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Thompson takes the hits
for sorry San Jose
Tyson Thompson did the leading, but his San Jose State teammates couldn't follow.
The junior tailback piled up 203 rushing yards and carried the Spartans to an early 14-7 lead last night. But Hawaii's 24-point second quarter turned out to be too much for Thompson and the visitors to overcome.
After gaining 77 first-half yards, Thompson's effectiveness tailed off in the third quarter of the 46-28 loss due to the come-from-behind passing mentality that the Spartans were forced to adopt.
"We wanted to match them (the Warriors) after they took a lead, so we didn't want to abandon the pass," said San Jose State coach Fitz Hill, when asked why he didn't pound the ball more with Thompson and fellow running backs Lance Martin and Lamar Ferguson. "Yeah, we were up 14-7, but when you come over here, history tells you that you've got to score 35 or 40 points or you're not going to get it done."
Hawaii held Thompson to 2 yards on six carries in the third quarter and it looked as if San Jose State were done for the night, trailing 34-14 early in the fourth.
Thompson credited Hawaii's offense with the victory, not the Warriors' defense, which let him rumble for 200-plus yards.
"They had the momentum because of their offense and that momentum boosted up their defense," Thompson said. "It's a tough loss, and it's tough when you don't produce (enough)."
The 6-foot-1, 207-pound Thompson, who has been described as a slashing runner with power, found a huge hole up the middle late in the final period and romped to an 85-yard touchdown. But, by then, it was way too late.
"I'm not surprised by his 200-yard game," Hill said about Thompson, who came close to rushing for half his previous season output of 444 yards. "I've known about him for a long time. He'll go maybe 1 yard, 1 yard, 1 yard and 3 yards and then he'll go 70."
Thompson had TD runs of 74 yards against Rice and 42 yards vs. Morgan State, and he also scored on a 54-yard pass play against the Owls.
"If you have a 200-yard rusher, you expect to win the game," Rogers said.
Thompson said last night's long TD run, which tied a Spartans record for fifth-longest in school history, was the product of repetition.
"It was basically wide open," he said. "It was the offensive line doing a great job. We worked on that play for the past two weeks. It wasn't any special play, but rather something we do day in and day out and it paid off because of the blockers."
