Nov. 15, 1999

Nov. 15 - When his triple-option offense is successful fighting the clock at the end of either half, Air Force Academy coach Fisher DeBerry is delighted to talk about his "hurry, hurry" offense.

DeBerry and the Falcons get a chance to see how they execute a hurry, hurry practice schedule this week before facing Colorado State University on Thursday night at Fort Collins.

The Falcons began their preparations with rare Sunday activity as DeBerry called his team together for meetings before returning to the practice field Monday. However, there didn't seem much chance that DeBerry and his offensive coaching staff would get to the most pressing decision facing them before meeting the Rams.

After the Falcons beat Nevada-Las Vegas 35-16 on Saturday at Falcon Stadium, DeBerry left the quarterback question wide-open. He said there wouldn't be a decision made between senior Cale Bonds and junior Mike Thiessen until the staff looked at films of the game and dis cussed the issue. However, it's expected that Thiessen will return to the starting lineup, a place he occupied in games against Navy, Utah and Brigham Young University while Bonds was injured.

Quarterbacks coach Chuck Petersen said Sunday afternoon that he doubted the issue would be discussed until today. But with only practices scheduled today, Tuesday and Wednesday morning, the issue probably will be settled sooner than later.

"We feel that both of our quarterbacks can run our offense and do what we want equally well," Petersen said. "We really need to look at the films before making any evaluations."

Bonds made his second straight start after missing three games with a sprained ankle. But the Falcons didn't go anywhere in their first two chances and Thiessen entered the game and got the offense going. Air Force scored touchdowns on three of Thiessen's first four times at the helm on the way to gaining a 6-3 record and escaping the Mountain West Conference cellar with a second conference victory in five games.

Bonds returned in the third period and took the Falcons on a 59-yard scoring drive. However, he slipped a couple times causing concern his ankle still might be a factor.

"When it first happened, we thought the ankle still might be a factor," Petersen said. "But he was tripped once and he said he just slipped on the other occasions. In all cases, he said his ankle was fine."

Petersen pointed out that by watching the films, it can be determined if there were other factors that contributed to the early lack of production when Bonds was in.

"We have to see if we had some breakdowns at other positions," Petersen said. "It might not have been our quarterback's fault."

Regardless, the Falcons haven't any choices, but to beat CSU if they want to retain any hopes of a bowl game. They remain short by one of the necessary six victories against Division I-A opponents to qualify for a bowl-game bid. However, the Falcons must beat CSU and New Mexico in their remaining schedule to avoid a fourth loss that would also take them out of the bowl picture.