The game ended with a minor hold-me-back skirmish, the San Jose State players growling over the officiating, and the Warriors still alive in the hunt for the Western Athletic Conference title.

"Oh, my gosh, it does wonders for us to win like this," said UH coach June Jones, whose team improved to 6-3 overall and 5-1 in the WAC.

"If we lost this one," UH safety Hyrum Peters said, "our (WAC) season would be over."

The Warriors saw their football life flash before their eyes when the Spartans (2-6, 1-4), trailing 13-10, drove 80 yards to the UH 5 with 20 seconds to play. After the Spartans called their third — and final — timeout, Scott Rislov threw a second-down screen to 6-foot-7, 270-pound tight end Courtney Anderson at the left hashmark. With the lane to the end zone narrowed by inside linebacker Ikaika Curnan and cornerback Abraham Elimimian, Anderson was hit by free safety David Gilmore and then strongside linebacker Keani Alapa. The ball was ruled down an inch from the goal line.

"I reached out and the ball was over the white line," Anderson protested. "That's how I remember seeing it. The ball was over the white line."

"No way," Alapa countered. "I saw him try to reach the end zone, but he missed it by an inch. I was hoping his arm wasn't that long. Luckily, when he stretched out, his arm wasn't that long."

As the Spartans argued, the clock continued subtracting: 7 ... 6 ... 5 ...

"I heard their center screaming, 'We gotta get the ball! We gotta get the ball!" recalled UH strong safety Hyrum Peters, who began yelling for his teammates to get back into position. "The next thing you know, we were ready, but they weren't ready."

4 ... 3 ... 2 ...

Rislov then raced to the line, and spiked the ball, with the stadium clock showing: "0:01."

As the Spartans prepared to run another play, referee Gene Semko blew his whistle and waved his arms, signaling the game's end.

Semko, in a statement released through SJSU spokesman Lawrence Fan, said after Anderson was tackled, "the quarterback tried to run, was stopped, then took a step and spiked the ball."

Fan said the officials "felt the game was over because they couldn't do all of that in two seconds."

Fan said the official time is kept on the field and not on the scoreboard.

Rislov denied trying to run an extra play before spiking the ball. "I looked up at the clock and there was one second left," he said. "I figured we had it, but I guess not. That's the way it goes sometimes."

UH's Alapa said the officials were correct in allowing time to expire. "(The Spartans) were still moving when they hiked it. You can't do that. They weren't set yet."

It appeared UH's offense wasn't set most of the game. Tim Chang threw for 332 yards, but he was intercepted twice in Spartan territory, and Justin Ayat failed to connect on two field-goal attempts. One of Ayat's kicks was blocked, the other floated wide right.

But UH's defense, led by defensive end Travis LaBoy, who had two sacks and at least five quarterback hurries, kept the score close. The Warriors went ahead 13-10 in the third quarter when running back West Keli'ikipi converted a shovel pass into a 15-yard scoring play. Despite playing with ligament damage in his left shoulder and right thumb, Keli'ikipi scored two touchdowns.

"I've been hurt and sick but I wanted to do my best," said Keli'ikipi, who received a football scholarship Tuesday. "I didn't want to get the scholarship and not prove anything to the coaches."

But the Spartans, who entered as 12›-point underdogs, refused to go away. Mixing play-action passes and Lance Martin's power runs off track blocks, the Spartans chipped away at the Warriors' defense in the final drive.

After advancing to the UH 5 with 20 seconds left, the Spartans called their last timeout. On the SJSU sideline, coach Fitz Hill called for "wide screen left," a play designed specifically for Anderson on the left side. There was no second option.

"I just went with the play," said Anderson, who was instructed to fake a block to the inside, then cut to the left. "I wasn't going to tell them I wasn't going to run it."

Hill then told his players: If Anderson makes the catch but doesn't score, line up and spike the ball to stop the clock.

Before the SJSU timeout, the Warriors, aligned in a 4-3 front, were prepared to go with their "four trip special."

"Four" stands for the four defensive backs, "trip" means three receivers on one side. If the Spartans aligned three receivers on the same side, UH would slide three defensive backs to that area, leaving a defender to cover the weakside receiver one on one.

But with 60 seconds of debating time, Rich Miano, who coordinates UH's passing defense, suggested a straight zone, in which each of the defensive backs is assigned a quarter of the field, regardless of the offensive formation.

Jones gave his blessing to the new call.

The Spartans then came out in a formation with three receivers to the right and Anderson on the left.

"If we went with the original plan, we would have overshifted, and that would have been a bad call," Miano said.

Anderson followed the play precisely. "I sell it like I'm blocking, then I drift out," he recalled.

After catching the pass, Anderson was diverted when UH's Elimimian sealed off the path along the sidelines. Curnan, the weakside linebacker, was slowed when a blocker grabbed his facemask, yet was able to narrow Anderson's running path. Gilmore, the free safety, then raced up and hit Anderson.

"I knew the tight end was a big guy, and you have to hit him low — take him out early — before he gets to the goal line," Gilmore said.

Meanwhile, Alapa, who was aligned on the opposite hashmark, raced across the field, landing the second hit on Anderson.

"That guy (Anderson) is so big and he's so strong and he's so fast," Miano said. "It was scary. It was like ... 'Can somebody please shoot this guy before he gets into the end zone?' "

Anderson said: "I wanted the ball in that situation. I happened to get taken down. I don't know how many people tackled me, but I thought I scored."

After the game, the tailgate arguments began. Why didn't the Spartans throw into the end zone? Why did they burn their last timeout with 20 seconds left?

"It was one of those situations where they took a chance to win the game," UH's Jones said. "If the guy (Anderson) gets one more yard, it's the greatest call in the history of the game. They didn't get the one yard, so everyone's second guessing it."

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8051.

• • •

2003 UH FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

San Jose State Spartans Nov. 1 Spartan Stadium, San Jose, Calif. Series information: 27th meeting Overall series record: 10-15-1; in Honolulu: 8-10-0 First meeting: Dec. 11, 1936 (San Jose State 13, UH 8) Previous meeting: Nov. 2, 2002 (UH 40, San Jose State 31) Nevada Wolf Pack Nov. 15 Mackay Stadium, Reno, Nev. Series information: 8th Meeting Overall series record: 3-4-0; in Honolulu: 3-3-0 First meeting: Dec. 15, 1920 (Nevada 14, UH 9) Previous meeting: Oct. 12, 2002 (UH 59, Nevada 34) Army Black Knights Nov. 22 Aloha Stadium First meeting Alabama Crimson Tide Nov. 29 Aloha Stadium Series Information: 2nd Meeting Overall series record: 0-1-0; in Honolulu: 0-1-0 First meeting: Nov. 30, 2002 (Alabama 21, UH 16) Boise State Broncos Dec. 6 Aloha Stadium Series information: 5th Meeting Overall series record: 2-2-0; in Honolulu: 2-1-0 First meeting: Sept. 21, 1996 (UH 20, Boise State 14) Previous meeting: Oct. 5, 2002 (Boise State 58, UH 31)