SAN JOSE, Calif. » Proving that dramas come with alternate endings, this time it was San Jose State that conjured a pulsating 28-27 football victory over Hawaii on Friday night at Spartan Stadium.
In the second half, the Warriors managed five consecutive takeaways — three interceptions and two forced fumbles — and made a key defensive stand that led to a missed field goal.
But the Spartans’ final drive, which began at their 13 with 1:24 remaining, was punctuated with Chandler Jones’ third touchdown — a 36-yard weave for the game’s final points.
The Warriors’ last possession was extinguished when Bryant Moniz’s prayerful pass was not answered.
The Warriors stood in dazed disbelief as blue-and-gold-clad fans stormed the field in celebration of the Spartans’ first home victory in this series since 1997. In the three previous meetings at Spartan Stadium, the outcome was decided by seven or fewer points.
“We’ve been on the other side before, where we’ve won the close games,” UH associate head coach Rich Miano said. “This time, we were on the wrong side, and it didn’t feel good. It hurts.”
In retracing the thread, Miano said: “We stopped them (seven) times in the second half, but we had to stop them (an eighth) time. We needed (another) turnover. We played well in the second half. There’s no solace that we were close. We came here to win. We came here to stop them (another) time.”
To be sure, the result was not defined by one drive. The Warriors committed six turnovers, five in a first half in which they fell into a 20-7 deficit, and they relinquished two blocked kicks that
U-turned the momentum.
Running back Joey Iosefa’s bull-dozing 32-yard run extended the Warriors’ lead to 27-20 with 11:46 to play. Then Travis Johnson raced through the middle and blocked Kenton Chun’s point-after kick. Duke Ihenacho scooped the football and raced the other way. At about midfield, Ihenacho appeared to have hurt his left hamstring. But he managed to hobble-run to the end zone for a two-point play, cutting the deficit to 27-22.
“I don’t know how I did it,” Ihenacho said. “I wasn’t thinking. I was just running. I was lucky.”
Later, the Warriors advanced to the SJSU 25, where they faced a fourth-and-14 situation.
“I was really considering going for it,” UH head coach Greg McMackin said.
Figuring a successful field goal would make it an eight-point margin, McMackin summoned Tyler Hadden for a 43-yard attempt.
Once again, Johnson broke through the middle and blocked the kick. While the Spartans did not score on the ensuing possession, it marked another missed opportunity for the Warriors.
Dick Tomey, who coordinates the UH special teams, said he needed to review videos to fully diagnose the problem.
“Right now,” he said, “I don’t know what happened.”
Shane Austin, the holder, said: “We’ve been getting blocked all year. I don’t know what’s going on. The ball was there. The hold was there. The kick was there. We had a good get-off time. And then it was blocked. I don’t know what to say.”
McMackin said it was an inside job.
“They’re coming through the middle,” McMackin said. “We have to look at the video and get it corrected. There have been too many of them all year long. … I thought we had it corrected after the (Spartans’) two-point conversion. Then we get it blocked again. We have to be able to protect on kicks.”
Johnson said he noticed an opening as the linemen stepped back to form a protective shield.
“I saw they were sitting back more,” Johnson said. “I knew I had to go full speed. I saw the hole, and I went for it.”
The Warriors faced a different type of hole when their offense malfunctioned in the first half.
Moniz, who entered with one interception all season and none in his previous 135 passes, was picked off twice. He also surrendered possession when he dropped a snap.
Kick returner Scott Harding’s fumble led to Jones’ 23-yard touchdown, and wideout Royce Pollard was stripped of the football at the SJSU 11 at the end of a 20-yard gain.
“It was one of those games where it wasn’t happening,” Moniz said of the first half. “Royce fumbled close to the end zone. I dropped a snap. I can’t really explain it. It’s one of those things. That’s how the ball bounces.”
But Spartans managed only 10 points on those turnovers, with an apparent 70-yard interception return nullified by a personal foul, and a field-goal attempt that struck the right upright.
During the intermission, defensive tackle Kaniela Tuipulotu recalled, the defense decided to take charge.
“Our job was to force turnovers, and we weren’t doing that,” Tuipulotu said.
In the frenetic second half, the Warriors took away the underneath routes with an aggressive nickel defense.
“We didn’t give up,” SJSU receiver Noah Grigsby said. “Even when we were down, even with all of the turnovers, we kept believing. Coach (Mike MacIntyre) always tells us to believe. If we don’t believe in ourselves, who’s going to believe in us?”
And in the final 90 seconds, after taking over at the 13, the Spartans went back to their short-passing game. They advanced to the UH 36, when the Spartans booked a reservation for the player known as “Jet.”
“We call (Jones) ‘Jet’ because he’s always flying,” Grigsby said.
Avoiding a double blitz, Faulkner threw to Jones on a shallow-crossing route.
“(Jones) split the defense, and he was gone,” Grigsby said.
Faulkner said: “It was a 10-yard in, and the ball was thrown to him. He made a play. We didn’t give up. That was the main thing.”
