A strange journey will be celebrated Saturday at Falcon Stadium as the Air Force senior class plays its final home game.

Oregon State visits for a 1:30 p.m. game where the spotlight will be on 27 players making their final home suit.

“There might be a few tears shed,” senior receiver Cameron Breier said. “It’s not the end of the season, but it’s the end of an era for myself and the other seniors. It will be a big moment for us. “

Part of this group came to the preparatory school in the fall of 2020, in the middle of the pandemic. The following year, the entire class joined the football team, jumping into a roster that was bolstered with an unusually large backlog of older players due to the reversal of COVID-19.

“We were definitely hit with something unusual with COVID where we were playing behind the ’24s who had already established their time as freshmen, which was different than any other class,” nose guard James Tomasi said. “It’s definitely been tough for some of the guys trying to get a spot on the team.”

This group had 10-3 seasons in 2021 and 2022. A 9-4 season in 2023 that included an 8-0 start and a spot in the national rankings. All three seasons ended with bowl game victories.

Then all those older players left and this year’s team is off to a 2-7 start after snapping a seven-game losing streak last week.

All very strange. Still, it all makes sense.

“I can speak for all the other guys, we are so grateful for the opportunity we had to play with each other and play as a team,” said Breier, who has already secured a competitive graduate school slot after graduating in next to a pilot training slot. “We are so grateful.”

The Beavers (4-5), who have never played Air Force (2-7), enter the game on a four-game losing streak – three of those losses coming to Mountain West competition (42-37 in Nevada, 33-25). vs. UNLV and 24-13 vs. San Jose State).

The Air Force senior class is 16-7 on its home court and is coming off a 36-28 win over Fresno State in which it had more than 45 minutes of possession.

“I think everyone on the team thought we were just missing a little piece that was keeping us from being successful on the field,” Tomasi said. “Then it was only a matter of time before we finally found out, I think last week.”

Just in time to say goodbye. At least for the home part. Trips to Nevada and San Diego State still remain.

“I’m telling you, I absolutely love this class,” Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said. “If you look at each man one by one, you see how unique their background is. And yet their level of involvement in the academy and in the Air Force and how well they will do after they graduate from the Space Force and the Air Force. And especially this year their determination to keep growing and getting better. They have been a great example for our younger boys.”