Defense leaves it all on the field

SAN JOSE, CALIF. » In the side room turned into a medical center, several Hawaii football players waited for their turn to receive IV treatments.

"Those guys," defensive coordinator Dave Aranda would say later, "battled through a lot of things. We had guys who were injured, guys who were playing hurt. We had guys who were exhausted but kept playing. It was a gutsy effort."

In the second half, the Warriors made six stops — five on turnovers — but could not muster a final stand, as receiver Chandler Jones scored on a 37-yard play to boost San Jose State to a 28-27 victory.

"I wish we could have finished," Aranda said. "It was a real unfortunate way to finish, especially the way we rebounded and played."

In the first half, the Spartans created mismatches with constant shifts and formations involving up to five receivers or two tight ends.

The Warriors were forced to put their blitzes in neutral not to allow tight end Ryan Otten or receiver Noah Grigsby to sneak open into the flats. At the same time, they knew they could not give too much time to quarterback Matt Faulkner, who was sacked six times in the previous six games.

"We knew we had to get turnovers," associate head coach Rich Miano said. "We needed to win the turnover battle. We had to get the ball back, whether it was ripping it or punching it or getting interceptions."

The Warriors did all of the above, intercepting three passes and forcing three fumbles in the second half. They also had a defensive stop that preceded a missed 50-yard field-goal attempt.

"We love being in tough situations," safety Richard Torres said. "We love having the mentality that when you’re called up, in sudden change, you have to make a play. Every time we were on the field, we were excited to be there. We wanted to make plays."

Torres had an interception and recovered a fumble. Safety John Hardy-Tuliau had an interception and, in the first half, knocked away a sure touchdown catch.

On the final Spartans play, Aranda said, "We felt we needed to pressure them. We (blitzed) a DB and a linebacker. It was a base zone. (Jones) got loose. It was unfortunate. I thought we had some momentum in the end. It’s really too bad."

Hawaii yielded 366 yards passing and 103 on the ground.