Determined Carry at Neyland Stadium

The Story:

Let’s face it, we all know the tactic: Power 5 teams open against a team they expect to roll over.  Tennessee – a preseason Top 25 – opened its 2006 season by hosting the Air Force Academy – a team that previously had two sub-.500 seasons.  You wouldn’t know it from the atmosphere in Knoxville, though; Neyland Stadium was electric.  The game opened up fairly close, with the Volunteers leading by a touchdown at the half.

During the third quarter the Volunteers opened up the lead slightly behind Robert Meachem and Montario Hardesty; Air Force faced an uphill battle as the raucous crowd got more involved.  Undeterred, Air Force’s Julian Madrid grabbed an interception early in the fourth quarter deep in Falcon territory that started to turn the tide.  Energized, the Falcons moved the ball downfield.

The Shot:

As Air Force advanced past midfield, I positioned myself on the sideline, beyond the line of scrimmage.  Since the Falcons’ primary weapon is the option, I favored shooting towards the offense to increase the chance of getting running back faces on the carry.  After a rare pass, I grabbed this frame of Air Force back Jimmy Chad Smith powering up field for an 8 yard run.  This play enabled Air Force to cut the Tennessee lead in half just a few plays later.  I like the shot and the context, but I probably could have been slightly lower to the ground.  Unfortunately with the settings I chose, Smith’s eyes are in an unrecoverable shadow.

I was working for a small school media organization, and was fortunate they were able to provide a digital camera and lens.  As a student, the Nikon D100 and f/2.8 telephoto lens were luxuries that I appreciated, but it had limitations.  As the darkness set in, I started pushing the ISO beyond 800 to keep shutter speeds up, which in the D100 became a big trade off quickly in the form of extreme noise.  Luckily the Neyland Stadium lighting was enough to stay at ISO 1,000 and have a shutter speed of 1/500s to freeze the action.

Air Force was able to recover the ensuing onside kick and then score with about a minute left to bring the game within one point against the home team.  That left Head Coach Fisher DeBerry with a classic tough call. Play it safe and kick the PAT to tie, or try and use your momentum for the two point conversion and win outright?  DeBerry went for two, and the Falcons came up just short.  I loved the call, and it’s one those in attendance surely won’t forget.