WASHINGTON — David Baska needed the wall outside the Air Force locker room to lean on for support.
The punter was the attacker on Air Force’s gallant try for a two-point conversion Wednesday with 52 seconds left in the Military Bowl. Baska took the snap from center as the holder on an apparent conversion kick, then ran to his left before making a wild pitch to place-kicker Parker Herrington. The ball ended up bouncing out of bounds in the end zone and Toledo won 42-41.
“It was my fault,” Baska, a sophomore, said in almost a whisper at RFK Stadium after the Falcons completed a 7-6 season. “I should have made it.”
Baska got near the goal line, but it appeared he would be stopped. So he tried to pitch the ball. Most of the Air Force players on the sideline didn’t know the fake was coming.
After the heartbreaker, Herrington stood by the wall a few feet from Baska, trying to come to grips with the disappointment. Herrington had taken his normal position as the kicker, with Baska the holder. They had worked a similar alignment for a successful two-point conversion earlier in the season.
“I think (Baska) saw he wasn’t going to make the end zone,” Herrington said. “I think he was trying to pitch it back, but fumbled the ball ahead. I thought I might be able to catch up to it, but it went out of bounds.”
Coach Troy Calhoun said it wasn’t a called pitch play and that Baska was trying to take the ball into the end zone.
Tim Jefferson completed two fourth-down passes during a 12-play, 78-yard drive that brought the Falcons to within one point. His fourth-down, 33-yard touchdown pass to Zack Kauth set up the deciding play. Air Force converted five fourth-down plays overall.
