Jones will file complaint over call
By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
RENO, Nev. — University of Hawai'i football coach June Jones said he will file an official complaint to the Western Athletic Conference over a controversial call in the fourth quarter of yesterday's 28-20 football loss to Nevada.
With Nevada leading 25-20 in the fourth quarter, quarterback David Neill, near the left hash mark, threw what appeared to be a lateral into the vacant area on the right side. But referee Bill Anthan ruled that UH defensive end Kevin Jackson tipped the ball, making it a pass incompletion.
Television replays showed that Jackson had hit Neill's arm — but not the ball — while he was throwing. In that case, the play should have been ruled a lateral — and fumble — even if Neill's intent was to throw downfield.
Instead, it was third-and-1, and the Wolf Pack then ran for the first down on the next play.
"That was a big play," Jones said.
It was ironic that a "non-rush" factored into a game in which the Wolf Pack used a powerful running game to control the clock and then the Warriors.
In the two weeks leading to the game, offensive coordinator Phil Earley crafted a game plan in which Nevada's trademark passing attack would become secondary to a time-consuming running attack. The Nevada coaches named the plan, "the body punch" schemes.
Earley decided to go with two types of plays. On interior runs, the offensive linemen would zone-block, in which they target a specific area. On perimeter runs, known as "horns" (because of the shape of the completed play), center Cody Johnson and either a guard or tackle will lead the charge.
"We kept mixing it up," Earley said. "It's tough to take away the outside and inside runs. If you try to take away both, you usually end up taking away neither."
The key was running back Chance Kretschmer, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound redshirt freshman. Kretschmer has a strong upper body, making him difficult to hit head-on.
"I don't think any one person can tackle me high," Kretschmer said. "They have to hit me low or they'll get run over."
Kretschmer is helped by disciplined blockers with precise aim. The Wolf Pack tried to set two blockers on UH defensive end Laanui Correa. Against Wayne Hunter, a 6-foot-6 defensive tackle, the blockers attacked low.
"They were going straight for the knees," Hunter said. "It was crazy."
UH even rotated defensive lines every four or five plays, with little success.
Kretschmer did the rest, running for 162 yards. He leads the WAC in rushing, averaging 123.3 yards per game, despite making his first collegiate start yesterday.
"They just hand me the ball and tell me to run," said Kretschmer, who paid a significant price.
After yesterday's game, "I looked like a banana that's been sitting there for a week," he said. "I'm black and blue and all of that."
