Monday, October 26, 1998
By George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin
Hawaii quarterback Dan Robinson avoids the
New Mexico pass rush Saturday.
UH running
out of chances
With its loss to New Mexico,
Star-Bulletin staff
Hawaii might have missed its
best opportunity for a
victory this seasonNew Mexico was the last-chance cafe for the Hawaii football team. But instead of pulling over and taking a big bite out of the Lobos, the Rainbows rolled on by and now face the distinct possibility of going 0-for-12 this season.
It's not that Hawaii's five remaining opponents -- UTEP, San Jose State, Fresno State, Northwestern and Michigan -- are the greatest teams on the NCAA highway.
It's just that New Mexico came to town winless in four previous Western Athletic Conference games, with a penchant for losing late. The Lobos provided the Rainbows their best opportunity to get a win and the 'Bows flat missed it.
"This one was gift-wrapped for New Mexico," UH head coach Fred vonAppen said of Saturday's 30-20 loss to the Lobos. "We had plenty of opportunities. At some point, we've got to make plays."
The loss was Hawaii's 13th in a row, dating back to a victory over Fresno State some 54 weeks ago. The Rainbows and Nevada-Las Vegas are tied for the nation's longest losing streak.
By George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin
New Mexico's Chad Smith intercepts a pass in
front of Hawaii's Eleu Kane.
‘Keep the faith’
Encouraging words are nice, but
By Paul Arnett
blown opportunities continue to
plague the Rainbows
Star-BulletinHawaii president Kenneth Mortimer rode up the Aloha Stadium elevator in silence before Saturday night's game with New Mexico.
He had just come from the Rainbows' locker room, where he told head coach Fred vonAppen not to lose faith or confidence in his beliefs and ideals.
Later, Mortimer spoke briefly in the Aloha Stadium press box about the plight of the program.
"I believe we have to keep the faith and persevere through these difficult times," Mortimer said. "Things are tough right now, but I feel we'll get through them."
VonAppen spent yesterday reviewing film and talking with his staff about the 30-20 loss to New Mexico, Hawaii's 13th consecutive defeat.
If it's frustrating for the fans to watch all the penalties, turnovers, dropped passes, and missed scoring opportunities, you can imagine what it's like for the coaches.
"It's hard to keep believing in what you're doing as a staff when things are the way they are right now," vonAppen said yesterday. "I appreciated the president stopping by and telling me that.
"It's tough on everybody right now, including the players, coaches, administrators and our fans. All we can do is put the past in the past, move on and try to find a way to correct our mistakes.
"We're already looking at film of UTEP and trying to devise a game plan for them. Our job is to keep the players up and believing in themselves through these very trying times."
After Saturday night's record-setting ninth consecutive home loss, the players walked around their locker room disgusted with a performance that included blowing a first-and-goal from the 7 by missing a 21-yard field goal.
Hawaii failed to convert a fourth-and-1 from the New Mexico 3 after freshman Derrick Zoller missed a key block. The Rainbows also committed two costly turnovers -- an interception by quarterback Dan Robinson and a fumble by tailback Afatia Thompson -- that resulted in a pair of Lobos touchdowns.
By George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin
Rainbow receiver Wesley Morris and Lobo defender
Marcus McDavid watch the ball bounce away after
an incomplete pass.
"When we commit turnovers, other teams score off of us," vonAppen said. "But when they fumbled on their own 37 in the fourth quarter, we couldn't run it in."And to make matters worse, we don't even move it 1 yard on four plays. It makes me physically ill to think about it or watch it on film."
The problems in the 10-point loss were all too familiar. Hawaii gained only 75 yards on the ground, forcing Robinson to pass the ball a school-record 57 times. He completed 21 of those for 247 yards, including three touchdown passes to receiver Wesley Morris.
Robinson is now 47th nationally in passing yards with 1,308. But after the way the Lobos knocked him around Saturday night, he might be eligible for hazardous-duty pay.
"Dan didn't leave a thing on that football field," UH offensive coordinator Don Lindsey said of the junior, who was sacked once and knocked down 21 other times. "He was under duress all night because we couldn't run and we fell way behind (24-0) early in the second half."
Hawaii managed 322 yards in total offense, 16 more than New Mexico. What the Lobos did better was score from in close. Quarterback Graham Leigh took it in from 11 yards out on one option play and made a perfect pitch to halfback Dion Marion from 3 yards out on another that irked UH defensive coordinator Tom Williams.
"On both of those option runs, (UH linebacker Houdini) Jackson made the wrong reads," Williams said. "What makes that tough to understand is how much time we spent working on the option in practice. But you have to remember this: He's only a freshman, who is still learning the game."
Leigh also taught the Rainbows some lessons through the air, completing 15 of 31 passes for 169 yards and one touchdown of 23 yards to Kirk Robbins to cap a key drive to open the second half.
"Once again, we played miserably in the third stanza," vonAppen said. "Twice Jovon Jiles hurt us on that drive by first missing an interception that was right in his hands, and then letting their receiver (Robbins) get behind him for an easy score.
"We're down to five opportunities. We've squandered seven. We've been in it to varying degrees, but we keep blowing key chances at various stages of these games. If we continue to do that, then we're going to have a hard time winning a single game."
Tripped up
After strong safety Anthony Smith scooped up New Mexico running back Jarrod Baxter's fumble at the Lobos' 37, he saw nothing but artificial turf in front of him.
"I thought I was going to score," Smith said. "I should have scored, but the guy just tripped me up."
The guy was New Mexico quarterback Graham Leigh, who might have made the biggest play of the night by stretching out and just catching a piece of Smith's back leg on the lunge.
Hawaii still had the ball at the Lobos' 24, down by 13 with 12:08 left in the game. Score a touchdown here and it's a whole new ballgame. But four incompletions later, the Lobos held and went on to win, 30-20.
"That was the biggest play of the game," New Mexico head coach Rocky Long said of Leigh's tackle. "If they score on that play, then anything can happen down the stretch. We've lost a lot of games this year late."
Smith never noticed Leigh, but probably should have been aware the quarterback was close by.
"I don't think he ever saw me," Leigh said of Smith. "Had he kept angling away from me, I never would have touched him. Instead, he ran straight up field, giving me the shot I needed."
Mixed night for Morris
"Those were nice, but I missed some balls that I should have had tonight," Morris said. "And that hurt our chances of getting a win."
For the season, Morris has 35 catches for 489 yards and four touchdowns.
Return game improving
Running back Charles Tharp hasn't gained too many yards on the ground, but in his second game as a punt returner, he took back seven kicks for 78 yards.
Morris returned four kickoffs for 87 yards and freshman running back Robert Grant returned two kickoffs for 61 yards.
"The coaches wanted me to return kicks, so I could do some things in the open field," Tharp said. "I'm getting comfortable back there."
UH head coach Fred VonAppen also was pleased with that phase of the kicking game.
"We do well there," vonAppen said. "We also punt protect well and got off some decent kicks, then we miss a short field goal and that's what everybody remembers."
Injury update
Cornerback Quincy LeJay suffered a bruised shoulder and is doubtful for this Saturday's game at UTEP. Starting nose tackle Tony Tuioti is doubtful because of his back. He will require surgery after the season.
By Paul Arnett
Conference Standings
Pacific Division
W L Pct. W L Pct. San Diego State 4 0 1.000 4 3 .571 Brigham Young 3 1 .750 5 3 .625 Utah 2 2 .500 4 3 .571 San Jose State 2 2 .500 3 5 .375 Texas-El Paso 2 2 .500 2 5 .286 Fresno State 2 2 .500 2 5 .286 New Mexico 1 4 .200 3 5 .375 Hawaii 0 5 .000 0 7 .000
Mountain Division
W L Pct. W L Pct. Wyoming 4 0 1.000 6 1 .857 Air Force 4 1 .800 6 1 .857 Colorado State 4 1 .800 7 2 .778 Southern Methodist 3 2 .600 3 5 .375 Texas Christian 2 2 .500 4 3 .571 Rice 2 2 .500 2 5 .286 Tulsa 0 4 .000 2 5 .286 Nevada-Las Vegas 0 5 .000 0 8 .000
Saturday's games Last week
Colorado State 42, Texas Christian 21
Brigham Young 46, San Jose State 43
Southern Methodist 10, Nevada-Las Vegas 7
Air Force 42, Tulsa 21
Wyoming 34, Rice 24
San Diego State 21, Utah 20 (OT)
Fresno State 32, Texas-El Paso 6
New Mexico 30, Hawaii 20
Thursday's game This week
San Diego State at Brigham Young, 3 p.m.
Saturday's games
Southern Methodist at Air Force, 9 a.m.
Colorado State at Rice, 10 a.m.
Fresno State at New Mexico, 10 a.m.
Tulsa at Nevada-Las Vegas, 11 a.m.
Utah at San Jose State, 11 a.m.
Hawaii at Texas-El Paso, noon
Wyoming at Texas Christian, 4 p.m.
UH season statistics
INDIVIDUAL
Rushing
Car Yards Avg. TD Long Charles Tharp 82 311 3.8 0 31 Avion Weaver 24 95 4.0 0 11 Derek Zoller 23 65 2.8 0 12 Calvin Mims 13 43 3.3 0 8 Fred Lau 4 38 9.5 0 23 Bronson Liana 18 26 1.4 0 9 Robert Grant 6 15 2.5 0 13 Afatia Thompson 3 6 2.0 0 3 Dan Robinson 60 5 0.1 0 15 Anthony DiIeso 1 4 4.0 0 4 Jauron Pigg 1 -1 -1.0 0 0 Josh Skinner 5 -9 -1.8 0 3
Att Comp Yards Int TD Dan Robinson 214 95 1,308 5 8 Bronson Liana 12 3 14 0 0 Josh Skinner 7 0 0 0 0
Rec Yards TD Long Wesley Morris 35 489 4 52 Dwight Carter 20 299 3 69 Eleu Kane 11 209 0 55 Charles Tharp 9 69 0 36 Davey deLaura 7 94 0 39 Derek Zoller 4 31 1 23 Craig Stutzman 3 54 1 28 Mike Iosua 2 12 0 7 Calvin Mims 1 19 0 19 Avion Weaver 1 17 0 17 Robert Grant 1 9 0 9 Jimmy McClain 1 7 0 7 Afatia Thompson 1 5 0 5 Nassor Anderson 1 4 0 4 Robert Kemfort 1 4 0 4
TD XP 2XP SAF FG Pts Wesley Morris 4 0 0 0 0 24 Dwight Carter 3 0 0 0 0 18 Chad Shrout 0 4 0 0 3-10 13 Derek Zoller 1 0 0 0 0 6 Kamuela Cobb-Adams 1 0 0 0 0 6 Chris Pinkney 0 0 1 0 0 2
No. Yards Avg. Long Chad Shrout 54 2,065 38.2 53
No. Yds. Lg No. Yds. Lg Daniel Ho-Ching 3 54 42 0 0 0 Charles Tharp 9 109 22 2 36 20 James Polk 2 17 10 0 0 0 Eleu Kane 5 32 21 9 168 28 Dwight Carter 6 30 14 3 64 23 Wesley Morris 0 0 0 11 263 65 Robert Grant 0 0 0 3 72 35 Robert Kemfort 0 0 0 1 3 3
Una Ast Total Loss Sack Matt Paul 30 21 51 1 0 Anthony Smith 25 18 43 0 0 Jeff Ulbrich 25 13 38 4 1 Quincy LeJay 29 8 37 0 0 Donnell Williams 24 13 37 0 0 Tony Tuioti 21 13 34 1 0 Stephen Gonzales 18 15 33 1 1 Kamuela Cobb-Adams 18 12 30 2 1 Phil Austin 21 9 30 1 1 Ben Bright 14 9 23 1 2 Mark Mollner 12 11 23 0 1 Houdini Jackson 13 8 21 2 2 Joaquin Avila 12 9 21 2 3 Miles Garner 13 6 19 4 0 Jose[h Correia 10 6 16 1 0 Jovon Jiles 14 1 15 0 0 Daniel Ho-Ching 9 5 14 0 0 Chris Garnier 10 3 13 0 0 Olen Rosehill 10 2 12 1 1 Matt Elam 9 2 11 2 1 Yaphet Warren 9 2 11 1 0 Damien Arafiles 9 1 10 1 0 Nate Jackson 8 2 10 0 0 James Polk 8 2 10 0 0 Bobby Morgan 6 1 7 1 0 Celnell Bobbitt 5 2 7 0 0 Rinda Brooks 5 0 5 0 0
