SAN DIEGO — For most of Saturday, foggy conditions blanketed Mission Valley.
On Saturday evening, the Hawaii football team was left in a collective daze following a 27-24 loss to San Diego State at Snapdragon Stadium.
“It’s another tough one, another one-possession game,” said Timmy Chang, whose Rainbow Warriors fell to 1-13 in road games during his three-season tenure as head coach. “It’s one play we’ve got to be better in. … This is some of the tough trials you go through. It’s tough. I feel for them.”
Led by gritty quarterback Brayden Schager, who absorbed hit after late hit, the Warriors took their first lead, at 24-20, on Nick Cenacle’s 23-yard, catch-and-dash with 9:39 to play. Cenacle ran a slant from the left side, secured Schager’s 4-yard pass, juked safety JD Coffey III, and cut back toward the left pylon.
“I did whatever I could to get to the end zone,” Cenacle said.
But the Aztecs, who averaged seven fourth-quarter points in their previous four games, responded. On second-and-10 from the SDSU 13, wideout Nate Bennett faced tight coverage from UH cornerback Devyn King on the left side. But King slipped, which freshman quarterback Danny O’Neil noticed. Bennett changed his pattern to a go route. O’Neil and Bennett then connected on a 48-yard pass to the UH 39. UH players had struggled with their footing all game because of the soft “winter grass” that was planted with the intent the surface would mature for the Holiday Bowl in December.
“The field was a little soft, but we both play on the same field, and footing is part of it,” Chang said.
Later, on a third-and-4 from the UH 16, O’Neil fired to wideout Jordan Napier for a 14-yard gain to the 2. It appeared Napier was freed because another Aztecs receiver ran a pick. After huddling, the officials ruled Napier first touched the ball behind the line of scrimmage, which turned the pick into a legal block.
The ball was placed at the 2, and running back Marquez Cooper bowled his way for the go-ahead touchdown with 7:05 to play. Cooper was the only SDSU back, carrying 30 times for 109 yards and two touchdowns.
The Warriors then worked their way down the field. “Brayden’s telling us, ‘Let’s go’ and ‘It’s time,’” Cenacle said. “He took the lead.”
Schager kept the drive alive with scrambles — once shoveling a pass to running back Landon Sims for a 10-yard gain; another time hitting a leaping Pofele Ashlock for a 19-yard completion on fourth-and-18.
“He’s a great leader,” Cenacle said of Schager. “He rallies the offense. He’s always trying to pick us up. You saw it today. He’s able to take the lead. When nothing’s open, he’s able to scramble, and that’s huge for us.”
The Warriors advanced to the SDSU 31, where they faced fourth and 2 with 1:20 to go. Chang kept the offense on the field, electing not to have kicker Kansei Matsuzawa attempt a potential game-tying field goal from 48 yards.
“In a sense, if you give them all that time, they’ll just come down and kick a field goal to just win it,” Chang reasoned. “I didn’t want to put it in their hands with that much time left. I just wanted to see if we can convert and get closer and kill the time and give ourselves a chance to win and walk off.”
Schager said: “I’m fine with that. I wanted to go for it.”
Schager threw to Ashlock just short of the line to gain. The ball was knocked free from Ashlock, and recovered by Cenacle, who was stopped short of the first-down marker. A teammate cannot advance a recovered fumble, making the play dead where Ashlock was stopped. The Aztecs were given possession at their 33 with 1:12 left.
“We just didn’t execute the play that was called,” Schager said. “It’s really going to be frustrating to watch the film. We had ’em in the right look, and we didn’t run the play correctly.”
Chang said: “Maybe we could have kicked it (instead). I thought we had a good play drawn up. But they made a better play. That’s part of it.”
In losing the Mountain West opener, the Warriors fell to 2-3 overall. Both victories were against FCS schools.
“For sure, it’s tough,” Chang said. “But we have to keep going, we have to keep running. We have good players. And if we play well, we’ll give ourselves a chance.”
UH’s defense eventually was able to slow the Aztecs’ no-huddle, hurry-up spread offense. Cooper, who is FBS’ active leader in career rushing yards, was contained to 3.6 yards per carry. But O’Neil was able to direct the offense at different paces. He completed 24 of 33 passes for 224 yards and a touchdown. O’Neil who graduated from high school early and joined the Aztecs in January, has not been intercepted in 113 passes.
Schager was 26-for-44 for 272 yards and three touchdowns. The Warriors had six drops. Schager had 11 non-sack runs for 55 yards. On one play, he scrambled out of the end zone and kept going 14 yards for a first down.
“I just saw man coverage, and my first couple reads weren’t there,” Schager said. “I stepped into the pocket, and saw a lot of green grass. It’s part of the game I think I can do now. I was able to get the first down.”
Despite fighting the good fight, there was little solace.
“It’s not fun to keep losing,” Schager said. “Nobody likes it. And there are no moral victories. I don’t like the mindset of ‘We’ll get ’em next time.’ … It’s never enough unless you win. I’m tired of losing. I’ve had a lot of losses in my career. It’s not fun.”
