By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Columnist

When running back Keylon Kincaid had been caught from behind and wrestled to the artificial turf in the third quarter by defensive end Travis Laboy, he slammed the football to the ground raising a cloud of dust and confetti.

It was one of the loudest noises made by the Southern Methodist University offense on a night when it was manhandled very nearly from kickoff to final gun by the University of Hawai'i, 42-10.

Still, Kincaid's frustration was a gesture that spoke louder than words. An action that eloquently summed up the Mustangs' impotence against the growing force that has become the Warriors' defense.

That the Warriors, at 2-0 (3-1 overall), sit atop the Western Athletic Conference today is in large part glowing testament to how much the defense has meant this season and how well it has come along in recent weeks.

So, too, would be the two touchdowns the defense set up with turnovers and the one it scored directly on Hyrum Peters' 39-yard return off La'anui Correa's interception.

In the tell-tale third quarter, where UH outscored SMU 21-0 to pull away from a tenuous 14-3 halftime lead, the Mustangs managed just 19 yards and miles of frustration, including Kincaid being lassoed from behind.

Indeed, until the second string defense yielded a score with 1 minute, 37 seconds left last night, long after much of the crowd of 35,858 had made their way to the parking lot, the UH defense had held its WAC opposition seven-plus quarters without a touchdown.

While Texas-El Paso and SMU aren't the brightest of offensive lights, holding anybody in this wide-open conference out of the end zone for that long is noteworthy.

More illustrative was the way the Warrior defense has done it, covering the offense's back. In eight UH offensive turnovers over two weeks, including a season-high six turnovers (3 interceptions and 3 fumbles) last night, just two — for a total of 10 points — have come back to haunt the Warriors on the scoreboard.

"Wow! I can't say enough about our defense and what they've done," said UH quarterback Tim Chang, one of its biggest fans. "They were great ... spectacular. They were why we stayed in the game in the first half."

The game-by-game emergence of junior college transfer Isaac Sopoaga at defensive tackle, finding his rhythm after sitting out the past two years, has helped solidify the self-described "Dog Pound" defensive line and given added teeth to the front seven.

"We controlled the trenches with the front seven, the D-line and the linebackers," said head coach June Jones. "The way they have grown has allowed us to improve each game."

Now, Chang said, "you look at our defense and it is a lot different from how we started the season. They're walking with a swagger out there."

One they have started to earn.