Keep run in run-and-shoot
By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Staff Writer
So, what have they done with June Jones?
The man with the lei and headphones signalling in offensive plays from the sidelines Saturday in Dallas certainly looked like the University of Hawai'i head football coach. At times, he even sounded like him.
But anybody who had the Warriors running the ball on 46 percent of their offensive plays in a 38-31 overtime victory over Southern Methodist was obviously an imposter.
Imagine the Warriors not only running more often but more productively than an opponent, as was the case against SMU. Preposterous, of course.
To have followed Jones' career in the pros or college is to know that the term run-and-shoot is a misnomer for the man who has pledged to pass first and ask questions later. This is, after all, a coach who is on record as saying he'd like to play a whole game without running the ball, if he could.
Sure he occasionally turned "Ironhead" loose in Atlanta and Mike Rozier in Houston, but those were rarities. For Jones, the run is a change of pace, not something you make a habit of. "Hey, we're a pass-happy team," said guard Manly Kanoa III. "Everybody knows that."
So, what in the name of Woody Hayes was this 3.4 yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust offensive addition to the game plan?
With the score 24-24 midway through the fourth quarter, the Warriors ran on six consecutive plays and, at one point, 10 of 11.
"I don't think he even did that in the USFL," Kanoa said.
"When June told me before the game we might run 30 times, I thought he was joking," said offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh.
When they ended up doing it 43 times, the joke was on the Mustangs.
When starting running back Mike Bass was slowed by what Jones said was an ankle injury, Thero Mitchell took the opportunity and, well, ran with it. Mitchell rushed for 116 yards and two touchdowns.
"When you have somebody hitting people and picking up yards like Thero, it makes us want to do more," Kanoa said.
Mitchell gave the Warriors an element to keep SMU and future foes off balance and set up the pass even better.
Nobody expects — or wants — to put the passing game into mothballs. But, hopefully, this won't be the last of Mitchell in a feature role. And the run won't be a one-time teaser, either.
