Dec. 5, 2000

By Ralph Routon
The Gazette

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Four years ago, Scotty McKay played his final high school football game at Spartan Stadium in San Jose.

Now the Air Force halfback gets to wrap up his college career on the same field, as the Falcons face Fresno State in the inaugural Silicon Valley Classic on Dec. 31.

The irony is nice, but McKay is more pumped about being the Falcons' host after they arrive Dec.26 at San Jose. He grew up in Santa Clara, which adjoins San Jose, and went to high school at Bellarmine Prep.

"This is great, playing so close to home," said McKay, who ran for 472 yards and scored six touchdowns during Air Force's 8-3 regular season. "The weather will be nice, too. I was just there for Thanksgiving, and we played golf all four days. I had to call back to the guys here and give them a hard time.

"It'll still be about 65 degrees in the Bay Area, even then. I also told coach (Fisher) DeBerry that when the team flies in, I'll just meet 'em at the hotel."

McKay and quarterback Mike Thiessen, whose hometown of Modesto is a 90-minute drive from San Jose, talked about having several other teammates from northern California.

Senior tight end Chris Jessop comes from Vacaville, sophomore cornerback Wes Crawley grew up in the Sacramento suburb of Elk Grove, and senior free safety Travis Logsdon is from Loomis (northeast of Sacramento).

Other AFA players are from farther south, but McKay and Thiessen weren't listing them.

"It only counts if they live north of Monterey," McKay said with a laugh.

"Yeah," Thiessen said. "We think of anything south of that as like Mexico."

TICKET TALK: Fresno State hopes to sell at least 15,000 tickets to the game, which lessens the pressure on the academy to help fill the 28,000-seat stadium.

Sir Force's initial allotment will be 5,000 tickets, ranging from $20 to $60 a seat. Most of the stadium's better sections are priced at $30.

"We hope we can sell at least that 5,000," AFA athletic director Col. Randy Spetman said. "We'd really like to go back for more."

Spetman said the academy will encourage Falcon fans to buy tickets even if they don't plan to attend - then give them back. That way, AFA officials can distribute the tickets to Air Force personnel at bases in northern California.