[ WARRIOR FOOTBALL ]
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Junior QB Tim Chang and head coach June Jones conferred late in the Warriors' Hawaii Bowl victory over Houston.
Warriors’ season
featured plenty of
ups and downsUH went through a rollercoaster
season that ended with a
Hawaii Bowl win and a brawl
Maybe too much hype contributed to unrealistic expectations by fans. Maybe the road was tougher than usual. Maybe losing key players to injury and suspensions was a big factor.
There is, however, one thing clear about University of Hawaii football after the Warriors' just-completed 9-5 season: The state's expectations of this team -- on the field and otherwise -- are very high. And that's not just because of coach June Jones' new five-year, $4 million contract.
Jones got some of the positive exposure he was hoping for in terms of nationally televised games and a Heisman Trophy campaign for quarterback Tim Chang. But that same spotlight backfired in the sense that Hawaii lost three of the five national games. And a 10-minute brawl after one of the everybody's-watching wins -- Thursday's 54-48 triple-overtime thriller over Houston in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl -- might have discouraged some viewers (including potential recruits?) from making future visits to the islands. At the very least, it was an embarrassment for the state after what should have been a source of pride.
UH football under coach June Jones
1999: 9-4 won Oahu Bowl 2000: 3-9 no bowl 2001: 9-3 no bowl 2002: 10-4 lost Hawaii Bowl 2003: 9-5 won Hawaii Bowl Total: 40-25 .615 winning pct.
Jones met with athletic director Herman Frazier on Friday about the brawl. There was a similar incident of similar magnitude after a win against Cincinnati in 2002. No punishment was meted out after that one. But since Thursday's game was seen nationally and it is a "second offense," suspensions are almost a given -- not to mention guidelines for preventive maintenance.
Jones said yesterday he will let Frazier and Western Athletic Conference commissioner Karl Benson determine the guilty parties.
"That's other people's decisions," Jones said. "I've looked at the tapes and know what happened. I addressed it before the game, during the game. It's just unfortunate."
That was an allusion to his comments from Thursday that the officials, a crew from the Mountain West Conference, failed to control the game by calming down players who were trash-talking or celebrating big plays in an over-exuberant fashion. Jones said he called a timeout to specifically address the situation.
Amid the chaos, it would be easy to miss a few seemingly little things that were actually big things in Hawaii's victory.
One is that the Warriors are now 3-0 in overtime games with Jones as coach. In order to succeed in overtime, an offense must score from the opponents' 25-yard line -- something critics say Jones' run-and-shoot scheme is not adept at.
"It just shows that our offense is tough in the plus area and the media has never acknowledged that," Jones said. "And on defense obviously you've got to stop them one more time. We made plays when we had to make them."
Then there was Chang's storybook return to the lineup, in particular the crucial fourth-quarter drive in which he eluded a torrid Houston rush play after play.
"He reminded me of Joe Montana. He knew what we had to do, he led us. He talked to us in the huddle. He knew exactly what everybody needed to do and it was fun being out there with him," junior receiver Gerald Welch said. "Timmy has a lot of ups and downs. But look at his character, bouncing back. It makes us look better for next year. I can't wait to get there. We had five losses this year. That's a lot. We all want to step it up for bigger and better things for next year."
Melee Kalikimaka symbolized Hawaii's season in the sense that even when the Warriors won, bizarre sideshows, controversy and sundry misfortune often took some of the shine off hard-earned victory.
>> Hawaii beat Appalachian State 40-17 in the season opener. But Chang, he of the Heisman hype, watched from the sideline because he participated in the previous season's Hawaii Bowl while academically ineligible.
>> Hawaii beat Louisiana Tech 44-41 on the road. But the Warriors turned the ball over five times and allowed the Bulldogs' Ryan Moats to rush for 267 yards.
>> Hawaii beat Texas-El Paso 31-15. But unofficial mascot Vili Fehoko got into a confrontation with a UTEP cheerleader that led to the equivalent of Vili being called into the vice principal's office and told to tone down his act.
>> Hawaii beat San Jose State 13-10, again on the road. But the officiating crew was found guilty of making several mistakes in the closing seconds, when the Spartans were denied a final play with time seemingly left on the clock and the ball inches from the UH end zone.
>> Hawaii beat Alabama 37-29. But a good portion of the season's largest crowd at Aloha Stadium (37,024) booed Chang until he was taken out of the game, prompting a quarterback controversy that Jones only somewhat quelled by naming Jason Whieldon to start the season finale against Boise State.
IT WOULD BE unfair to say the Warriors couldn't get it right even when they did all the time. But the focus on this team is so intense that any individual misstep by any player on or off the field is construed by some fans as the reason for losses, or a symptom of a deeper problem that will lead to future defeats. After the UNLV loss -- a game in which the Warriors were penalized for 129 yards and had six turnovers -- even Jones, famous as a players' coach, questioned his team's character. And star receiver Chad Owens was suspended for two games for missing the team flight home.
Owens' absence might have hurt UH in its 27-16 loss at Tulsa, a loss that basically cost the Warriors a shot at the WAC championship many had predicted for them. But he returned a better player, and ended up ranked nationally in receiving.
By the end of the season, though, the Warriors proved they could win without many of their high-profile players. WAC defensive player of the year Travis LaBoy and running back West Keli'ikipi missed the Houston game, and Owens was in for just one play. Starting slotback Nate Ilaoa missed the entire season except for one game. Receiver Jeremiah Cockheran and defensive tackle Isaac Sopoaga also sat out several games and played at less than 100 percent in others.
"It's the most starters," Jones said, when asked if he'd ever had to deal with more injuries before.
When all is said and done, how does 9-5 feel for this team, Coach?
"Having six road games ... to win nine games is a very good season. In a normal year, we would have had a great season. When you have six road games, you have to win three to win 50 percent, and we didn't do that."
The road schedule is only four games next year, but four conference opponents who traditionally play tough at home: Boise State, Fresno State, Rice and UTEP.
Chang can't wait to get started.
"It's very promising. But as you all know, this season was very promising for us and it didn't turn out exactly the way we wanted it to turn out. There's things that need to be corrected and we need changed and we need to become a better team," he said. "I really want a WAC championship next year, so we're going to have to go back to the drawing board, train really hard and just come back and be ready to play and be very hungry."
The Warriors have nearly everyone back on offense, but need to do major reloading on a defense that loses nine senior starters.
Recruiting needs?
"I think we've got some defensive linemen on campus who will turn out to be very good," Jones said. "We won't change our focus. We'll recruit a wide receiver or two this year because we're losing Jeremiah and we need some vertical help. If we get that we have a chance to be pretty good."
After Chang's five-touchdown, 475-yard relief performance Thursday, once again there's no question who the starting quarterback is. Whieldon was a senior, so now there's a wide-open competition for No. 2.
"We have some potential guys who haven't gotten a chance, guys who will take that chance," Jones said.
Juniors Jeff Rhode and Kainoa Akina, sophomore Ryan Stickler and second-year freshman Jack Rolovich will all get a look, as will true freshman Taylor Humphrey. Humphrey is UH's only commitment to this point among players who have actually been offered scholarships.
Jones said he doesn't expect any of his assistant coaches to move on, but wouldn't be shocked if there is some transition on the staff.
"It's always a possibility to lose one or two. Right now I wouldn't know who that is."
A look at Hawaii's season
Hawaii 40, Appalachian St. 17
Aug. 30 at Aloha Stadium -- Jason Whieldon plays for suspended Tim Chang and throws three TD passes to housemate Jeremiah Cockheran.USC 61, Hawaii 32
Sept. 13 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum -- Reggie Bush rushes for two TDs and Matt Leinart passes for two more for USC. Chang passes for 306 yards and two scores, but is picked twice.UNLV 33, Hawaii 22
Sept. 19 at Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas -- Dyante Perkins' two TD runs, Dillon Pieffer's four field goals and six Hawaii turnovers do in the Warriors.Hawaii 41, Rice 21
Sept. 27 at Aloha Stadium -- Gerald Welch catches two TD passes from former high school teammate Chang and UH rolls in its WAC opener.Tulsa 27, Hawaii 16
Oct. 4 at Skelly Stadium, Tulsa, Okla. -- The Warriors fall to 0-3 on the road as Hurricane QB James Kilian runs for 115 yards.Hawaii 55, Fresno St. 28
Oct. 11 at Aloha Stadium -- Chang throws five TD passes and Travis LaBoy bags two of Hawaii's five sacks.Hawaii 44, La. Tech 41
Oct. 18 at Joe Aillet Stadium, Ruston, La. -- Chang heaves five more TD passes as the Warriors pull off a road win despite Ryan Moats' 267 yards rushing.Hawaii 31, UTEP 15
Oct. 25 at Aloha Stadium -- Mel Purcell makes 12 tackles, including two sacks, for Hawaii. Justin Ayat makes all four field goals but misses two of three extra-point tries.Hawaii 13, San Jose St. 10
Nov. 1 at Spartan Stadium, San Jose, Calif. -- West Keli'ikipi scores twice and the Warriors win their second road game of the year. Time runs out on the Spartans with the ball inches from the UH goal line.Nevada 24, Hawaii 14
Nov. 15 at Mackay Stadium, Reno, Nev. -- Chad Owens and LaBoy score TDs in the space of 11 seconds, but Nevada steals the momentum for good with Derek Kennard Jr.'s 11-yard TD interception return.Hawaii 59, Army 28
Nov. 22 at Aloha Stadium -- The Warriors pile up a school-record 741 yards as Owens (168) and Jason Rivers (117) surpass the century mark in receiving yards and John West rushes for three TDs. Whieldon sets the stage for a QB controversy by completing 16 of 17 passes.Hawaii 37, Alabama 29
Nov. 29 at Aloha Stadium -- Ikaika Curnan makes 15 tackles and Lance Samuseva gets a safety as defense leads Hawaii to one of the program's biggest wins. Chang is booed several times by many in the home crowd at Aloha Stadium.Boise St. 45, Hawaii 28
Dec. 6 at Aloha Stadium -- Backup RB Donny Heck rushes for four TDs and the Broncos use a 12-play, 91-yard drive in the third quarter to establish control. The Warriors harass BSU's Ryan Dinwiddie with four sacks, including two by Isaac Sopoaga, but poor special-teams play hurts Hawaii.Hawaii 54, Houston 48 (3 OT)
Dec. 25 at Aloha Stadium -- Michael Brewster rushes for an 8-yard TD in the third overtime, and Chang comes off the bench to throw five touchdown passes. A 10-minute postgame brawl involves dozens of players from both teams and several fans.
