Posted on: Sunday, September 28, 2003

Big second half perfect tonic for swooning UH

By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Columnist

An 85-yard return of a University of Hawai'i fumble for a touchdown. A recovery of a fumble in the end zone for another touchdown ...

Suddenly, it was, to borrow from that noted philosopher, Yogi Berra, deja vu all over again for a Warrior football team that didn't need a replay of its nightmares last night.

It was, to a man, woman and child at Aloha Stadium, precisely what UH and its fans didn't want to see again at home after after two lost weeks and as many defeats on the Mainland this month.

But, maybe, it was also what these Warriors needed most at this point.

For the way they bounced back from this potential disaster to pound out a 41-21 victory over Rice had to be just what the doctor ordered for a team running noticeably low on confidence.

Scoring 17 second-half points and, more importantly, blanking the Owls for the final half was about the best medicine the 2-2 Warriors could have left Halawa with in their Western Athletic Conference opener.

"We knew that we were going to find out what we were (made of)," UH coach June Jones said afterward.

"Everybody was rattled a little bit," Jones said, when UH went into the locker room clinging not-too-securely to a 24-21 lead after having been in command 24-0.

"Everybody has been in games like that where — boom! — you see it go the other way and you lose," Jones said.

But the Warriors had had theirs in back-to-back weeks and who knew if they could survive a third. Or, what it would mean for the rest of the season if they didn't.

Two weeks ago Southern California had blitzed the Warriors for 21 unanswered points in the final 4 minutes, 58 seconds of the second quarter to pull away from what had been a four-point game. And, just last week Nevada-Las Vegas had reeled off 10 consecutive points in a 1 minute, 46-second span to pull away from a 14-all tie.

So, when Rice parlayed two turnovers in a 2 minute, 8-second span to cap a 21-point run, it was anybody's guess, the Warriors' included, where this one, not to mention the season, was headed.

For the third time in as many weeks UH had looked disaster in the eye.

Only this time it might have been for keeps if the Warriors hadn't found a way out of it.

"We knew it was up to us," said cornerback Abraham Elimimian, whose early third-quarter block of Rice's attempt at a game-tying field goal thwarted an Owl revival. "This team (Rice) didn't have the right to beat us."

So, amid the mounting injuries — Isaac Sopoaga and Jeremiah Cockheran were among those who left the game and didn't return — and suspensions, it was up to the Warriors to somehow scrap their way out of this one.

"We had to answer the call this time," said quarterback Tim Chang, who authored a WAC-record 70 passes and completed 42 for 397 yards. "We had to have this one. Especially after those other games."

And, with a resolve and focus not seen so far this season, the Warriors got the one they needed.

And, not a moment too soon.

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