RAMSEY: Navy simply better than Air Force

As Eric Kettani awaited his chance to bury Air Force, he thought about texts and e-mails sent from his Navy brethren.

The messages, sent last week, were all the same. Don't give it up, his friends begged him. It is the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy.

Navy faced a fourth-and-1 at the Air Force 34 with just under a minute left, and everyone at Falcon Stadium knew the ball would arrive in Kettani's hands.

Didn't matter.

Kettani, Navy's hulking 243-pound fullback, vaulted to a first down and Navy's sixth straight victory over Air Force. Barring a sudden Army revival, the Chief's Trophy looks destined to remain in Annapolis.

Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo declined to strut after his 33-27 victory. He was gracious.

He knew Air Force had collected 411 yards to his team's 244 yards.

He knew Air Force had seen two blocked punts turn into two instant Navy touchdowns.

"We got lucky," Niumatalolo said. "We'll take it, but we got lucky."

Hate to disagree, coach, but it wasn't luck.

The more poised team won this game. The tougher team won this game. The better team won this game.

After all the craziness, all the lead changes, all the mistakes, Navy took over with 2:31 left. The game was in the hands of Air Force's defense.

Last week, Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said the Falcons had lost five straight times to Navy because they never "earned" a victory. This was Air Force's opportunity to earn a final chance.

And the Falcons failed.

The Midshipmen motored to the game-clinching first down and proved they deserve to rule as the emperors of service-academy football.

Air Force freshman quarterback Tim Jefferson stood at the 34-yard-line as Kettani awaited his final carry.

Jefferson came off the bench in relief of a sick Shea Smith to lead the Falcons on a fourth-quarter touchdown drive, and he was itching, along with a few hundred thousand Air Force fans, for another chance.

"I wanted the ball," Jefferson said.

And what were his plans?

"Lead us to a touchdown and a win," Jefferson said.

When Kettani took his big frame on a short flight to the first down, Jefferson's hopes were squashed, and his teammates and coaches were left to ponder a large list of what-ifs.

Two moments stick in my mind. First is Kettani's first-down run. Second is Air Force's drive to the shadow of Navy's goal line in the second quarter.

After Smith nearly scored on third down, Calhoun didn't hesitate. Navy was reeling after flubbing a 10-0 lead, and Calhoun went for a knockout punch and a 17-10 lead.

"We've got to be able to punch it in," Calhoun said, his voice full of fire a few minutes after the game. "You've got to."

So why didn't Calhoun try to punch it in? Instead, he made a strange call. The Falcons declined to punch and instead tried to sweep their way into the end zone.

It was a disaster. Ty Paffett was engulfed for a 1-yard loss, and the Falcons never recovered.
Calhoun performed a masterful job of lifting his team from the wreckage of last season's loss to Navy.

In 2007, the Falcons bolted to a 3-0 record and stumbled to consecutive losses to Brigham Young and Navy. In 2008, the Falcons again jumped to a 3-0 record and, again, lost two straight.

Last season, Calhoun walked away from an excruciating defeat to Navy and collected six wins in the next seven weeks.

This season?

Stay tuned. The next episode unfolds Saturday at San Diego State.