Mixed bag for Mariota

SAN DIEGO >> It was a rough weekend for followers of Hawaii’s favorite football team and Hawaii’s favorite football player.

All those No. 8s at Qualcomm Stadium on Sunday left disappointed, like the green-clad, ti leaf-wavers of the night before.

Many were one and the same, fans of both the University of Hawaii and Marcus Mariota hoping for a hangover cure the day after UH was whipped here by San Diego State.

After the double-whammy they may agree with the sentiment of many who live around here: knock this building down.

Can’t say Sunday’s game wasn’t exciting, though.

Mariota was directly responsible for six touchdowns in a 43-35 outcome. The problem is two of them were scored by the Chargers but he plays quarterback for the Titans.

Mariota did keep Tennessee in the game, engineering drives and making big plays. After a sluggish start, he even put his team in the lead briefly with a 14-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

But his mistakes were, well, titanic.

Mariota’s fumble and interception returned for Chargers touchdowns and the slow start (two three-and-outs while San Diego went up 9-0 in the first quarter) were reminiscent of problems UH has had in recent games.

“Obviously, I can’t fumble. That’s going to put us in bad situations,” Mariota said. “On the final interception (there were two), I probably should have just moved on in my read.”

Mariota also passed for three touchdowns while completing 27 of 43 passes for 313 yards, but a different first-round draft pick from the class of 2015 stole the spotlight and took over in the end. The Chargers’ Melvin Gordon rushed for 196 yards.

With so many explosive plays, the big turnovers (though San Diego committed none), this NFL game had a college feel to it.

It was even “homecoming” for the Chargers, as it was the day before for the Aztecs when they blanked the Warriors 55-0.

Gordon said he was inspired by LaDainian Tomlinson, who on Sunday played the part Marshall Faulk did Saturday as a program-great returning to the scene of past glory.

LT was among the many Chargers alumni on hand — undoubtedly no coincidence two days before San Diego County voters are to decide whether to have the hotel tax rate raised to build a new stadium and keep the Bolts from bolting.

“A lot of those guys are still part of this community,” Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers said. “There were a lot of years represented here today and I was just glad we were able to go out and take care of our part.”

With Mariota coming to town, Chargers officials tried last week to dispel what now seems ancient speculation that prior to the 2015 draft San Diego was trying to trade Rivers in order to draft Mariota.

If that motivated the 13-year pro to new heights Sunday, Rivers wasn’t saying. However, Chargers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt was spotted walking around with a broad smile after the game; he was fired as Titans head coach after last year’s 3-13 season.

The 2016 Titans — with an enhanced running game led by All-Pro DeMarco Murray and rookie Derrick Henry, who like Mariota is a Heisman Trophy winner — have already surpassed that at 4-5.

Before the Chargers game, Mariota had not thrown an interception in the previous two games, and his touchdowns-to-interception in the last three was 7-1.

So his fans had reason to expect a cleaner game. What they got was a mixed bag from a talented fledgling who is still learning his craft.

“It’s different (than college),” Mariota said, when asked about the highs and lows of playing in the NFL. “It’s part of the game, it’s part of this league. You can continue to get better and continue to grow. You’re not going to win every single one of them. For us, we’re fighting in these games. We’re giving ourselves an opportunity to win. That’s all you can really ask for.”

Hundreds, maybe thousands came especially for him (and Manti Te’o, the injured Chargers linebacker from Hawaii). Mariota said it was “special” that so many he knew from the islands, from Oregon, from everywhere, showed up.

“There were a lot of family members and a lot of friends who I haven’t been able to play in front of for a few years,” he said. “Unfortunately it didn’t go the way that we wanted but I’m thankful they’re here and it meant a lot.”

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. His blog is at Hawaiiwarriorworld.com/quick-reads.