Cougars slip past Warriors
By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
PROVO, Utah — The picture of frustration was University of Hawai'i quarterback Tim Chang slumped in a dazed heap in front of his football locker, his broken right pinkie fine but his emotions a mess.
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It was UH middle linebacker Chris Brown pacing in the hushed locker room, and defensive end La'anui Correa crumpling blood-stained tape into a wad.
Hawai'i's Neal Gossett (88) is tackled by BYU's Bryant Atkinson (39) as Mike Sumko (25) closes in after picking up a first down during the second quarter. The Warriors rushed for 92 yards in the first quarter, but just 79 after that.
"Everybody played their hearts out," center Lui Fuata said following the Warriors' 35-32 loss to arch-rival Brigham Young yesterday at LaVelle Edwards Stadium. "We just came up short."
"We don't make excuses," UH right guard Vince Manuwai added. "Either you're ready to play or you're not. We worked our asses off, but we didn't execute, and we lost."
BYU's Marcus Whalen rushed for 141 yards and two touchdowns, backup quarterback Lance Pendleton ran for two more scores, and Reno Mahe secured an onside kick with 29.9 seconds left to exhaust the Warriors' final chance. The Cougars, who are 8-0 at home in this series, avenged a 72-45 loss last season at Aloha Stadium.
"If we get the onside kick, I think we would have won," UH coach June Jones said. "But we didn't."
For the Warriors, there were too many what-if scenarios that went unfulfilled. They could not maintain an early 17-7 lead, or keep pace when a thunderstorm in the middle of the second quarter forced the teams to turn to their running games, or cash in when the Cougars were forced to go for it six times on fourth down (converting three of them).
"We made mental errors again," Brown said. "We should have shut them down."
Chang, who wore a protective brace on his throwing hand, was intercepted four times. On UH's first possession of the second half, Chang overthrew wideout Justin Colbert on a streak play along the left sideline. Kip Nielsen intercepted at the BYU 5.
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"I was pressing (Colbert) at the line of scrimmage, trying to force him out of bounds so he couldn't make a play," said Nielsen, a rarely used defensive back who finished with two interceptions. "I saw his head turn for the ball, and I turned at the same time, and the ball kind of stuck in my hand."
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The Cougars then drove 95 yards for 21-17 lead they would not relinquish.
"We were driving, and then I threw a pick, and that really hurt us," Chang said. "Then they turn around and drive for a touchdown. That really hurt the team. That was a 14-point turnaround. I wish I could take that one back. I wish I could take all four back."
That go-ahead drive nearly was abbreviated when Correa appeared to have sacked BYU quarterback Bret Engemann for a safety. But the officials decided Engemann was not down, and he was able to throw incomplete.
"I thought I had him, but apparently I didn't get him," Correa said. "It probably would have made a little bit of a difference in the game."
Early on, the Warriors easily picked apart the Cougars' 3-2 defense. The Cougars opened with six defensive backs to try and contain the Warriors' run-and-shoot offense. But when the Cougars were in a pass-prevent scheme, Mike Bass, who rushed for 80 yards in the first quarter, zipped past the three-man front. When the Cougars stacked the line of scrimmage, Chang, who completed 20 of 52 passes for 277 yards, had his choice from a menu of speedy receivers.
Even worse for the Cougars, two high snaps on punt attempts led to Justin Ayat's 22-yard field goal and Neal Gossett's 6-yard scoring pass from Jason Whieldon, UH's short-yardage quarterback.
Then the thunderstorm came, dousing the Warriors' momentum. "When the rain came, I said, 'It's football time, it's football weather,'" BYU's Whalen recalled.
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Despite Edwards Stadium's state-of-the-art plumbing — 15 inches of water can be drained in one hour — the turf's slickness combined with grass in need of a trim turned the Warriors' offense into mush.
Brigham Young running back Marcus Whalen, who rushed for 141 yards, slips through the University of Hawai'i defense to score one of his two touchdowns during the game in Provo, Utah.
With the Warriors' quick receivers neutralized, the Cougars returned to their basic 4-3 defensive scheme in which the linebackers were able to attack the running lanes. The Warriors rushed for 92 yards in the first quarter and 79 after that.
"I think the rain was to our advantage because I think we have a little better ground attack," Nielsen said.
The Cougars went to their "stretch" offense, in which the five linemen and a tight end create a caravan of blockers in one direction. Whalen has his choice of going around the perimeter or cutting back.
"If they overplay it, I cut up field," he said. "If our line hooks them in, I keep going out. Either way, it's a real good play for us. And I like to play in the rain."
The Cougars mixed in option runs, and when UH linebacker Matt Wright moved to defensive end to create a five-man front, Engemann would throw play-action passes to Mahe (eight catches for 83 yards), tight end Spencer Nead or Whalen.
"They had some success running the football, and they decided to run until we stopped them," UH defensive coordinator Kevin Lempa said. "We had some problems with the option a couple of times, and with the wide sweep. ... They have a good offense. I hope we don't see anybody else like that this year."
Still, the Warriors had chances, even after Pendleton, filling in for Engemann who left with a neck stinger, scored on a 2-yard run with 2:36 to play, making it 35-24.
UH drove to the BYU 49, from where the Warriors faced a fourth-and-8 situation. Jones then told his players: "We're two plays away from winning the game. Give Timmy (Chang) time. We're going to hit Justin (Colbert) and he's going to score."
Colbert caught the pass on a crossing pattern, but was pulled down after a 41-yard gain. Soon after, Thero Mitchell scored the second of his two touchdowns with 32 seconds left. Clifton Herbert caught a two-point conversion pass to close UH to 35-32.
"I was scared," Mahe said before fielding the ensuing onside kick. "But we practiced that and practiced that. It worked."
Said Jones: "We scored 32 points, and that's pretty good. We had other chances, but we didn't get it done. (The Cougars) did a good job. They have one of the best offenses in the country. You have to make plays to keep pace with them. We made plays. We just didn't make enough of them."
