Beaten North Charges Ref's Call Cost Win

TAMPA -- Florida State's Bill Cappleman and Louisiana State's Eddie Ray combined on a 48-yard touchdown pass in the final five minutes Saturday to give the South a 24-23 American Bowl football victory over a heavily-favored North team which later claimed a bad officiating call cost it the game.

North coach Duffy Daugherty of Michigan State claimed officials were wrong when they ruled that Jim McFarland of Nebraska was out of the end zone when he caught a pass in the final two minutes. John Riley of Auburn kicked the winning point following the Cappleman to Ray bomb, but the North struck back quickly on the clutch passing of Dennis Shaw of San Diego State and appeared headed for victory.

Shaw dumped the pass to McFarland from the 4-yard line to the back of the end zone. But the official said McFarland wasn't in bounds. The end zone was decorated with a red and white diamond design that left a one-yard border of grass around it. Daugherty claimed McFarland caught the ball in the green but the official must have thought the decoration was the end of the end zone.

"I'm not criticizing the officiating but these are the weirdest end zone markings I've ever seen and I'm sure the game films will show that McFarland scored," Daugherty said. "I was standing on the 20-yard line and saw it plainly, as all the boys did." Shaw said he didn't want to talk about the game. "Just give the game ball to the official," he said.

[source: ap]