Warriors ineffective against Nevada, 24-14

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

RENO, Nev. — Blame it on the day-long drizzle chilled by the Sierra Nevada wind that eventually dropped the mercury to 29 degrees.

Nevada running back Chance Kretschmer goes up and over a wall of defenders for a touchdown. Associated Press

Blame it on "all of the above" that left the University of Hawai'i football team feeling low in a party-pooping 24-14 loss to Nevada yesterday at Mackay Stadium.

"Anytime you do that on the road, you're going to get your (behind) whupped," UH cornerback Abraham Elimimian said.

The Warriors' sixth — and final — road game was to be a celebration. A Warrior victory would ensure a winning season and meet the requirement to receive an automatic berth in Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl on Christmas Day. As a bonus, it would set up a winner-take-all game against 24th-ranked Boise State (9-1 overall, 5-0 in Western Athletic Conference) Dec. 6 at Aloha Stadium.

"We were in the driver's seat," Elimimian said, "and now we're in the back seat."

The Warriors (6-4 and 5-2 in the WAC) have three remaining home games to earn their seventh victory, starting Saturday against winless Army.

"We'll get the bowl game," co-captain Jeremiah Cockheran vowed. "The bowl game really wasn't a problem. But we really wanted the WAC championship. We still have a chance at it, but it's not just in our control anymore, and that's disappointing."

The Warriors scored two touchdowns in a span of 11 seconds to take a 14-6 lead early in the third quarter. Chad Owens, aligned in the left slot, sped past linebacker Ekene Agwuenu on a streak pattern, pulled in a Tim Chang pass and outraced safety Nick Hawthorne to complete the 39-yard scoring play.

Hawai'i's Ikaika Curnan, left, and Travis LaBoy put a stop to this run by Nevada's Chance Kretschmer. Andy Barron • Reno Gazette Journal

"I saw the ball on the ground, I picked it up and starting thinking 'end zone,' " LaBoy recalled.

But the 14-6 advantage was created with smoke. The Warriors' best power runner, West Keli'ikipi, was on crutches, having suffered a possible torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee at the end of a 24-yard, catch-run-pound play in the first quarter. A magnetic resonance imaging, a procedure using magnetic fields to create an image of the body's interior, is scheduled for tomorrow.

Chang, despite a waist pouch designed to keep his hands warm between plays, was erratic, and the receivers could not go deep against safeties playing 15 yards off the line of scrimmage. The drizzle made the football "a little slick," Chang said, "but other than that, we weren't able to make the plays when we needed to."

What's more, Ayat, despite solving the glitch in his kicking approach, struggled with his aim. He was wide right on field-goal attempts from 30 and 48 yards in the first half, extending his streak of misses to four.

"My mechanics are fine," Ayat said. "I pushed them right. Maybe I was a little tight. But I felt I hit the kicks well. I had good height and distance."

Those concerns, more than anything, set the way for the Wolf Pack to score 18 unanswered points and for the Warriors' comeback attempts to falter.

"We knew we were in the game," Nevada defensive end Jorge Cordova said. "We had to keep at it."

The Wolf Pack closed to 14-12 when Kretschmer vaulted over a wall of defenders for the 1-yard touchdown, capping a 10-play, 80-yard drive.

On UH's next possession, Chang tried to laser a pass to Cockheran on the right side. Carl LaGrone Jr., a 6-foot-5 defensive end, batted the pass, which was caught by defensive tackle Derek Kennard Jr. Kennard's 11-yard interception return gave Nevada an 18-14 lead it would not relinquish.

"I saw (the deflected pass) and tried to do what I could with it, make something happen," Kennard said. "This was my first career (interception). I've had some in video games, but this was my first one in real life."

That turnover — UH's first of three — proved to be the turning point. Nevada unleashed its beast of a pass rush, led by ends Cordova, who entered as the WAC's leader in sacks and Craig Bailey.

The Wolf Pack's pass defense was supposed to be vulnerable. Three of the four projected starting defensive backs did not play because of injuries. Cornerback Chris Handy, who started the past few games, was suspended Thursday after being indicted on felony battery charges because of his alleged involvement in a fight last June. But the Wolf Pack's pass rush did not allow the Warriors to challenge the secondary.

Chang was sacked three times. He was intercepted after a heavy pass rush forced him to throw with his weight on his back heel. Another time, his third-down scramble was abbreviated before he reached the first-down marker. On this cool afternoon, Nevada's pass rush provided the heat.

"That was our goal," said Cordova, who aligned at both sides. "If we got Timmy Chang to throw the ball quickly, it was going to be in favor for us. We got to him in the four-man front and we even got to him in the three-man front. We concentrated on putting pressure on him."

Early in the game, the Warriors would dodge the pass rush with shovel passes, screens or draws. But Nevada's linebackers, by staying put in the inside passing lanes, denied the screens and shovel passes in the second half.

Meanwhile, Nevada's defensive ends aligned wide, forcing UH's tackles to step out to make blocks. Left tackle Jeremy Inferrera is a freshman and right tackle Brandon Eaton is recovering from a sprained left ankle.

"They had a good speed rush to the outside, and because they were setting up a little wider than usual, it was harder," Eaton said. "This was a good D-line. They were very persistent."

Nevada wasn't fooled by unexpected plays. On fourth-and-11 from the Nevada 44 with under five minutes remaining, UH ran a draw play. John West gained eight yards.

"I actually thought we would get it right there," said Jones, recalling how an earlier West run gained 18 yards before he fumbled.

West said: "I thought I had it, and then I didn't. That's the way it goes, I guess."

And so it went for the Warriors, who have pledged to regroup. "We have three more home games left," Chang said. "We have to stick together, play together and get back in that zone we're always talking about."

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

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