Posted on: Sunday, October 12, 2003
Warriors work black magic
By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
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| It was no contest when 266-pound UH running back West Keliikipi ran over 215-pound FSU linebacker Manuel Sanchez.
Photos by Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser |
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| Warrior slotback Gerald Welch secures a pass before taking a hit from Bulldog linebacker Bryce McGill. Welch caught 9 passes. |
As the Warriors walked into their locker room before the game, they noticed the uniforms hanging in their cubicles.
"That got us pumped up," defensive tackle Lui Fuga said. "That's like the super hero putting on the cape. We knew we were going to fly around and make plays."
Indeed, the Warriors made big plays in a big way to defeat the Bulldogs for the 11th time in the last 12 meetings in Hawai'i. In the last three meetings here, all won by UH, the total margin was 23 points.
"A lot of people thought Fresno was going to come in here and push us around," UH cornerback Abraham Elimimian said. "It's not like that anymore. It's a new era."
The Warriors improved to 3-3 overall and 2-1 in the Western Athletic Conference. The Bulldogs fell to 3-4 and 1-1, with all of their losses coming on the road.
With quarterback Tim Chang at the controls, UH rolled up 549 yards in total offense, including 404 yards and six touchdowns through the air.
The Warriors contained the Bulldogs' power running game and then smothered the desperate passing attack. And on special teams, 6-foot-8 Tony Akpan, a converted basketball player, blocked an FSU field-goal attempt and, with the Warriors apparently out of reach in the fourth quarter, UH converted a fake punt into 43-yard scoring pass from upback Chad Kapanui to David Gilmore.
FSU coach Pat Hill, who professes to having a close friendship with UH coach June Jones, downplayed the in-your-face significance of the fake punt, which came with his team down, 48-28.
"It's football," Hill said, adding, "(Jones) didn't try to run it up."
Jones reasoned that the Bulldogs, who have blocked six kicks this season, would "block it and run it in, (then) get an onside kick and score again."
Fuga said: "They would do the same thing. We're rivals. If they were leading, they would keep pounding and pounding."
In fact, the Bulldogs' game plan was to pound out yards from the onset. With an offensive line missing three projected starters because of injuries, including both No. 1 tackles, and quarterback Paul Pinegar making his first start since suffering an injured pectoral muscle the week before the opener, the Bulldogs wanted to milk the clock with running plays and low-risk passes.
Last year, the Warriors claimed an FSU fan threw a screwdriver toward Jones. This year, it was the Warriors turn to throw a wrench into the FSU plans. The Warriors switched from a 4-3 alignment to a 4-4 scheme, in which strongside linebacker Keani Alapa teamed with middle linebacker Lincoln Manutai on the inside. Strong safety Hyrum Peters or free safety Leonard Peters aligned as an outside linebacker, depending on which hashmark the ball was placed. UH's defensive tackles, meanwhile, tried to crush the running lanes.
"We knew they wanted to pound the ball, play smash-mouth football," UH defensive tackle Lance Samuseva said. "We knew if they got through the D-tackles, it would be a long game for us. We did our job, the 'backers did their job and everything fell into place."
On a possession that started with a UH fumble, the Bulldogs took a 14-10 lead on Pinegar's 19-yard scoring pass to Bernard Berrian in the second quarter. But then the Bulldogs' offense would unravel, unable to run against the web of defenders nor pass.
"It was the plague," Fuga said. "We knew we had to swarm and kill."
FSU left tackle Dartagnon Shack said: "Everybody started messing up. We didn't execute. I don't know what happened. I thought we were doing a good job running the ball early, but the passing game wasn't efficient enough."
It wasn't enough to match the Warriors, who had vowed to unlock their passing attack after throwing 35 passes in a 27-16 loss to Tulsa last week. Chang's 9-yard scoring pass to Chad Owens, who was back after serving a two-game suspension, gave the Warriors a 17-14 lead and sparked a surge of 35 unanswered points.
By halftime, Chang had completed 29 of 37 passes for 261 yards, becoming the 25th Division I-A player to amass 10,000 passing yards in a career. Chang finished 40 of 60 for 353 yards and five touchdowns.
Chang picked apart the Bulldogs' man coverage with short passes. He completed passes to 10 different receivers, the longest going for 31 yards. The Bulldogs, who believed they were too fast for the UH receivers — captain Jeremiah Cockheran did not play because of a sprained right ankle — had no answer when Chang repeatedly eluded the pass rush.
And when the Bulldogs pressed the receivers, Chang turned to running backs West Keliikipi (67 yards), John West and Michael Brewster.
"My running backs gave me a lot of confidence," Chang said. "They really took a lot of pressure off of me. And when the defense had to stop the run, it opened it up for the passing game. Everything went hand in hand. It was an overall great team effort."
Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8051.
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2003 UH FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
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 Fresno State Bulldogs
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Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
Texas-El Paso Miners
San Jose State Spartans
Nevada Wolf Pack
Army Black Knights
Alabama Crimson Tide
Boise State Broncos