Vance members shine on the football field

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Lynn Aird
  • 71st Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Several members of Team Vance contribute to the success of the Enid Enforcers, a local semi-professional football team. 

First Lieutenant Chad McElvain, 1st Lt. Dustin Long and Senior Airman Todd Scott are players on the Enforcers. The team is part of the Central Football league, which is comprised of nine teams from Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma. 

The Enforcers games are played on Saturdays, half at home behind Enid High School and half in the other three states in the league. Currently, the Enforcers have a record of 4-0, and have four games remaining before the playoffs. 

"My supervisor's wife told me about it and said I should check it out," said Airman Scott, an air traffic controller with the 71st Operations Support Squadron. 

Airman Scott has been with the team the longest, having played for two years. Originally from Enterprise, Ala., he played football for four years in high school, and for one year in college. He is currently a running back with the Enforcers. 

"Todd led the league in rushing last season, and he missed two of the games," said Mark Timberlake, owner of the team. "We were 5-3 last season and made it to the second round of the playoffs. Our success got us a lot of community involvement, both from Enid and from people on the base." 

Lieutenant McElvain has been playing as the team's first string quarterback for a year. A native of Phoenix, Ariz., Lieutenant McElvain attended Embry-Riddle University. There, he played intramural football for five years. Lieutenant McElvain attended Joint Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training at Vance, graduating with class 07-04 and currently serving as a T-6 II Texan instructor pilot with the 33rd Flying Training Squadron. He had been playing intramural football with his squadron since June 2005. 

"The head coach for the Enforcers is also the referee for the football games here on the base," explained Lieutenant McElvain. "He asked me to come out to a practice and see what I thought. I saw a group of guys who were disciplined and serious about football, but who were also looking to have some fun. That's how I got started." 

"Chad is athletic and smart, and an excellent quarterback," said Mr. Timberkale. "He's a good leader and is very approachable. He's definitely a key player this season." 

Fellow 33rd FTS T-6 instructor pilot Lieutenant Long plays as a linebacker for the Enforcers. Lieutenant Long is originally from Nowata, Okla., and played football all through high school. He graduated from the Air Force Academy in 2005, and from JSUPT at Vance with class 07-12. 

"I'd heard about the team through the rumor mill, and Chad got me started going," said Lieutenant Long. "He said he was going to check it out, and liked what he saw." 

"Dustin is adept at half of the positions on the field--running back, linebacker, defensive end, you name it!" laughed Mr. Timberlake. "He's also a dominant player on our special teams. He's never scared to try something on the field, and he gets results." 

The Enforcers hold practices every week on Tuesday and Thursday evenings for two hours. Saturday games are about three to four hours long, not including travel time for away games, to which the team carpools. 

"Since I'm a shift worker, I can only go to practices every other week," said Airman Scott. "But the team has been really understanding about that, and I'm able to make almost all the games." 

"It hasn't interfered with our job as IPs because we mostly fly during the day," explained Lieutenant McElvain. "When there's been a conflict because of the night flights we switch with someone who was scheduled to fly the next morning. And we haven't had any injuries yet!"

"Sometimes it is tough to stay on top of it all, though," admitted Lieutenant Long, who is also taking courses to earn a master's degree in business administration from Oklahoma State University. "But it's still a worthwhile experience." 

For more information about the Enid Enforcers, contact Mark Timberlake at 580-977-4652.