FRESNO, Calif. >> A re-tooled Hawaii defense -- partly by necessity -- helped the Warriors beat Fresno State on Friday. Moving Brown around on defense
proved valuable for Warriors
By Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.comStarting middle linebacker Chris Brown moved to defensive tackle in passing situations, and helped UH's defense slow the Bulldogs in the fourth quarter.
The move came about because defensive lineman Houston Ala didn't make the trip due to an ankle injury, and Brown's playing time at linebacker in passing situations had been reduced.
"He was my zero-technique (tackle) in replacing Houston," defensive line coach Vantz Singletary said. "He created great pressure for us up the gut, getting the quarterback out of the middle. He got a sack, too. I was really proud of him. That takes a team guy."
Brown wasn't too excited about the move at first.
"But I realized it was good for the team," he said. "I still have some things to learn about playing pass coverage (as a linebacker), but this keeps me on the field and helps the team."
UH coach June Jones appreciated the defensive effort, especially in the fourth quarter when FSU managed only two first downs and Kelvin Millhouse made two crucial interceptions.
"We played good run defense tonight," Jones said. "We were able to stuff them. I thought overall we did some very good things."
Flagged down: The Bulldogs simply killed themselves with penalties. Holding, roughing, interference, delay of game -- they were assessed 107 yards on 13 penalties. And they came at the worst times possible.
Cornerback Dee Meza, who later scored on his own punt block, intercepted a Tim Chang pass with 29 seconds left in the first half and Hawaii driving in FSU territory.
But Bryce McGill was called for roughing the passer. Hawaii got the ball back, and Justin Ayat kicked his third field goal of the half, giving UH a 9-3 lead to take into the break.
The Bulldogs also wasted a 14-play, 52-yard, 8:12 drive in the first half by slowing themselves with five penalties for 35 yards on that possession alone.
Classic flick: Thursday night was movie night for the Warriors. They watched one of their favorites: Fresno State at Hawaii, 2001.
"That gave us a lot of confidence that we could do it," receiver Britton Komine said of the 38-34 victory. "Watching Nick Rolovich on the film, and then seeing him at the actual game, that was great."
Rolovich, the former UH quarterback, led a 22-point fourth quarter last year. Hawaii's fourth quarter on Friday? The Warriors scored 22 points.
Us against the world: Komine said that before Friday's game Jones emphasized that the Warriors still had many detractors despite going in with eight victories in their past 10 games.
"He just told us to stick together, that no one really believes in our team except our coaches, our fans and each other," Komine said. "We did that. We just stuck together as a team when things were going downhill and we made it happen tonight."
Green-in-the-house effect: Fresno State's Bulldog Stadium is one of the toughest places in the nation for visiting teams. In FSU coach Pat Hill's six seasons, the Bulldogs have lost only five times at home.
Several hundred boisterous Warriors fans helped take away some of that advantage.
"A lot of them were my family, so that made it extra special," linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa said. "And we know people back in Hawaii were watching that game, too. We knew we had to pull together to win this one not only for ourselves, but for all those people we're representing, too."
Up for honors: UH nominated quarterback Chang, cornerback Millhouse and Ayat for WAC player of the week honors.
Chang completed 36 of 61 passes for a career-high 462 yards and two touchdowns. He was intercepted once.
Millhouse intercepted two fourth-quarter passes; the first led to Chang's 13-yard touchdown pass to Komine to give UH the go-ahead touchdown with 2:25 left, and the second -- in Hawaii's end zone -- halted a last-minute Fresno State drive.
Ayat kicked three field goals, including a 50-yarder, to give the Warriors a 9-3 halftime lead.
Short yardage: Hawaii scored at least 30 points for the 11th consecutive game. ... The Warriors won despite terrible field position throughout the game. UH began three possessions at its own 1-, 4- and 2- yard lines as Fresno State pinned Hawaii within its own 5 on punts three times. Bulldogs long-snapper Kevin Murphy downed the ball on the 1 when kicker Asen Asparuhov pooch punted on a fake field goal in the first quarter.
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