WARRIOR FOOTBALL
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM
Warriors slotback Davone Bess caught this touchdown pass over Kahuku graduate Al Afalava of Oregon State.
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Bess plays to the crowd
As the ball fell into Davone Bess' hands, Chinell Carpenter was among those in Aloha Stadium hoping to be a witness to something special.
"I thought he was going to bring it all the way, that's what I was praying for anyway," said Bess' mother.
For an instant it looked like Bess might pull off the miracle, slipping through the Oregon State coverage unit for a 35-yard punt return in the fourth quarter of Hawaii's duel with the Beavers last night.
The return gave the Warriors hope of another dramatic comeback. But their last-gasp drive ended 26 yards short of the end zone and a go-ahead score as Oregon State pulled out a 35-32 win in the final game of college football's regular season.
Still, Carpenter and Neal Edmonson -- in town for their first Hawaii home game -- relished watching the Warrior sophomore receiver's performance before a national television audience.
Bess matched his season high with 10 receptions, leading the Warriors with 116 yards and a touchdown.
"I loved it, it was awesome," Carpenter said. "He played really well. ... Just watching it on TV all the time, I was like, 'I've got to get there. I've got to get there.' Now I'm here and I enjoyed it. I loved it."
Said Bess: "It's real special. It's her first time being in Hawaii since I've been here, so it was really emotional for me. It was real fun to look up and see her cheering. I had a great time overall, but it would have been a lot sweeter if we would have won."
But the individual stats were of little consolation to Bess, who nearly ended up at Oregon State rather than Hawaii, as the Warriors had a nine-game winning streak end with the loss to the Beavers.
Hawaii moved inside the Oregon State 20 on nine occasions and converted five into scores. But it was the opportunities that slipped away that gnawed at the Warriors after the game.
"Their defense was good they flew around," Bess said. "Not to take anything away from them, but we just didn't execute. We didn't do what we did for the past 12 weeks.
"They ran everything we saw in practice, it was a matter of going out and making plays and we didn't. ... We had opportunities numerous times in the red zone and couldn't punch it in."
Bess, who earlier had a pass into the end zone slip through his grasp, was on the receiving end of one of the four Hawaii drives that did end with a touchdown.
With Oregon State leading 21-14 in the second quarter, quarterback Colt Brennan engineered an eight-play drive in which he connected with Bess on four completions.
On the last, Brennan stepped up in the pocket and lofted a pass to Bess for an 11-yard score and the Warriors went into halftime tied at 21.
Along with his receiving production, Bess put a charge into the sellout crowd with his elusiveness as a punt returner. On the second, with Hawaii trailing by five, Bess backed up to field a booming kick from OSU's Kyle Loomis.
With an Oregon State defender bearing down on him, he caught the ball, escaped the tackler's grasp and scooted along the UH sideline before being stopped at the Beavers' 40.
"I love returning punts, it's something I've been wanting to do," he said. "I had my opportunity and I showed up and was ready."
But the drive stalled, and the Warriors were left to look forward to closing the season against Arizona State in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Eve.
"Stuff happens and you definitely have to move on from this," Bess said. "It's a big loss, but we have to one snap and clear. We've had a great year, we just have to keep it up."