A knee injury to Air Force starter Liam Szarka, sustained two days after the Falcons beat Navy, thrust sophomore Evan Medders into the starting lineup last week. The team learned of Szarka's knee injury on Oct. 5, just two days after defeating Navy. Those who had watched Medders practice said the transition was less a surprise than an inevitability.
Medders answered the call by gaining 114 yards on the ground with a pair of touchdowns — one of them a 41-yard dash to the end zone — as the Falcons dispatched Northern Illinois 28-7 in a Mountain West road contest. He showed consistent elusiveness throughout, spinning away from or simply outrunning defenders, and finished with 16 carries at an average of 7.1 yards per attempt. The Falcons as a unit totaled 439 rushing yards against Northern Illinois.
Medders had already seen game action before taking over, appearing in the first half of the season opener against Duquesne, playing a significant portion of the second half during the loss to North Dakota State, and spelling Szarka periodically against Navy. Teammates said his readiness was never in doubt. Slot receiver Matt Long recalled hearing about Medders even during his prep school days, and later threw with him extensively in the offseason, saying it was easy to see how gifted he was both as an athlete and as a leader.
Medders had chosen Air Force over other service academies and a number of Ivy League programs, coming out of Marvin Ridge High School in Waxhaw, N.C., where he had accumulated 5,159 passing yards and 2,097 rushing yards. The Falcons began the season with a deep and experienced quarterback room, headlined by Szarka — who had accomplished things as a sophomore that no player had done before in program history, including back-to-back-to-back games exceeding 200 yards through the air and 100 on the ground — alongside seniors Josh Johnson and Kemper Hodges, each of whom had prior starting experience. Even so, coaches had made clear from the beginning that Medders belonged. "He practices with the kind of drive and intensity and focus that you want," coach Calhoun said, adding that "there was a reason why, in the very first game, we wanted him involved."
Medders was not asked to throw much against Northern Illinois, with the Falcons calling just one passing play, which ended in a sack. That sack and a final-play kneel-down accounted for Air Force's only lost-yardage plays, a sign of Medders' command of the option scheme. Senior fullback Owen Allen offered measured praise after the game. "We didn't have to change much," Allen said, adding that while losing a leader like Szarka hurt, Medders did a great job stepping into those shoes — "You know, he's a great leader himself."
With the Falcons having already moved the ball so effectively on the ground, there was little reason to give upcoming opponent UNLV a preview of what else the offense might offer. Medders said he "feels for a teammate and a brother" in reference to Szarka's injury, even as he embraced his expanded role.
How Air Force deploys Medders more broadly — and whether the passing game factors in against UNLV — remains to be seen as the Falcons continue Mountain West play.