Injuries on the defensive line ruin a 28-15 victory over the Falcons of the Air Force Academy
By Dave McMahon
1991 Scholastic Football Review
Notre Dame entered its matchup against the Cadets of the United States Air Force Academy with a decided physical advantage, as the Irish offensive line outweighed the Falcon defensive line by over 45 pounds.
Physical attributes had little bearing on the game’s outcome, however, as Notre Dame escaped with a 28-15 win and returned to South Bend with two injured defensive tackles.
“We won a football game tonight but lost a team,” said Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz.
With quarterback Rob Perez guiding Air Force’s wishbone offense through an attacking Irish pass defense, the Falcons rushed for 108 yards in the first quarter. Air Force offensive linemen accompanied the wishbone with low “chop” blocking, a feature that left the Irish pondering the future of their defensive line.
The first casualty occurred just over four minutes into the game when junior right tackle Eric Jones went down with a broken ankle and tom ligaments after a chop block by Air Force tight end David Mott. Jones, a stalwart on the Irish defensive line, would miss the rest of the season and possibly some of spring practice.
The scenario only worsened for Notre Dame’s defensive line, which was the most inexperienced Irish unit coming into the season. With Air Force driving in the fourth quarter to the Irish 34-yard line, sophomore nose tackle Bryant Young suffered the second broken ankle of the night after a block similar to the one used against Jones.
“It hurts our morale because we never want to see our buddies go down, especially in a game like this,” said senior Troy Ridgley, who replaced Young at nose tackle for the remainder of the game.
“I could see maybe in the national championship or something, but in a game like this where all kinds of things went wrong and to top it off with these two injuries is just unbelievable.”
Freshmen Germaine Holden arid John Taliaferro, both inside linebackers in high school, combined for eight tackles in relief of Jones and Young.
After a 42-yard field goal1 by Air Force’s Joe Wood on its first possession put the Falcons ahead 3-0, Notre Dame began the first of two 70-plus yard drives. Irish quarterback Rick Mirer finished the first drive, a 76-yard march, with a 7-yard touchdown pass to fullback Jerome Bettis for the first Irish score. Craig Hentrich kicked the extra point to…