[ UH WARRIOR FOOTBALL ]
THERE wasn't a bigger injury last night than the concussion Hawaii free safety Nate Jackson suffered early in the Western Athletic Conference game won by Rice University on a late field goal, 27-24. Injury to Jackson set tone early
For sure, when quarterback Tim Chang went down with a sprained wrist at the 10:34 mark of the fourth quarter, Hawaii's chances went with him. But had Jackson been around for longer than he was, perhaps the big plays given up on defense wouldn't have been so huge.
Backup Sean Butts had his moments making some big hits and solid plays, but it was his miscues that hurt the Warriors down the stretch. Rice quarterback Greg Henderson faked him out of his shoes on a 28-yard scoring run in the second quarter. Butts also bit on a play-action 39-yard scoring pass from Henderson to Derek Gary, who bulled his way into the end zone to make it 21-14 early in the third quarter.
"To me, that was big because we gave up a touchdown right before the half," Rice coach Ken Hatfield said. "That touchdown pass to open the third quarter was big because it got us back into the game."
Jackson was hurt on the second series of the game on a crack-back block by Gavin Boothe. Jackson came back briefly in the second quarter, but was beat on a play-action pass by Henderson that set up the Rice quarterback's scoring scamper. Butts finished with 7.5 tackles and a fumble recovery, but the big plays given up offset those.
UH head coach June Jones is hopeful Jackson will be back for Saturday's game at SMU. He also believes Chang has a chance to recuperate from his wrist injury suffered in the fourth quarter.
Jared Flint came in, but is still recovering from a bad shoulder injury himself. He was ineffective, forcing Jones to make a decision on Nick Rolovich's status. He may have a broken finger on his right hand, which would allow him to redshirt should Jones choose that path. But if he plays this weekend, the redshirt year won't be available to him.
In the red zone
Last week, Hawaii struggled in the red zone against Nevada, managing only one touchdown in four tries inside the Wolf Pack 20 during the first half. That wasn't a problem in the first half of last night's game. The Warriors got inside the red zone three times, scoring touchdowns on each occasion.Ashley Lelie caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from Chang. Mike Bass scored his first collegiate touchdown from 3 yards out and Lelie had a 16-yard touchdown grab from Chang to give Hawaii a comfortable 21-7 lead at the half.
"I thought that the first half was the best overall team game we've played since I've been here," Jones said. "We just broke down in the second half."
Lelie was on fire
Lelie continues to set his own personal marks. Last night, he had 11 receptions for 181 yards and two touchdowns. Unfortunately for the Warriors, he was held in check in the second half, managing only three catches for 63 yards."We decided to double team him and let the other guys beat us," Hatfield said, who picked up his 150th collegiate victory. "That kid is going to be a great one for June. Heck, he already is great."
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