RAMSEY: Navy can't blame officials for loss

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – It’s time to speak truth to Navy coaches, players and fans, who are in mourning after Saturday’s 35-34 loss to Air Force.

Yes, Navy was forced to try to survive a ridiculous flag, but it’s not officials’ fault the Midshipmen found a way to lose.

Officials did not block Navy’s overtime extra point. Alex Means did. The 6-foot-5 Air Force junior linebacker reached his left hand into the Maryland sky and swatted the ball away.

And officials did not allow Air Force to cruise into the end zone in five plays. The credit for this generosity must go to Navy’s defense.

Navy had marched to the brink of victory against Air Force, overcoming 21-3 and 28-10 deficits, when quarterback Kriss Proctor got into a spirited overtime conversation with Air Force defenders.

Officials threw a flag on Navy for unsportsmanlike conduct and the Midshipmen never were the same. But Navy should blame itself for losing its considerable momentum.

Coach Ken Niumatalolo moaned about the call after the game and questioned if officials would be able to sleep. Fullback Alexander Teich joined the chorus of griping, describing the flag as “pitiful” and “horrible.”

“The game should not come down to a call like that,” Teich said.

Here’s the problem with his words:

The game did not come down to the call. Navy could have blocked Means on a 35-yard extra point and denied Air Force’s offense its journey to the end zone. This game, filled with heart-pounding drama, can’t be defined by one call.

But let me say this:

I did not agree with the flag. I don’t understand the obsession by college officials with etiquette, especially in the end zone.

When Air Force’s Mikel Hunter indulged in a mere hint of a dance in the end zone against South Dakota, officials tossed a flag, and that wasn’t right.

When Proctor indulged his anger, officials tossed another flag, and that wasn’t right, either.

Officials prevent the game from slipping into anarchy. If officials didn’t serve as policemen, offensive linemen would hold without ceasing and linebackers would deliver late hits on every play.

And yet …

Officials should not be obsessed with squashing all emotion. Niumatalolo had it right. He wishes officials would have asked Proctor to “settle down” and walked away.

The Midshipmen are hurting, and they should be. They nearly delivered a comeback for the ages. Proctor delivered a virtually perfect fourth quarter, leading Navy to 130 yards rushing and 12 first downs. The quarter began with Air Force leading by 18 and ended with a borderline unbelievable tie.

This would have been Air Force’s most devastating loss since 1985, when Brigham Young battled back from a 14-point deficit to steal a victory and squash the Falcons' national-title hopes.

Air Force athletic director Hans Mueh departed the field with a drained look on his face and his voice a raspy whisper. He, like several hundred thousand Air Force fans, spent much of the afternoon in great happiness, spent the final part of the game in grave concern and finished with an overwhelmed feeling.

“I knew this game wasn’t over when it was 21-3 and even when it was 28-10,” Mueh said. “They showed a lot of heart, but we showed a little more heart.”

It was a spectacular game. Navy looked deceased late in the first half when Air Force halfback Asher Clark wasted Navy’s Shawn Lynch with a head fake. Clark almost walked into the end zone to give Air Force a 21-3 lead.

But the fun had only started. The Midshipmen pulled the stake out of their heart and revived to deliver one of the great games in service-academy history. It included a sensational comeback by Navy and a mind-boggling collapse by Air Force and a clutch block by Means and a methodical final drive by Air Force.

Yes, an official tossed a flag on Proctor that should not have been tossed.

But don’t define the game by one flag. Officials did not lose this game for Navy.