Monday, October 1, 2001
[ UH WARRIOR FOOTBALL ]
Brown, UH set Chris Brown said he was drugged up -- on adrenaline.
sights on victory at SMU
The linebacker says the Warriors' defense
is close to becoming a dominant force>>UH STATISTICS<<
>>ASK THE COACH<<By Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.comThe Hawaii junior linebacker, who had sprained his left knee in practice Thursday, made a team-high 12 - 1/2 tackles as UH lost a 27-24 heartbreaker Saturday at Aloha Stadium.
"I told the trainers nothing, no painkillers," Brown said. "I told myself, no brace, no taping, nothing. If I did, I knew I would baby the knee. I wanted to feel like there was nothing wrong.
"It was straight adrenaline."
The Warriors need more than a natural high to save their season after an 0-2 start in Western Athletic Conference play. But Brown feels Saturday's game at Southern Methodist could be the springboard UH is looking for.
Hawaii put forth one of its best defensive efforts of last fall in beating the Mustangs 30-15. The Warriors held them to 271 yards on their way to their first win of a 3-9 season.
"You know, our defensive line played a great game," Brown said. "I think that's why we won that game."
Another reason is that SMU just wasn't very good. The Mustangs also went 3-9 last year. They appear to be among the conference bottom-feeders again this fall after an 0-3 start.
Brown said that despite several breakdowns at key points Saturday, the Hawaii defense is coming together.
"The thing that makes me positive is that the defense finally played the way it should have been playing from the start of the season -- all together, as a unit," he said. "There was so much excitement, playing out there together and different guys coming up with plays.
"If we can just pick it up one step more and play the same way every play, we'll be unstoppable. The way you saw us, that's the way it's supposed to look. We just have to correct little mistakes."
It's quite a different take than after the previous week's 28-20 loss at Nevada when the Warriors were pushed around by the Wolf Pack.
Brown just hopes his knee -- which he said was stiff yesterday -- is healthy enough to allow him to play again Saturday in Dallas.Two other key players, quarterback Tim Chang and safety Nate Jackson, left the Rice game with injuries.
X-rays of Chang's sprained right (throwing) wrist showed no breaks, coach June Jones said yesterday.
"I saw him in the training room before the game and he had something wrong with his foot," Brown said. "It shows his toughness that he still played."
And it's very unlikely that a week-old concussion can keep Jackson out of a game. He kept trying to get back onto the field Saturday.
"I talked to him after the game, he's all right," Brown said of Jackson. "He's ready to go to war, he'll be ready this week."
Linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa, who had three sacks against SMU last year, left Saturday's Rice loss briefly with a stinger in the second half, but appeared to be OK after the game.
>> After a career-high 11 catches for 181 yards and two touchdowns, Ashley Lelie is second in the nation with 145.67 yards receiving per game. He has 27 catches (good for third nationally at 9.0 per game) for 437 yards.
Marshall's Darius Watts leads the nation with 158.0 yards per game (23 catches for 474 yards).
>> Chang remains the nation's total offense leader with 349.7 yards per game, and Hawaii (376.0) is second to Florida (441.5) in team passing.
>> Quote of the game: When asked if he looked forward to playing on Sundays next season, Rice linebacker Dan Dawson's reply: "Does Arena League play on Sunday?"
[UH STATISTICS]
TEAM STATISTICS
HAWAII OPP FIRST DOWNS 68 71 Rushing 12 41 Passing 47 23 Penalty 9 7 RUSHING YARDAGE 183 597 Yards gained rushing 276 696 Yards lost rushing 93 99 Rushing attempts 71 150 Average per rush 2.6 4.0 Average per game 61.0 199.0 Touchdowns rushing 3 1 PASSING YARDAGE 1128 603 Att-Comp-Int 149-86-7 94-52-1 Average per pass 7.6 6.4 Average per catch 13.1 11.6 Average per game 376.0 201.0 Touchdowns passing 6 5 TOTAL OFFENSE 1,311 1,200 Total plays 220 244 Average per play 6.0 4.9 Average per game 437.0 400.0 KICKRETURNS: No-Yds 9-218 8-189 PUNTRETURNS: No-Yds 8-90 5-10 INT. RETURNS: No-Yds 1-27 7-175 FUMBLES-LOST 5-1 5-3 PENALTIES-YARDS 21-178 29-235 PUNTS-AVG 14-36.6 17-38.9 TIME OFPOSSESSION/GAME 27:44 32:16 3RD-DOWN CONVERSIONS 13/41 23/52 4TH-DOWN CONVERSIONS 2/6 0/1
RUSHING
G Att Net Avg TD Long Bass 3 43 222 5.2 1 34 Mitchell 3 10 27 2.7 2 8 Ala 2 4 9 1.8 0 6 Team 3 1 0 -1.0 0 0 Kapanui 1 1 0 -4.0 0 0 Flint 2 3 0 -5.7 0 0 Chang 3 9 0 -5.7 0 0 Total 3 71 276 2.6 3 34 Opponents 3 150 696 4.0 1 33
PASSING
G Att Com Int Yds TD Long Chang 3 140 83 6 1,100 6 52 Flint 2 8 3 1 28 0 11 Rolovich 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 Total 3 149 86 7 1,128 6 52 Opponents 3 94 52 1 603 5 41
RECEIVING
G Rec Yds Avg TD Long Lelie 3 27 437 16.2 3 49 Colbert 3 18 221 12.3 0 52 Stutzmann 3 14 188 13.4 1 30 Harris 3 11 154 14.0 1 30 Bass 3 10 67 6.7 0 24 Mitchell 3 4 35 8.8 0 21 Uso 1 1 21 21.0 0 21 Owens 2 1 5 5.0 1 5 Total 3 86 1,128 13.1 6 52 Opponents 3 52 603 11.6 5 41
TOTAL OFFENSE
G Plays Rush Pass Tot Avg Chang 3 149 -51 1,100 1,049 349.7 Bass 3 43 222 0 222 74.0 Mitchell 3 10 27 0 27 9.0 Flint 2 11 -17 28 11 5.5 Ala 2 4 7 0 7 3.5 Team 3 1 -1 0 -1 -0.3 Kapanui 1 1 -4 0 -4 -4.0 Total 3 220 183 1,128 1,311 437.0 Opponents 3 244 597 603 1,200 400.0
SCORING
TD FG 1XP 2XP Tot Ayat 0 4-6 8-9 0 20 Lelie 3 0-0 0-0 0 18 Mitchell 2 0-0 0-0 0 12 Harris 1 0-0 0-0 0 6 Stutzmann 1 0-0 0-0 0 6 Owens 1 0-0 0-0 0 6 Bass 1 0-0 0-0 0 6 Total 9 4-6 8-9 0 74 Opponents 7 7-11 4-6 0 67
PUNTING
No. Yds Avg Long McBriar 14 513 36.6 56 Total 14 513 36.6 56 Opponents 17 662 38.9 59
PUNT RETURNS
No. Yds Avg Td Long Herbert 4 54 13.5 0 22 Jackson 1 1 1.0 0 1 Total 5 55 11.0 0 22
KICK RETURNS
No. Yds Avg TD Long Tate 4 117 29.2 0 57 Colbert 3 86 28.7 0 40 Kauka 2 15 7.5 0 12 Total 9 218 24.2 0 57 Opponents 8 189 23.6 0 49
INTERCEPTIONS
No. Yds Avg Td Long Grant 1 27 27.0 0 27 Total 1 27 27.0 0 27
The day after each Hawaii football game this season the Star-Bulletin asks coach June Jones 10 questions. Here is what Jones had to say in the aftermath of Hawaii's 27-24 loss to Rice on Saturday at Aloha Stadium. ASK THE COACH
10 questions with University of
Hawaii Coach June Jones
Rolovich to start if Chang can’t
Star-Bulletin: The health of quarterback Tim Chang and safety Nate Jackson is of concern for all who follow the team. What is the latest on them?
June Jones: Timmy's wrist was sore today, but it's not broken. Nate's coming back from his concussion, but we don't know if either one of them will play. We'll know Saturday.
SB: If Chang is not available Saturday at Southern Methodist, do you go with Jared Flint, or is Nick Rolovich or Shawn Withy-Allen a possibility?
JJ: Nick will start if Tim's not ready.
SB: What did you think of the overall play of your defense?
JJ: I'm very encouraged. The guys showed so much character. It's the best we've played against the option in the last three years. There were some super efforts from lots of guys including Chris Brown, Robert Grant and Lance Samuseva.
SB: The pass interference calls really helped Rice. Did you think they were fair calls?
JJ: They were not. The officials are just so inconsistent. The one that brought back Ashley Lelie's 90-yard touchdown basically cost us the game, and it was not pass interference. How he can sleep at night after that I don't know. But you have to find a way to overcome. If a wrong call costs us seven points you still can make plays and win the game.
SB: Turnover ratio appears to be becoming a problem. Does this need to be addressed?
JJ: Some of the interceptions last night were flukes. One was a tip, and in 25 years of throwing that screen that was the first time it's been intercepted.
SB: Hawaii played one of its best games of the season against Southern Methodist last year. The Mustangs appear to be down again this year. But it's a long way to Dallas, isn't it?
JJ: Winning on the road is always tough for Hawaii. But we played our best game Saturday, and if we continue to improve, we'll be fine.
SB: Ashley Lelie looks like a legitimate All-America candidate so far this season. Do you think he can get enough exposure for consideration?
JJ: I have no idea about how that works. But he is certainly good enough to be an All-American.
SB: Special teams were special in the first half and suffered a meltdown in the second half. Have you ever seen anything like that before?
JJ: Brian Smith had not made a bad snap in three years and Justin Ayat kicked the ball low. You just can't make those kind of mistakes and expect to win.
SB: Mark Tate was a pleasant surprise on kickoff returns. Did you come close to going to the next guy in line when he made the out-of-bounds mistake on his first return?
JJ: He made one mental error but did really well after that. His size and speed make him a definite threat on kickoff returns.
SB: You pretty much need to run the table and get some help to win the WAC now. Is one of your main goals from preseason dashed?
JJ: Another one of our goals is to go to a bowl game, and we still have a good opportunity to do that if we continue to improve.
Dave Reardon, dreardon@starbulletin.com
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii
