Toledo football coach looks familiar to Air Force's Troy Calhoun

The bowl counterparts first met years ago when Ohio was in the mix.

Coaches Troy Calhoun of Air Force and Matt Campbell of Toledo are examples of what can make college football a small world.

They will be matched up against each other Wednesday in the Military Bowl at RFK Stadium in Washington. Even though the Falcons (7-5) and Rockets (8-4) haven't met before on a football field, the bowl game won't be the first time Calhoun and Campbell have met.

Their first meeting was 12 years ago when Calhoun was an assistant coach at Ohio. They saw each other again last week when they were in Washington to meet with the Military Bowl officials.

"Coach Calhoun recruited me to play at Ohio," Campbell said, looking back to when he was coming out of Massillon High School in Ohio. "I ended up not

going to Ohio and went to Pittsburgh instead."

Campbell finished his college career at Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio.

Calhoun is finishing his fifth year as Air Force's head coach, and the Falcons are in their fifth consecutive bowl game. But Campbell is new to head coaching. He was promoted Dec. 12 from an assistant on the Toledo staff to replace Tim Beckman, who left the Rockets to be Illinois' new head coach. Beckman took two Toledo assistant coaches with him, leaving too little time for Campbell to hire replacements.

"No question, it's starting out a little differently than most head coaches," Campbell said. "But the fact that I was on the staff and am not a stranger has made the transition a little easier."

Campbell was a defensive lineman in college and knows his defense is in for a challenge against the Falcons.

Toledo has no experience playing against an offense such as Air Force's modified triple option. And the Falcons use their unique offensive approach to good advantage.

As for the Rockets' offense, the quarterback position has been shared most of the season by Austin Dantin, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound junior, and Terrance Owens, a 6-4, 180-pound sophomore. Most of the time, they have alternated series ? and with similar results. Both have thrown 15 touchdown passes this year. Owens has completed 71.4 percent of his passes, and Dantin has completed 64.9 percent.

Dantin missed the Rockets' last two games because of the injuries, and Owens thrived in his absence. Toledo fans wondered if the alternating QB system would be scrapped.

"A lot of people said alternating quarterbacks wouldn't work, but it has been great for us," Campbell said. "The two quarterbacks have similarities, and they did a great job handling the assignments."

Campbell said Owens played "extremely well" in Toledo's last two games, but the Rockets are staying with the alternating QB system that has been good for them.

Toledo's defense can expect to be tested by Air Force senior quarterback Tim Jefferson, a four-year starter who likes to pass over the top to receiver Zack Kauth when opponents concentrate too much on stopping the AFA running game. But the Falcons' defense isn't in for a picnic either. Toledo is averaging 42.3 points.

Running back Adonis Thomas plays a big role in the Rockets' balanced offense. The 5-10, 185-pound senior from Newark, N.J., has scored 19 touchdowns and rushed for 2,061 yards over the the last two seasons. He missed three games this year because of a broken arm but takes 963 yards into the bowl game.

"Adonis is the hardest worker on our team," Campbell said. "He's a very good player."

Toledo's offense is more than very good. The Rockets rank eighth nationally in scoring and in total offense (averaging 493.2 yards per game).

Footnote. Calhoun emphasized special-teams play in Saturday's practice session at St. John's College High School in Washington.

The Falcons assembled Friday from the holiday break, with all players making the first practice.

Calhoun said there's been no change in the playing status of linebacker Ken Lamendola and receiver Ty MacArthur. Both are recovering from injuries, and neither has been given the green light to play.

Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com

Source: http://www.denverpost.com/afa/ci_19616100?source=rss

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