By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Columnist

RENO, Nev. — All you need to know about the University of Hawai'i's 24-14 loss to Nevada yesterday is summed up in one telling play call.

With the game still within reach, and the Warriors staring at fourth down and 11 at the Nevada 44-yard line down by 10 points with five minutes left, UH head coach June Jones called a ... draw?

Not a crossing pattern to Chad Owens. Not a screen to Gerald Welch. Not even a post to Jeremiah Cockheran. But a draw.

This from the man who throws on fourth-and-one, throws from his end zone and throws in his sleep.

He called a run on fourth-and-11.

John West got a good burst and eight yards, but without a first down, that was essentially the ballgame and the Warriors' best chance at forcing a Western Athletic Conference title showdown with Boise State next month.

Jones would say afterward that the play had almost worked three series earlier on third-and-18 until West fumbled.

If you didn't know better, you'd suspect that Jones didn't throw the dice as much as he appeared to throw in the towel on the Warriors' struggling passing game.

The fact that Jones was even tempted to make the call says plenty about the Warriors' passing game this day. For on a cold, rainy afternoon more suited for the Iditarod, the Warriors' passing game wasn't so hot, either.

I mean, just 269 yards passing for 48 attempts? UH had that many in the first half last year against Nevada. Not since Alabama, 12 games ago, had UH been held scoreless in a first half.

This time, UH had almost as many interceptions as deep passes. And, unlike its struggles at San Jose State, the coaching staff on the other sideline didn't shoot itself in the foot.

This time, Derek Faavi caught as many passes — one — as Cockheran. Hardly a good sign since Faavi is the Warriors' center and Cockheran, the team's second-leading receiver, is supposed to be the "deep" threat.

But the Warriors had little to threaten the Wolf Pack with down the field. Between the offensive line struggling to hold off the pass rush with three sacks and a handful of hurries and Nevada's talents at frustrating quarterback Tim Chang's ability to get to deep men, UH was bottled up and rendered a toothless purveyor of shovel passes.

"We tried not to let them go over the top and we made the tackles underneath to keep them in front of us," said Nevada linebacker Carl LaGrone. "You can't give them room to throw and run."

The Warriors knew going in that Nevada had one of the best defensive lines in the conference. What was remarkable is that the Wolf Pack, which has had to replace three cornerbacks and a safety, also tightened up coverage in a secondary that just begged to be picked apart.

"You make do," said Nevada secondary coach Kim McCloud, a UH graduate. "You play with the cards you are dealt." And, the Wolf Pack drew a straight.

So, on a day when a Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl berth was the Warriors' for the taking, and a representative even flew in to be on hand for the occasion, the Warriors weren't the only ones going home shaking their heads.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.