Full Court Press
IF you hang around June Jones long enough, you learn his philosophy is as much about style as it is about winning. This guy would make a great drama teacher or Hollywood scriptwriter whose formula for success always has someone saving the day. Jones always keeps
it interestingWhy else would you throw a halfback option pass in the Fresno State game barely a yard away from the end zone? What could Jones be possibly thinking Saturday night when asking freshman Mike Bass to heave one deep with the game on the line, forcing another freshman in Justin Ayat to try to knock one home from Jason Elam country?
Jones is not one to look back on misfires. If you gamble and lose, best try to figure out how to win the next hand because that one's done. Admirable thinking in a way. Had Bass connected with Ashley Lelie it would have brought down the house. Jones would take several curtain calls, a solid finish in the Western Athletic Conference and possible bowl bid firmly in hand.
But as often happens when throwing the dice, Jones crapped out, allowing Boise State to escape with a 28-21 victory. Perhaps if injured defensive starters Travis Laboy or Pisa Tinoisamoa been on the field late in the fourth quarter, the Broncos couldn't have mounted a dramatic finish of their own.
Boise State head coach Dan Hawkins would later say a play drawn up on the sidelines would be the key one in that 65-yard winning drive that beautifully mixed the pass with the run. Tight end Rocky Atkinson hauled in an 18-yard shot from efficient quarterback Ryan Dinwiddie, setting up the bruising 4-yard scoring run by Brock Forsey that won the game.
Jones would later say the Warriors didn't make enough plays, standard fare for him. But this one was lost because Jones didn't put his players in the best position to win. If you know your defense is down two key playmakers, it stands to reason that a halfback option pass in the fourth quarter might not be a high enough percentage call.
Lelie didn't help matters by not selling the trickery. He broke too quickly from the line of scrimmage, giving the Boise State cornerback reason to believe that he was a key component in this play. With no element of surprise, Bass was left in a precarious spot.
Fortunately for the Warriors, the pass was so off-target, not even the Boise State defenders could track it down. It's too bad a slotback wasn't trailing underneath on a shorter route that would have allowed Bass a second option.
NOT TO SAY Hawaii lost the game because of that call. Rarely does a single play decide a ballgame, especially one like this that had both teams committing dumb penalties and costly turnovers at an alarming rate.
But it didn't give the Warriors their best chance at winning. Perhaps a strong running play between the tackles, say, like the one Forsey ran when he scored the winning touchdown, would have sufficed on the third-and-2 call. Pick up the first down on Thero Mitchell's back, get within Ayat's range should the next series fail and take a little more time off the clock in the process.
Had the Broncos faced 80 yards in three minutes knowing a touchdown would be a must, maybe they don't march down the field as easily. True, it doesn't have the style of Bass completing a 34-yard touchdown pass to Lelie. But given the circumstances, throwing those tumbling dice at that point shouldn't have been in the cards.
Paul Arnett has been covering sports
for the Star-Bulletin since 1990.
Email Paul: parnett@starbulletin.com.