Sunday, September 30, 2001
[ UH WARRIOR FOOTBALL ]
Owls catch up You can look at it either way. Hawaii let it get away, or Rice took it away.
to Warriors
Hawaii can't make a 21-7 halftime
lead stick against RiceBy Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.com
"The breaks," UH right guard Vince Manuwai said. "We didn't get them. But you have to give them credit. They got those big turnovers."
Four, to be exact. So, like last season, UH was generous, or Rice was greedy.
Whichever -- in a game full of big plays, the visiting Owls had just enough of them, and at the right times to come back from a 14-point deficit and beat the mistake-prone Warriors 27-24 last night at Aloha Stadium.
An Oahu-opening night crowd of 32,946 saw UH (1-2, 0-2 WAC) start sluggishly, then jump to a 21-7 first-half lead on the combination of Tim Chang to Ashley Lelie (two first-half touchdown passes) and a surprisingly stout defense that for the most part controlled Rice's (3-1, 1-0) wishbone offense.
But the game ended with Chang on the sideline with a sprained right wrist as third-stringer Jared Flint tried but couldn't get the momentum back for the Warriors. Second-string quarterback Nick Rolovich couldn't play because of a broken finger suffered last week.
"Sometimes things aren't meant to happen," said Chang, who completed 27 of 49 passes for 362 yards, but also had three intercepted.
Rice went through quarterbacks, too -- three of them.Freshman Joe Moore, in his first college game, held the fort in the second half long enough for Greg Henderson, another freshman, to return after suffering cramps. Henderson had replaced starter Kyle Herm, who left in the first quarter with a concussion.
With a sophomore kicker and freshman quarterbacks and an old nemesis of a linebacker stepping up at the right times, Rice won by taking control of the second half on the road.
"The turning point? Halftime," said linebacker Dan Dawson, who led the Owls with 12 1/2 tackles, including two sacks. "We talked about sticking together through the bad times."
Dawson, who intercepted Chang three times last year when the freshman was picked off a school record five times, got another big one last night -- and he returned it 74 yards for a touchdown with 7:03 left in the third quarter. The play brought Rice to within 24-21.
"That's the one that gave us the confidence," said Hatfield, whose 150-career coaching victories now include three consecutive for Rice against UH. "After that, we felt we could win, even with a freshman quarterback (Moore) who had never taken a snap."
And a kicker who seemed to be having a bad night.
Brandon Skeen made only two of five field goals, but his 31 and 26-yard kicks in the fourth quarter provided the tying and winning points.
The first field goal was set up by Brandon Green's interception with 2:01 left in the third quarter. The go-ahead 3-pointer came with 2:26 left in the game, after Rice drove from its 30 to the Hawaii nine. The drive was aided by a pass interference call against Hyrum Peters, one of three such penalties against UH.
The Warriors, with Flint at quarterback, couldn't come back in the final minutes. Patrick Denby intercepted him with 30 seconds left for Rice's fourth pick of the game.
"They made some plays," Hawaii coach June Jones said. "Give them some credit, they're coaching over on that side, too."
Going in, one of the game's keys was Rice's wishbone offense against Hawaii's rushing defense. The Warriors seemed well-prepared most the game against the run, but were burned at key junctures by passes.Defensive coordinator Kevin Lempa said the interference penalties weren't as crucial as other breakdowns against the pass.
"They're running the ball and all of a sudden you have play-action. You have to be disciplined," said Lempa, who was otherwise extremely pleased with his unit.
Linebacker Chris Brown played despite a sprained left knee and led Hawaii with 12 1/2 tackles. The Warriors defense came up with several big plays -- including five sacks among seven tackles for losses. But almost all of them were in the first half as UH's front appeared to tire in the second half for the third game in a row.
"I think we were on the field too long," Brown said. "After awhile, we can't do anything."
The Warriors' defense was also hurt in the long run by the absence of free safety Nate Jackson, who left in the first quarter with a concussion. Sean Butts did his best, but found it's hard to replace a second-team all-WAC performer.
"I made a couple of mental mistakes," said Butts, who was in on eight tackles and recovered a Rice fumble in the fourth quarter. "I tried my best to fill Nate's shoes, but that's hard because he's a great player."
Lelie was a bright spot for Hawaii with a career-high 11 catches good for 181 yards and the two touchdowns. He also had an apparent 90-yard TD pass from Chang called back in the first half.
"We had our chances. But it wasn't enough," Lelie said.
[EXTRA POINT]
Chang injury was key to game, Rice coach says
Some may say Dan Dawson's interception return for a Rice touchdown was the turning point. Others might claim it was the blocked kick in the fourth quarter that kept Hawaii from regaining the lead late in the game.Not so, Rice head coach Ken Hatfield said. He believes the wrist injury to Warriors quarterback Tim Chang kept Hawaii from mounting the winning drive. Chang went down in a heap near the sidelines after trying to hit Craig Stutzmann with 10:34 left.
"When he went out and the other guy (Jared Flint) came in, you could tell something was missing," Hatfield said. "They weren't as big a threat on offense and we still had our guy (Greg Henderson) in there at the end. That was huge for us."
[COMING UP]
Warriors fly 4,000 miles to face Mustangs next
This is a Texas two-step even the best country line dancer wouldn't volunteer for on short notice. Last night, Hawaii had to defend the multi-faceted offense of Rice. Now, Hawaii has to jump on a plane and head east 4,000 miles to play Southern Methodist in Big D.Not that the Mustangs are all that scary. They are 0-3 and looking bad. Two years ago, Hawaii proved it was for real by beating SMU 20-0 in the Cotton Bowl. That venue will be occupied by Texas and Oklahoma, meaning the Warriors will play in SMU's new on-campus stadium.
Wherever the two teams play, Hawaii has to prove it's road ready, something the Warriors haven't done much of the last 10 years.
GAME SUMMARY
RICE 0 7 14 6 27 HAWAII 0 21 3 0 24
Scoring summary
Second Quarter
Haw--Ashley Lelie 6 reception from Timmy Chang (Justin Ayat kick), 14:17
Haw--Mike Bass 3 run (Ayat kick), 9:24
Rice--Greg Henderson 28 run (Brandon Skeen kick) 8:37
Haw--Lelie 16 reception from Chang (Ayat kick) 0:31
Third Quarter
Rice--Derek Gary 39 reception from Henderson (Skeen kick),12:51
Haw--Ayat 37 field goal, 10:35
Rice--Dan Dawson 74 interception return (Skeen kick), 7:03
Fourth Quarter
Rice--Skeen 31 field goal, 13:09
Rice--Skeen 26 field goal, 2:26
Attendance--35,443Team statistics
RiceHaw
Punt Returns3-123-35
Kickoff Returns4-635-129
Interceptions Ret.4-1190-0
Comp-Att-Int7-19-030-57-4
Sacked-Yards Lost4-264-31
Punts7-3217-221
Fumbles-Lost2-12-0
Penalties-Yards5-406-59
Time of Possession32:1727:43
Individual statistics
RUSHING--Rice: Sean White 10-77, Henderson 15-47, Jamie Tyler 13-38, Leroy Bradley 3-20, Vincent Hawkins 7-16, Robbie Beck 2-5, Gary 1-5, Kyle Herm 7-11, Joe Moore 3-10, Ed Bailey 1-2. Hawaii: Bass 15-71, Thero Mitchell 3-7, Chad Kapanui 1-(-4), Chang 1-(-9), Jared Flint 3-(-17).PASSING--Rice: Henderson 14-6-0-135, Moore, 4-0-0-0, Herm 1-1-0-5. Hawaii: Chang 49-27-3-362, Flint 8-3-1-28.
RECEIVING--Rice: Gary 2-44, Gavin Boothe 2-11, Bradley 1-41, Hawkins 1-31, Gilbert Okoronkwo 1-13. Hawaii: Lelie 11-181, Justin Colbert 7-59, Channon Harris 6-92, Bass 3-9, Craig Stutzmann 2-31, Mitchell 1-18.
MISSED FIELD GOALS--Rice: Skeen, 29, Skeen, 44, Skeen 47. Hawaii: Ayat 42.
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii