Urgency lacking, says McMackin
POSTED: Monday, November 03, 2008
EL PASO, Texas » Another day. Another town. Another challenge.
The Hawaii football team's last and longest road trip of the season continued yesterday with the Warriors looking to leave the bitterness of a lost weekend back in Utah.
The team traveled from Ogden to El Paso, where it'll spend the week preparing for Saturday's game against New Mexico State in Las Cruces, N.M., an hour up the freeway and across the state line.
“;It's easier than going back (to Hawaii) and traveling all the way back here,”; Hawaii head coach Greg McMackin said in a brief break between staff and team meetings yesterday. “;This at least gets us a chance to be somewhere for a little while instead of going back and forth. We can at least get into a routine.”;
Hawaii's window to qualify for the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl shrunk considerably with last week's 30-14 loss at Utah State. The defeat leaves Hawaii (4-5, 3-3 Western Athletic Conference) having to win three of its last four regular-season games to become bowl eligible.
“;We have to have more of a sense of urgency as a football team,”; McMackin said. “;We have some goals we're playing for and we have to have a sense of urgency and start right from the start, and finish the game.”;
The task of trying to reach their third straight bowl game—and extend the season for the senior class—continues against New Mexico State (3-5, 1-3), which enters the week on a three-game skid after losing to Boise State 49-0 on Saturday.
“;It's been a tough year, but I feel we can still do so much more this season and I have confidence in the players and coaches and staff that we'll get it done,”; senior linebacker Adam Leonard said after Saturday's loss.
“;What will help heal is getting ready to practice on Monday and having a great week of practice. No letdown, high intensity.”;
The Warriors are scheduled to have their regular Monday conditioning session this afternoon at UTEP and have morning practices set up at local high schools during the week.
The Warriors offense is expected to welcome running back/slotback Kealoha Pilares back to the lineup. Pilares, the Warriors' most productive weapon before he suffered a sprained foot against Boise State, made the trip, but didn't suit up for the Utah State game.
“;Kealoha should be OK to go,”; McMackin said. “;We're excited about getting Kealoha back—he's one of our best offensive players.”;
While Pilares missed his second straight game, the Warriors moved the ball effectively against Utah State, but repeatedly stalled close to the Aggies goal line.
“;We just didn't play well inside the red zone,”; McMackin said. “;We moved the ball, and both quarterbacks (Greg Alexander and Inoke Funaki) did some good things, but we need to play better in the red zone, like we have been playing.”;
Defensive tackle Josh Leonard is also expected to be ready to play after sitting out Saturday's game with an ankle injury.
Things haven't been exactly rosy up I-10 either.
New Mexico State quarterback Chase Holbrook, one of the WAC's most prolific passers, completed 12 of 20 passes for a season-low 64 yards and was sacked three times as the Aggies were shut out by Boise State.
Chris Williams is the WAC's leading receiver with 7.25 receptions and 98.5 yards per game. Linebacker Derrick Richardson leads the nation in tackles with 13.57 stops per game.
Roster change
McMackin said backup safety and special teams player Mana Silva will head back to Honolulu after suffering a sprained ankle against Utah State. Junior linebacker Joshua Rice will meet the team in El Paso and take Silva's spot on the 65-player roster.
Stat watch
Hawaii quarterbacks didn't throw an interception for the third time this season in Saturday's loss. The Warriors had thrown eight in the previous three games.
Malcolm Lane leads the WAC and ranks eighth nationally in kickoff returns with an average of 31 yards per return. He had a 46-yarder and a 91-yard return against Utah State, though the latter ended with a fumble as he approached the end zone.
David Veikune, who had no sacks two weeks ago, now ranks sixth in the WAC after recording 4 1/2 in the last two games.
“;He played outstanding again,”; McMackin said. “;He was all over the field.”;
TEAM STATISTICS
| Hawaii | OPP |
|
| FIRST DOWNS | 162 | 177 |
| Rushing | 56 | 79 |
| Passing | 89 | 81 |
| Penalty | 17 | 17 |
| RUSHING YARDAGE | 969 | 1,610 |
| Yards gained rushing | 1,229 | 1,882 |
| Yards lost rushing | 260 | 272 |
| Rushing attempts | 270 | 350 |
| Average per rush | 3.6 | 4.6 |
| Average per game | 107.7 | 178.9 |
| Touchdowns rushing | 9 | 16 |
| PASSING YARDAGE | 2,013 | 1,827 |
| Att-Comp-Int | 306-171-19 | 265-148-8 |
| Average per pass | 6.6 | 6.9 |
| Average per catch | 11.8 | 12.3 |
| Average per game | 223.7 | 203.0 |
| Touchdowns passing | 12 | 14 |
| TOTAL OFFENSE | 2,982 | 3,437 |
| Total plays | 576 | 615 |
| Average per game | 331.3 | 381.9 |
| KICK RETURNS: No-Yds | 46-1006 | 30-663 |
| PUNT RETURNS: No-Yds | 18-33 | 18-227 |
| INT. RETURNS: No-Yds | 8-66 | 19-202 |
| FUMBLES-LOST | 20-9 | 20-10 |
| PENALTIES-YARDS | 78-681 | 62-514 |
| PUNTS-Yards | 45-1,771 | 39-1,712 |
| TIME OF POSSESION/GAME | 30:44 | 29:16 |
| 3RD-DOWN CONVERSIONS | 36/116 | 45/134 |
| 4TH-DOWN CONVERSIONS | 4/10 | 12/19 |
| RUSHING |
||||||
| G | Att | Net | Avg | TD | Long |
|
| Pilares | 7 | 45 | 236 | 5.2 | 4 | 34 |
| Libre | 8 | 59 | 273 | 4.6 | 1 | 31 |
| Funaki | 9 | 73 | 200 | 2.7 | 1 | 33 |
| Wright-Jackson | 8 | 26 | 97 | 3.7 | 1 | 16 |
| Rego | 9 | 14 | 76 | 5.4 | 0 | 19 |
| Farmer | 6 | 10 | 47 | 4.7 | 1 | 9 |
| Washington | 9 | 2 | 9 | 4.5 | 0 | 12 |
| Alexander | 4 | 28 | 63 | 2.2 | 1 | 13 |
| Mouton | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rausch | 1 | 1 | -4 | -4.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peoples | 5 | 2 | -5 | -2.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Graunke | 4 | 5 | -20 | -4.0 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | 9 | 270 | 969 | 3.6 | 9 | 34 |
| PASSING |
|||||||
| G | Att | Comp | Int | Yds | TD | Long |
|
| Funaki | 9 | 167 | 95 | 12 | 1,119 | 6 | 53 |
| Graunke | 4 | 58 | 30 | 4 | 388 | 3 | 42 |
| Alexander | 4 | 74 | 44 | 2 | 492 | 3 | 34 |
| Rausch | 1 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 9 |
| Total | 9 | 306 | 171 | 19 | 2,013 | 12 | 53 |
| RECEIVING |
||||||
| G | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Long |
|
| Washington | 9 | 38 | 434 | 11.4 | 4 | 39 |
| Salas | 9 | 33 | 487 | 14.8 | 2 | 41 |
| Bain | 9 | 24 | 260 | 10.8 | 2 | 33 |
| Lane | 9 | 23 | 356 | 15.5 | 3 | 53 |
| Pilares | 7 | 16 | 140 | 8.8 | 1 | 23 |
| Wright-Jackson | 8 | 10 | 70 | 7.0 | 0 | 20 |
| Libre | 8 | 8 | 41 | 5.1 | 0 | 16 |
| Mouton | 9 | 8 | 71 | 8.9 | 0 | 18 |
| Medeiros | 6 | 5 | 47 | 9.4 | 0 | 24 |
| Pollard | 5 | 3 | 59 | 19.7 | 0 | 29 |
| Taylor | 3 | 2 | 38 | 19.0 | 0 | 26 |
| Farmer | 6 | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 0 | 10 |
| Total | 9 | 171 | 2,013 | 11.8 | 12 | 53 |
| TOTAL OFFENSE |
|||||||||||||
| G | Plays | Rush | Pass | Tot | Avg |
||||||||
| Funaki | 9 | 240 | 200 | 1,119 | 1,319 | 146.6 |
|||||||
| Graunke | 4 | 63 | -20 | 388 | 368 | 92.0 |
|||||||
| Alexander | 4 | 102 | 63 | 492 | 555 | 138.8 |
|||||||
| Pilares | 7 | 45 | 236 | 0 | 236 | 33.7 |
|||||||
| Libre | 8 | 59 | 236 | 0 | 273 | 34.1 |
|||||||
| Wright-Jackson | 8 | 26 | 97 | 0 | 97 | 12.1 | Rego | 9 | 14 | 76 | 0 | 76 | 8.4 |
| Farmer | 6 | 10 | 47 | 0 | 47 | 7.8 |
|||||||
| Rausch | 1 | 8 | -4 | 14 | 10 | 10.0 |
|||||||
| Washington | 9 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 1.0 |
|||||||
| Peoples | 5 | 2 | -5 | 0 | -5 | -1.0 | |||||||
| Total | 9 | 576 | 969 | 2,013 | 2,982 | 331.3 |
| SCORING |
|||||
| TD | FG | 1XP | 2XP | Tot |
|
| Kelly | 0 | 8 | 21 | 0 | 45 |
| Pilares | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 |
| Washington | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 26 |
| Lane | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| Salas | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Bain | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Mouton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Alexander | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Funaki | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Wright-Jackson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Libre | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Farmer | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Fonoti | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Graunke | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 23 | 8 | 21 | 1 | 185 |
| PUNTING |
||||
| No. | Yds | Avg | Long |
|
| Grasso | 44 | 1,770 | 40.2 | 55 |
| TEAM | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 |
| Total | 42 | 1,771 | 39.4 | 55 |
| PUNT RETURNS |
|||||
| No. | Yds | Avg | TD | Long |
|
| Washington | 12 | -4 | -0.3 | 0 | 3 |
| Bain | 6 | 37 | 6.2 | 0 | 17 |
| Total | 18 | 33 | 1.8 | 0 | 17 |
| KICK RETURNS |
|||||
| No. | Yds | Avg | TD | Long |
|
| Mouton | 24 | 514 | 21.4 | 1 | 90 |
| Taylor | 9 | 134 | 14.9 | 0 | 30 |
| Lane | 11 | 341 | 31.0 | 0 | 91 |
| Allen-Jones | 1 | -2 | -2.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Farmer | 1 | 19 | 19.0 | 0 | 19 |
| Total | 46 | 1006 | 21.9 | 1 | 91 |
| TACKLES |
||||
| G | UT | AT | Tot |
|
| Elimimian | 9 | 33 | 35 | 68 |
| Veikune | 9 | 36 | 19 | 55 |
| Dowling | 9 | 32 | 17 | 49 |
| Satele | 9 | 25 | 16 | 41 |
| Leonard, A. | 8 | 28 | 18 | 46 |
| Fonoti | 9 | 23 | 19 | 42 |
| Robinson | 9 | 26 | 15 | 41 |
| Roberts | 9 | 30 | 7 | 37 |
| Monteilh | 9 | 19 | 15 | 34 |
| Mouton | 9 | 21 | 8 | 29 |
| Leonard, J. | 8 | 16 | 11 | 27 |
| Watson | 8 | 10 | 9 | 19 |
| Thomas | 8 | 10 | 9 | 19 |
| Kiesel-Kauhane | 9 | 13 | 8 | 21 |
| Allen-Jones | 9 | 8 | 5 | 13 |
| Silva | 9 | 7 | 2 | 9 |
| Tufaga | 9 | 5 | 3 | 8 |
| Rego | 9 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Smith | 9 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| Davis | 9 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Kafentzis | 9 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Laeli | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Ahmad | 8 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Ingram | 9 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Porlas | 9 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Lolotai | 9 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Meatoga | 9 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Purcell | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Washington | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Clore | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Bryant | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Savaiigaea | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Wong | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Watson | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Funaki | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Salas | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Kelly | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Torres | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Maka | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Libre | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Kia | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 9 | 382 | 237 | 619 |
MISC.
Sacks (No.-Yds): Veikune 4.5-30, Satele 1-16, Fonoti 1-13, Elimimian 1.5-9, Leonard 1-8, Robinson 1-8, Mouton 1-7, Allen-Jones 1-7, Dowling 1.5-6, Kiesel-Kauhane 1-3, Meatoga .5-4. Total: 15-111.
Interceptions (No.-Yds): Monteilh 3-13, Thomas 1-24, Bryant 1-11, Roberts 1-9, Satele 1-4, Dowling 1-5. Total: 8-66.
Fumbles (Forced-Recovered): Fonoti 3-13, Dowling 1-7, Thomas 1-0, Kiesel-Kauhane 1-0, Tufaga 1-0, Rego 1-0, Elimimian 1-0, Roberts 1-0. Total: 10-20.
Blocked kicks: Watson, Mahaley. Total: 2.
