Sidelines
IT was nuts again. It was loud, it was crazy. Cheerleaders were cheering. Drummers were drumming. Towels were twirling. People were standing up, screaming, pleading, jumping up and down, banging on the metal railings that ring Aloha Stadium. Roethlisberger was perfect,
but not perfect enough to
leave with a win"I'm too old for this," one man on the sideline said. "I just can't take this." Security guards roamed the sidelines, grinning, it felt so exciting just to be there. Nobody knew what would happen next, only that they wanted to see it. It was football. It was great.
"The people here (in Hawaii) don't know what they're missing," June Jones said.
It was tennis. It was insane. Who would hold serve? Who would score last? And was Miami (Ohio) quarterback Ben Roethlisberger really this good?
"I think he's better than David Carr," Hawaii defensive end Joe Correia said later. "I don't know how much times I was almost there. And when I was almost there, that's when he got rid of it."
It was crazy in the final minutes -- the crowd losing it, Miami marching, Correia there, coming, coming, coming. And at the line of scrimmage between plays he was yelling. Yelling at nobody, yelling at everyone. Nobody could hear him, over the insanity. But he kept yelling just the same. And Roethlisberger kept marching, perfect, unstoppable.
"That quarterback can play," Jones said. "That guy is for real. He's a freshman? Wow. What can I say?"
What can you do? This is how you run the run-and-shoot. The run loosens up the pass. The pass opens up the run. Houdini plays quarterback. The line adjusts on the fly.
Everybody catches the ball.
Hawaii could only come harder, and yell, and come harder still. And still, Roethlisberger did everything right.
But then Hawaii's offense caught fire, suddenly in the final minutes everything worked. Great catches, impossible catches, marching as well, moving. The line perching absolutely still, waiting, then the snap springing the game back to life, Rolo dropping, throwing. "He just has a knack," Jones said, "at the end of the game to make the plays." Another great catch. That much closer to hope.
There was no stopping them either, by this point. "Was unreal," guard Manly Kanoa said.
They traded scoring punches, these teams did, got up from knockouts, swinging again. It was a Rocky movie out there. And when Justin Colbert dove, scooping up the ball in the end zone to give UH the lead with 1:48 left, the drama only grew thicker still.
Roethlisberger had another drive in him. Of course he did. Wow, this guy was perfect.
But the extra point was blocked. Sean Butts again, and now a field goal would win it.
A man ringside set his jaw with determination, and simply pointed. That way.
They went, a handful of highlights along the way. They moved the ball like Jones drew it up, and the coach milked every last bit of drama the crowd could stand.
"Stop the clock!" it cried, panicking as one.
Justin Ayat missed, and then he made it, and then they carried him on their shoulders, Hawaii rushing the field with unabashed joy.
"That was awesome," Kanoa said. "That's been three games this year we've done that."
It spilled into a riot after it was over, so much emotion was at stake. What an ending. It was nuts out there. It was crazy, it was great.
"We're on a roll, baby," Colbert said. "Yeah, we're on a roll."
Kalani Simpson's column runs Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays.
He can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com