Mike Edwards wanted to talk about the bad.
A 100-yard kickoff return touchdown and a couple of big defensive plays by the junior cornerback weren’t enough for Hawaii, which fell to New Mexico and its option attack, 35-23, on Saturday night at Aloha Stadium.
What lingered on Edwards’ mind was his kickoff return fumble on UH’s second possession of the game after he’d taken it out 34 yards.
The Lobos turned the mistake into seven more points for a quick 14-0 lead.
The Cleveland native went on to make momentum-turning plays bridging the half — most notably his electric return with 4:40 left in the third quarter — but those weren’t enough to clear his conscience.
"I wouldn’t want to talk about the good because honestly it don’t matter when you make a mistake," said Edwards, who coughed one up for the second straight game. "It was a big (touchdown) return, but that was a big fumble, too. The momentum changed and they scored on that drive. That’s all I’m gonna say about that."
New Mexico coach Bob Davie was willing to speak up on his behalf after Edwards’ second career return TD made it 28-17.
"We had that game really in control in the second half and that kickoff we gave up to Edwards, that really hurt us," Davie said. "We debated whether or not to kick it to him … and I tell you that he is a heckuva player."
Edwards became the first UH player to return two kickoffs for touchdowns since Malcolm Lane in 2007.
Edwards also represented the first of a handful of times UH stopped the Lobos’ option attack.
He drilled UNM pitch man Chase Clayton for a loss on third and 11 in Lobos territory in the second quarter, helping set up a Tyler Hadden field goal.
"Mike was key on getting the pitch man," defensive lineman Beau Yap said. "He came flying up from his corner position, making a big tackle for loss … that’s what we needed."
After Edwards’ scoring return in the third period, he batted away B.R. Holbrook’s fourth-down attempt to receiver Ty Kirk with 11:36 to play in the game. UH would score on the turnover on downs to make it 28-23 New Mexico.
Those were the highlights. At other times, the Warriors totally whiffed against the option, most notably when backup quarterback Cole Gautsche took an option keeper to the right unscathed for a 76-yard TD in the third. And UH couldn’t stop the Lobos when it mattered in the fourth behind the carries of Kasey Carrier, resulting in the Warriors’ fourth straight loss.
"There was times we had glimpses of a great defense," Edwards said. "There was times we had glimpses of us not finishing the plays and executing what our coaches expect us to do. This is probably one of the toughest losses, just because we were that close. We had a chance today to show that we can be a great team and more importantly, a great defense.
"We fell short. It’s going back to the drawing board and we gotta continue to work hard and believe our day’s coming."
When he wasn’t making plays, he was trying to inspire the Warriors’ youngest linebacker corps in years. All three starters — Benny Fonua, Jerrol Garcia-Williams and Kendrick Van Ackeren — were freshmen. So was Marrell Jackson at starting free safety. Freshman backup linebacker Lance Williams got in the action as well.
Some came up big. Jackson had a game-high 10 tackles, more than his total combined in four previous games. Fonua had a career-high nine and Williams a personal-best eight.
