfb) December 22, 2017 … [Read more...] about Pomona tailback Max Borghi officially signs to play football at Washington State

Pomona’s wild 56-49 victory over Eaglecrest in Saturday’s Class 5A championship closed another Colorado prep football season that exemplified how the free agent nature of the state has turned the sport’s classification into an oligarchy. “With open enrollment, it’s going to stay that way for a long time,” said Pomona coach Jay Madden. “People are out there looking around before their freshman year, and they know what the top football schools are — and they end up going to those schools. It’s really hard to build a program from the ground up anymore.” It’s a trend easy to identify but difficult to rectify. In the past four seasons, the state’s five preeminent heavyweights — Valor Christian, Pomona, Cherry Creek, Columbine and Grandview – have combined to earn 13 of the 16 possible 5A semifinal playoff spots. The current “waterfall” playoff format, installed two years ago to even out … [Read more...] about With waterfall format set to go away, how does parity get restored in top-heavy 5A football?