ASSOCIATED PRESS
Hawaii defensive lineman Isaac Sopoaga hugged San Jose State offensive tackle Osmar Staples after the Warriors stopped the Spartans just short of the goal line as time expired yesterday in a 13-10 win. Hawaii's Travis LaBoy went to greet San Jose State tight end Courtney Anderson, who was tackled at the 1 on the final play.
Warriors lay it
on the lineUH stops San Jose State
just short in low-scoring game
SAN JOSE, Calif. >> It ended yesterday with Hawaii defensive tackle Isaac Sopoaga and San Jose State guard Osmar Staples kneeling on the ground in a prolonged hug after three hours of hand-to-hand combat. It ended with a near brawl at midfield, broken up by coaches and officials. It ended with UH coach June Jones believing SJSU tight end Courtney Anderson had crossed the goal line.
But most importantly for the Warriors and their fans, the officials disagreed with Jones' silent observation.
Hawaii
6-3, 5-1Defeated SJSU:
13-10Next:
Nevada, Nov. 15
It ended 6 inches from the Hawaii end zone and with UH's goal of a Western Athletic Conference championship intact.
With a 13-10 victory before 13,523 at cool and clear Spartan Stadium, UH earned its second consecutive road win the hard way -- with defense.
"I thought our defense played extremely well in the second half. The DTs and our defensive ends made some big-time plays," said Jones, who criticized his team's ability to tackle last week. "They put a lot of heat on cornerbacks Kelvin (Millhouse) and Abraham (Elimimian) and they responded. Overall, just an awesome game."
Defensive end Travis LaBoy shined individually with three tackles for loss, including two sacks.
But no play was bigger than what turned out to be the last, when the Warriors teamed up for the game-winning stop. Elimimian and linebacker Ikaika Curnan channeled Anderson, who had caught a screen pass, into linebacker Keani Alapa and safety David Gilmore. They combined to stop Anderson's outstretched arm short of where it needed to be after a 4-yard gain, and the officials ruled the game over before Spartans quarterback Scott Rislov could spike the ball.
UH began the day a half-game behind idle Boise State and ended it half a foot from utter dismay. The Warriors are 6-3 overall and 5-1 in the WAC after their fourth triumph in a row and still on pace for a Dec. 6 showdown with the Broncos (8-1, 4-0 WAC) at Aloha Stadium after a visit in two weeks to Nevada. SJSU fell to 2-6 and 1-4.
The gladiator-style game was not what you'd expect from two teams known for their passing attacks and porous defenses. It was reasonable to expect a shootout with both quarterbacks present from last year's game that produced 1,011 yards and 71 points.
But while Rislov and UH's Tim Chang provided some showy moments, the most offensive firepower came from the 75mm howitzers and F-18 Hornet flyover at halftime on Armed Forces Appreciation Day.
For the Warriors from Hawaii, it was finally Defense Appreciation Day.
Hawaii allowed 326 yards (lowest since 296 in a loss at UNLV on Sept. 19), and just 103 rushing after making running backs named Moats, Austin and Jackson look like Payton, Sayers and Simpson in recent weeks.
"We have such a prolific offense, usually they bail us out," UH secondary coach and co-defensive coordinator Rich Miano said. "We only give up 10 points in the first quarter and shut them out the rest ... (San Jose State's) a good offense. Their personnel offensively is better than Tulsa, better than UNLV. It might have been one of our best defensive games, if not the best."
It was. And it had to be.
San Jose State, torched for 77 points in a loss at Boise State the week prior, sucked it up for the home crowd as Jones predicted it would. The Spartans shackled the nation's No. 2 passing offense (by yardage per game) for 210 yards in the first three quarters, and no touchdowns until 1:45 left in the third. Chang threw a pass to -- fitting for this game -- burly West Keli'ikipi, who did most of the work for a 15-yard touchdown. The score was set up by a brilliant 62-yard catch-and-run by Chad Owens, who finished with 149 yards on eight receptions.
Justin Ayat tacked on the extra point (no sure thing these days; he missed his third in two games on a block earlier) for the final score of the game, but the drama was only beginning.
The Spartans were shut out after scoring all their points in the first quarter. But they finally solved the Warriors' defensive front, as Lance Martin's fresh legs churned for 43 yards on seven carries. Rislov mixed in passes to Leon Pinky for 24 yards and Anderson for 19.
On first-and-goal from the 7, Martin -- who didn't enter the game until the final drive -- went for 2 yards to the Hawaii 5. San Jose State used its final timeout.
Jones was baffled, but overjoyed, by what happened next.
"With 20 seconds and no timeouts left you have to throw the football (into the end zone). I wasn't anticipating that play. But if it had worked, it certainly would've won the game," Jones said. "They rolled the dice. It was a good call, it just came up a little bit short."
The Warriors' defense was a short-yardage version of cover four, with four defensive backs guarding the end zone.
"We had the D-line playing run and screen. And we were playing pass on the back end," Jones said. "I thought the ball had to go in the end zone in that situation. From where I was standing I couldn't tell, but it looked like he was in."
But Alapa, Gilmore, Elimimian and Curnan made sure he wasn't.
"I knew if we could tackle them inbounds the clock could run out," Elimimian said. "I turned the play inside and waited for my friends. My friends came and took care of him."
Safety Hyrum Peters had a good view.
"They tripped him up just enough. The call wasn't that good, designed for a boot, play-action, but everybody fought through it to make the play," said UH's defensive captain, who was in on a game-high 13 tackles. "We made a good play."
Said Anderson: "I just went with the play. I thought I was in the end zone. I don't know how many people tackled me."
In the ensuing confusion, the Spartans weren't able to line up in time for Rislov to spike the ball while in a legal formation. When he did spike it, there was a second left on the clock, but the officials ruled the game over.
"If this was the NFL, it would be instant replay," Rislov said. "But we don't have that luxury."
A melee then nearly broke out, but it was halted before any serious fighting started.
"I was very disappointed for these young men and our loyal fans," San Jose State coach Fitz Hill said. "But I am encouraged our men didn't give up. We've got to do a better job of teaching our young men how to finish."
They started it well.
The Spartans opened the scoring with Jeff Carr's 38-yard field goal 4:46 into the game, and San Jose State expanded its lead to 10-0 on Rislov's perfectly placed 28-yard TD pass to Pinky with 18 seconds left in the first quarter.
Rislov completed nine of 13 passes for 92 yards in the first quarter, but finished with 223 yards on 23 of 41 attempts.
SJSU frittered away two Mike Liranzo interceptions of Chang passes in the first half, scoring nothing after either turnover.
Chang finished 28-for-46 for 332 yards.
Keli'ikipi dived in from 1 yard out for UH's first score with 1:10 left before halftime. It capped a 73-yard drive in which six different players either caught passes from Chang or ran the ball. It was a rare -- on this day, anyway -- efficient drive for the Hawaii offense.
"We knew we needed to score one before half," Jones said. "I told them right there we just score one before half we'll win the second half and the defense dominated the second half. Timmy was a little off, but we won the game and that's all we needed to do."
