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Warriors not hanging
their heads after
lopsided loss
Hawaii players were far from
despondent after getting trounced
by UTEP
EL PASO, Texas » During the last 5 minutes of Hawaii's 51-20 football loss Saturday at Texas-El Paso -- one of the three most-lopsided in June Jones' six seasons at UH -- several players in various small clusters on the Warriors' sideline shared smiles and jokes. There were a few glum faces, but not what you'd expect from the team on the wrong end of a 31-point difference.
Maybe it was because the outcome was determined so much earlier, maybe it was because these players have perfected the "one snap and clear" philosophy of Jones when it comes to setbacks. Maybe it was because the Warriors were simply in shock.
What Hawaii fans have to hope is that their team has not become accustomed to losing -- and accepting it too easily -- after falling to 2-3 and 2-2 in the Western Athletic Conference.
Lui Fuga, the fierce defensive tackle and team captain, was not among those who had turned the frown upside down so quickly. But after a long pause, he answered that the seemingly nonchalant attitude of some of his teammates did not bother him. Lack of execution did, though.
"That's OK. We've got to keep our spirits up," Fuga said. "The bottom line is we came up with four turnovers and it wasn't good enough. A lot of mistakes. We did not get beat, we just did not execute on both sides of the ball. We were there, but we didn't make the plays and it's frustrating."
After five games, it's clear this team's personality is different than last year's, when defensive captain Hyrum Peters made a high-volume, emotional locker-room speech after UH's loss at Tulsa that didn't spare anyone's feelings. It's debatable if Peters' speech had anything to do with it, but UH was 2-3 before it and 7-2 after it.
The 2004 captains -- Fuga, quarterback Tim Chang, cornerback Abraham Elimimian and receiver Chad Owens -- aren't screamers, but leaders by example. Some of their examples were good and some were bad Saturday.
Owens dropped two punts and was limited to 19 all-purpose yards. He made no excuses and knows the Warriors need major regrouping. What do you do?
"Same thing we did when we lost the first two. Come together and find a way to get it back," he said.
The captains also know that yelling isn't going to do anything about UH's injury situation that is getting worse by the game.
Safety Leonard Peters is the only healthy starting secondary player left. The other starter, Lono Manners, was lost for the season Saturday with a fractured ankle. Elimimian left with a hamstring strain, and the other corner, Kenny Patton, didn't make the trip, also with a hamstring problem. Middle linebacker Ikaika Curnan also missed the game with a high-ankle sprain.
"We didn't have our starting DBs. They took advantage of our corners. We've just got to get better," Fuga said.
Elimimian can't do much more. He intercepted three passes in the first half, but UH only scored on the one he returned 20 yards for a touchdown. The Warriors need him healthy.
They also need Chang, who left the game with a separated left (non-throwing) shoulder after a late hit, but returned the following series. Kainoa Akina had his moments in relief, especially running the ball six times for 58 yards, but he threw both UH interceptions.
Chang said he'll play Saturday against San Jose State.
"We're kind of beat up right now," Jones said. "But guess what? San Jose's coming to town next week and we've got to get it corrected. We had a lot of guys in there because of the injuries. A lot of guys got a lot of time."
Gerald Welch, the steady senior slotback, was one of UH's bright spots. He caught five passes for a team-high 83 yards and two touchdowns from Chang.
Welch said the Warriors have not given up, that they still have a Hawaii Bowl bid to shoot for.
"We've just got to look at the film and see what we need to correct. I'm sure we made a lot of mistakes on defense and offense. The good thing is they're correctable and we just have to practice hard and move on," he said. "The injuries are devastating. But a lot of guys are playing hard, playing on. We realize we're on the verge of not making it. Our plan is to regroup and fight on and win and make it to the bowl game."
To do that, Hawaii has to win five of its final seven games against San Jose State, Boise State (road), Louisiana Tech, Fresno State (road), Idaho, Northwestern and Michigan State. If they don't, they'll be home for Christmas Eve.
Jones' decision to try two fake punt passes -- especially the first one five plays into the game -- will come under fire all week. Chad Kapanui, the trigger-man on the play, said it was a good call both times. The Warriors simply didn't execute -- a refrain that is becoming a theme of the season.
"I was fine, just regular. Did this for so long. The last time against UTEP it worked. I thought it was right there," he said. "We saw those corners coming in. We had to make something happen (on the second attempt). It would've worked, but got blocked."
Chang said Saturday's boisterous Sun Bowl crowd of 44,381 didn't affect the Warriors in what will probably be their last game here in a long time, since UTEP is leaving the WAC (UH athletic director Herman Frazier said it is possible the Warriors will play the Miners in Hawaii again, though).
"We enjoyed it ourselves. I don't think the crowd had anything to do with (the loss)," said Chang, who made his college debut here four years ago. "This is where I started playing. I didn't have my best games here, but I enjoyed (the atmosphere) every time."
