Monday, October 22, 2001
Halfway home, The real challenge is coming up for the Hawaii football team -- and it goes beyond Friday's game against Fresno State.
Hawaii faces
real challenges
Warriors bring a whole bunch
of momentum back from TulsaASK THE COACH
UH STATISTICSBy Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.comHalfway through the season, the Warriors are 4-2 overall and 3-2 in the Western Athletic Conference and still have a chance, albeit slim, to take the WAC championship.
The rest of UH's games are at home, but they are against WAC foes Fresno State, San Jose State and Boise State. Then it's Miami (Ohio), Air Force and Brigham Young to finish it out.
Three consecutive victories, including Saturday's 36-15 win at Tulsa, give UH momentum going into Friday's showdown at Aloha Stadium.
But while the Warriors have gained confidence the past three weeks by beating Southern Methodist on the road and blowing out Texas-El Paso, they have yet to beat a Division I-A team with a winning record.
The three WAC teams Hawaii defeated are a combined 2-9 in the league and 4-14 overall. The three conference foes left to play are 6-4 and 11-9.
"It gets a whole lot tougher, harder from here on in. But we've got to keep pushing forward," UH wide receiver Ashley Lelie said. "Things are coming together, but we still have a long way to go. Especially this week. We have to play better than (against Tulsa) to beat Fresno."
The Warriors looked very good against Tulsa (especially Lelie, who continued to establish himself as one of the nation's best receivers with two more touchdown receptions). But for the second game in a row, Hawaii dominated against a reeling team hampered by injuries and inexperience.
"We just can't seem to make a play, can't seem to get a break," Golden Hurricane coach Keith Burns said. "We were going against a good quarterback, second-best passing offense in the country coming in, and we had a true freshman at free safety and a walk-on at strong safety."
Hawaii took advantage of Jeff Thibodeaux and Max Krauss, who played tentatively against Hawaii's four-receiver run-and-shoot offense.
"(Wideouts) Ashley and Justin (Colbert) have been burning corners all year, so the safeties are 15-16 yards off the ball and just flying out there," slotback Craig Stutzmann said. "That leaves it open for me and (slot) Channon (Harris). Me especially, because they don't send me deep, I'm the possession guy. They're so scared of the fast guys that they leave me, the slow guy, open and let me work."
Stutzmann caught all five of his passes, for 77 yards, in the first half.
"They took some of our deep stuff away early, and actually throughout the game," UH quarterback Nick Rolovich said. "We took the little stuff and drove with it."
For the third consecutive game, Hawaii won with Rolovich, who began the season as Tim Chang's backup. Rolovich turned in the Warriors' most efficient quarterbacking game of the year, completing 25 of 34 passes for 324 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions -- all in three quarters.
Chang was expected to start Saturday but did not throw the ball much in practice on Wednesday and coach June Jones said Chang aggravated his sprained right wrist.
"I really didn't say nothing. He knew," Chang said.
"When I sat out on Wednesday, he knew. He saw me sitting out and he knew what was going on."
Chang said he hopes to play Friday, but is also glad to see the team winning with Rolovich.
"It's going to be Coach Jones' decision, and whatever his decision is, I trust in him. I have a lot of faith in him," Chang said.
"(Friday) night at our meeting, he told us Justin Ayat would kick a 57-yarder before the season's over."
Jones was only 2 yards off, as the freshman made a 55-yarder Saturday, a week after a successful 50-yarder against UTEP.
ASK THE COACH
10 questions with University of Hawaii Coach June Jones
The day after each Hawaii football game this season the Star-Bulletin will ask coach June Jones 10 questions. Here is what Jones had to say after Hawaii's 36-15 victory over Tulsa at Skelly Stadium in Tulsa, Okla. QB decision tomorrow
Star-Bulletin: Another complete victory. How pleased are you?
June Jones: I'm real glad we won two of three on the road. Good teams are able to win on the road. This school has never been able to do it. Two years ago and this year we proved it can be done.
SB: The players were very excited about playing Fresno State, even before the Tulsa game. Were you worried they might look ahead too much?
JJ: No. I wasn't concerned. Everybody knew what they had to do.
SB: There are two ways of looking at the Boise State victory over Fresno State. Some people around the league are disappointed because of potential lost revenue. But your players are very excited because they have a chance to be conference champions now. What are your thoughts?
JJ: I haven't really thought about it at all. Fresno State is our next opponent and we'll try our best to beat them.
SB: You have outscored the opponents, 84-20, in the second quarter. Is there a reason for this?
JJ: It's about settling down a little bit. I think Rolo (quarterback Nick Rolovich) seems to find his niche after the first series or so, and we get a handle on what they're doing to us.
SB: Ashley Lelie makes amazing catches game after game. Do you think he could go in the draft after this season?
JJ: I'm glad Ashley might have that decision to make. He has NFL ability.
SB: What's the key to beating Fresno State when you have the ball?
JJ: We've got to be able to handle their pressure. They zone blitz a lot, as we do.
SB: How about defensively?
JJ: We know they'll make some plays. Somehow we have to make enough of them ourselves on defense to give our offense a chance to score more.
SB: Halfway through the season and you are 4-2. Is this about what you expected at this point?
JJ: I just take one game at a time. It's a long football season. Back then when our record was whatever it was (1-2), it was just move on to the next game. We just clear that stuff.
SB: Nick Rolovich looked more patient, taking what the defense gave him, standing in longer. What's your assessment of his play?
JJ: He's proven he's a winner and a tough kid. He's very competitive. The best thing he did in three games was dive on that fumble yesterday. It says a lot about him.
SB: Is Tim Chang still your starting quarterback if he's ready to play Friday?
JJ: I'll make that decision on Tuesday.
Dave Reardon, Star-Bulletin
[UH STATISTICS]
TEAM STATISTICS
HAWAII OPP FIRST DOWN 148 117 Rushing 43 65 Passing 90 42 Penalty 15 10
RUSHING YARDAGE 566 1018 Yards gained rushing 791 1199 Yards lost rushing 225 181 Rushing attempts 180 266 Average per rush 3.1 3.8 Average per game 94.3 169.7 Touchdowns rushing 9 3
PASSING YARDAGE 2102 1110 Att-Comp-Int 278-163-10 185-90-5 Average per pass 7.6 6.0 Average per catch 12.9 12.3 Average per game 350.3 185.0 Touchdowns passing 14 9
TOTAL OFFENSE 2668 2128 Total plays 458 451 Average per play 5.8 4.7 Average per game 444.7 354.7
KICK RETURNS: No-Yds 14-362 27-539 PUNT RETURNS: No-Yds 20-187 9-66 INT. RETURNS: No-Yds 5-193 10-315 FUMBLES-LOST 11-2 15-10 PENALTIES-YARDS 51-419 46-387 PUNTS-AVG 25-35.4 38-30.7 TIME OF POSSESSION/GAME 29:47 30:13 3RD-DOWN CONVERSIONS 31/83 36/99 4TH-DOWN CONVERSIONS 4/11 3/8
RUSHING
G Att Net Avg TD Long Bass 6 79 425 5.4 2 34 Mitchell 6 47 186 4.0 6 23 Owens 4 3 51 17.0 1 33 Stutzmann 6 3 18 6.0 0 11 Ala 3 4 7 1.8 0 6 Withy-Allen 1 2 7 3.5 0 4 Herbert 5 1 7 7.0 0 7 Kauka 6 1 0 0.0 0 0 Team 6 2 -3 -1.5 0 0 Kapanui 3 1 -4 -4.0 0 0 McBriar 6 1 -9 -9.0 0 0 Flint 4 7 -18 -2.6 0 3 Rolovich 4 20 -50 -2.5 0 11 Chang 3 9 -51 -5.7 0 0 Total 6 266 1018 3.8 9 34
PASSING
G Att Comp Int Yds TD Long Chang 3 140 83 6 1100 6 52 Rolovich 4 121 73 3 901 8 45 Flint 4 17 7 1 101 0 45 Total 6 278 163 10 2102 14 52
RECEIVING
G Rec Yds Avg TD Long Lelie 6 46 699 15.2 7 49 Stutzmann 6 28 354 12.6 1 30 Colbert 6 27 360 13.3 1 52 Harris 6 23 281 12.2 1 30 Bass 6 19 153 8.1 1 27 Uso 4 8 119 14.9 2 45 Mitchell 6 6 57 9.5 0 21 Owens 4 3 24 8.0 1 13 Gossett 2 1 45 45.0 0 45 Welch 2 1 9 9.0 0 9 Rolovich 4 1 1 1.0 0 1 Total 6 163 2102 12.9 14 52
TOTAL OFFENSE
G Plays Rush Pass Tot Avg Chang 3 149 -51 1100 1049 349.7 Rolovich 4 141 -50 901 851 212.8 Bass 6 79 425 0 425 70.8 Mitchell 6 47 186 0 186 31.0 Flint 4 24 -18 101 83 20.8 Owens 4 3 51 0 51 12.8 Stutzmann 6 3 18 0 18 3.0 Ala 3 4 7 0 7 2.3 Herbert 5 1 7 0 7 1.4 Withy-Allen 1 2 7 0 7 7.0 Team 6 2 -3 0 -3 -0.5 Kapanui 3 1 -4 0 -4 -1.3 McBriar 6 1 -9 0 -9 -1.5 Total 6 458 566 2102 2668 444.7
SCORING
TD FG 1XP 2XP Tot Ayat 0 8-14 26-27 0 50 Lelie 7 0-0 0-0 0 42 Mitchell 6 0-0 0-0 0 36 Bass 3 0-0 0-0 0 18 Owens 2 0-0 0-0 0 12 Uso 2 0-0 0-0 0 12 Colbert 1 0-0 0-0 0 6 Harris 1 0-0 0-0 0 6 Stutzmann 1 0-0 0-0 0 6 Grant 1 0-0 0-0 0 6 Millhouse Jr. 1 0-0 0-0 0 6 Wright 1 0-0 0-0 0 6 Bhonapha 1 0-0 0-0 0 6 Team 0 0-0 0-0 0 2 Total 27 8-14 26-27 0 214
PUNTING
No. Yds Avg Long McBriar 25 951 38.0 69 Total 25 951 38.0 69
PUNT RETURNS
No. Yds Avg Td Long Herbert 12 106 8.8 0 28 Owens 4 16 4.0 0 10 Jackson 2 8 4.0 0 7 Grant 2 19 9.5 0 0 Bhonapha 0 38 0.0 1 38 Total 20 187 9.4 1 38
KICK RETURNS
No. Yds Avg TD Long Tate 7 228 32.6 0 80 Colbert 3 86 28.7 0 40 Kauka 2 15 7.5 0 12 Mitchell 2 33 16.5 0 17 Total 14 362 25.9 0 80
INTERCEPTIONS
No. Yds Avg Td Long Grant 2 53 26.5 1 27 Wright 1 90 90.0 1 90 Millhouse Jr. 1 39 39.0 1 39 Elimimian 1 11 11.0 0 11 Total 5 193 38.6 3 90
UH Athletics
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