Inspired UH football team beats Texas El-Paso 66-7
By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
All of the bag checks and new security regulations could not protect the Texas-El Paso football team from an old-fashioned kick in the fanny pack last night.
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Playing with unbridled rage, the University of Hawai'i dominated from the national anthem to the alma mater in a 66-7 rout before 31,005 fans at Aloha Stadium.
Talk about gang-tackling. That was the case on this second-quarter play as six Warrior defenders engulf UTEP wide receiver Howard Jackson.
"We wanted this one so bad," UH middle linebacker Chris Brown said.
"This was huge," added quarterback Nick Rolovich, who started for the second consecutive week in place of Tim Chang, who is recovering from a sprained right wrist.
The Warriors scored on three interception returns, and two forced UTEP fumbles led to another 10 points.
Rolovich threw three scoring passes and running back Mike Bass, who attended his senior prom five months ago, danced his way for 146 yards and a touchdown.
"I guess you could say my ankle is OK," said Bass, who suffered a sprained left ankle last week. "I didn't feel any pain."
Instead, it was the Miners who were buried in their grief after suffering their second blowout loss in a row. The Miners, who were expected to contend for the league title, are 2-4 overall and 1-2 in the Western Athletic Conference.
The Warriors (3-2 and 2-2) extended their lead to 24-0 as the first quarter was expiring, and "it snowballed after that," UTEP backup quarterback Jon Schaper said. "We got down and I guess we lost our confidence."
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Meanwhile, the Warriors were feeding off the emotions of Friday night's team meeting at the Ilikai Hotel. The players and coaches gathered in a room, then, one by one, spoke of the importance of team unity.
Warrior running back Mike Bass scoots around the left side in the second quarter with UTEP linebacker Robert Rodriguez in pursuit.
"Some guys were crying because they had so much love and brotherhood for the team," UH safety Jacob Espiau said. "We said no matter what, we would play as a team."
Then in the locker room before the game, Brown started yelling.
"He was getting so emotional," Espiau said. "He was firing us up."
Brown said he reminded his teammates of last year's 39-7 loss at UTEP.
"They talked so much smack last year," Brown said. "We wanted to show them we could play."
The Warriors wasted little time in wasting the Miners, driving 88 yards in 106 seconds —their longest drive of the first half — to take a 7-0 lead.
Then UTEP quarterback Wesley Phillips tried to throw to wideout Terrance Minor. But linebacker Matt Wright intercepted at the 10, then ran 90 yards for a touchdown.
"He threw it right to me," said Wright, an Iolani School graduate who once played running back at UH. "I made eye contact with him, and then saw the ball coming my way. I kind of bobbled it, but I made sure I held on. I didn't think I could run that fast."
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UTEP's ensuing possession was abbreviated when Rovann Cleveland's fumble was recovered by defensive end Joe Correia. Four downs later, Justin Ayat kicked a 50-yard field goal.
UTEP running back Sherman Austin is wrapped up by UH linebacker Matt Wright. Wright also intercepted a pass and returned it 90 yards for a touchdown.
Then on the last play of the first quarter, Kelvin Millhouse intercepted a Phillips pass and raced 39 yards for a 24-0 lead.
That was all for Phillips, who did not play the rest of the night. Phillips completed as many passes to his teammates (two) as he did to Warriors.
But Schaper could offer little relief. He was sacked three times and intercepted once.
"I was looking at (Schaper's) eyes, and I could tell he wanted to throw the ball," said Robert Grant, who made a one-handed interception and then ran 26 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter. "It was a matter of patience and waiting for the ball."
And so it went for the Miners, who amassed 244 yards and averaged 3.2 yards per play. One of their longest runs came on a fake punt. They converted four of 19 plays on third down. Wideout Lee Mays, trumpeted as an All-America candidate, caught three passes for 32 yards.
"It was a devastating and embarrassing performance," UTEP coach Gary Nord said. "We made mistakes and interceptions. But you have to be man enough and mature enough to overcome them."
The Warriors did nothing tricky. On running plays, their linemen blocked man to man. "I just had to beat one guy (the middle linebacker)," Bass said.
On defense, they went with their basic "under" scheme, in which their four down linemen and three linebackers plugged the running lanes. For variety, they would blitz a safety — an option that paid off when Espiau pressured Phillips into being intercepted by Wright.
"It was a team effort," UH left guard Manly Kanoa III said. "We played for each other."
