Pupich Puts Air Force First, Earns His Wings on Defense

Alex Pupich had planned to grab a lot of passes, pick up a lot of first downs and score some touchdowns for the Air Force football team.

Then the former Crespi High player, a starter at tight end last season, was told the news that all skill-position players dread hearing.

He was being moved to defense.

Defensive tackle Bob Holloway was discharged from the academy during the summer, and assistant coach Richard Bell called on Pupich to fill the void.

Air Force coaches hoped the switch would minimize the loss of a key player on defense, but Pupich’s ego was bruised. The 6-foot-5, 235-pound junior caught seven passes for 129 yards--an average of 18.4 yards a reception--and a touchdown last season.

Not only was Pupich moved, he was demoted. After suffering a hamstring injury during two-a-day workouts, he wound up No. 2 on the depth chart.

“It was a shock and, at first, I was kind of selfish about it,” Pupich said. “But I decided whatever helps the team is best.”

Pupich has recorded two sacks as Air Force has opened up with routs of Brigham Young, 38-12, and Wyoming, 34-10. The 19th-ranked Falcons could take a giant step toward a Western Athletic Conference championship by defeating defending champion Colorado State on Saturday in Colorado Springs.

After getting in for only 10 plays against Brigham Young, Pupich played 37 downs against Wyoming as Air Force won for the 10th time in 11 games.

*

Pupich turned down a full scholarship to Hawaii in favor of rigid academy life, in part because of his father.

George Pupich started at halfback, defensive back and kicker on the 1958 Air Force team that finished 9-0-2 and battled Texas Christian to a scoreless tie in the Cotton Bowl.

That remains the only undefeated football team in Air Force history. George Pupich recently moved from Agoura to Colorado Springs and attends all of his son’s home games.

The Pupiches are the first father and son to start for the Falcons.

Said Alex: “All of [my father’s] buddies are generals, which is good for me.”

*

Thanks in no small part to second-string strong safety Jaiya Figueras, Oregon comes to the Rose Bowl unbeaten to face UCLA on Saturday in a game crucial to both teams’ hopes of winning the Pacific 10 Conference championship.

With 6 minutes 24 seconds left in last week’s game and the Ducks trailing Illinois, 31-28, Figueras sacked Fighting Illini quarterback Johnny Johnson, forcing a fumble.

Figueras, a redshirt sophomore from Glendale High, recovered it in the end zone for the winning touchdown.

“The quarterback rolled out and ran right into me,” said Figueras, who was replacing injured starter Dante Lewis. “I hit the ball when I tackled him.”

Figueras replaced Lewis, who suffered a twisted knee and ankle, with two minutes left in the third quarter. He knew Oregon needed a spark.

“We were down,” he said. “We had five turnovers when I went in. I knew it was crunch time.”

Figueras is excited about the UCLA game because Oregon has not played the Bruins since 1992. Figueras has never played in the Rose Bowl. He suffered a torn ligament in his right knee late last season and wasn’t in uniform when the Ducks played Penn State there on Jan. 2.

“That’s why this is like a big thing for me,” Figueras said. “It’ll be exciting to be at home.”

*

Brothers Sean and Pat Fitzgerald, who played together at Agoura High, planned to have a ball opposing each other Saturday in a game televised on ABC.

In the 1994 opener, Sean, now a senior quarterback at Pittsburgh, nearly led the Panthers to a come-from-behind victory in what was a 30-28 loss to Texas in Pittsburgh.

Pat, a junior tight end, watched from the sidelines as a member of the Longhorns. Pat since has become a starter.

Pitt and Texas meet again, in Austin, Tex., but a sibling rivalry won’t materialize. Having lost his starting job the eighth week of the 1994 season, Sean Fitzgerald is now the Panthers’ backup punter and fourth-string quarterback behind starter John Ryan. Pitt sports-information officials say Coach Johnny Majors is grooming younger players.

Sean, who passed for 948 yards and four touchdowns in ‘94, completed 12 of 25 passes for 219 yards and threw two scoring passes against Texas last year. His 16-yard touchdown pass to Mark Butler with 36 seconds left gave Pitt a chance to tie, but a two-point conversion attempt failed.

“It was kinda strange that [Sean] was the one that was leading them back at the end of the game,” Pat said. “I wasn’t sure if I should root for him or us.”

Said Pat, who had 12 receptions for 116 yards and two touchdowns in 1994: “As far as not being able to see my brother play, it’s disappointing. Especially if he didn’t get a fair shot.”