It remains to be seen who the University of Hawaii’s head football coach will be next season, but it can be reported that the Warriors have definitely found a quarterback, David Graves.
The way things have been going for the free-falling Warriors these days, that’s something.
Sadly, however, it wasn’t quite enough to rally the Warriors past Fresno State and avoid a third consecutive loss, 24-21, Saturday night.
And it wasn’t enough to keep the larger goal of a berth in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl from slipping further away. Unless the 5-6 Warriors win out against Tulane and Brigham Young in the final two regular-season games, they will finish with a losing record and be in front of the television on Christmas Eve instead of appearing on it.
Neither of which sat well with the smallest Aloha Stadium crowd (24,367) in three seasons, a group that voiced its displeasure early and often.
It is a scene that Graves — a sophomore who came off the bench in the second quarter to very nearly turn the game around in storybook-like fashion with two touchdown passes and a rushing TD — hopes to never see again.
With Bryant Moniz out for the season with an injury and interim starter Shane Austin ineffective in a scoreless first quarter, it was Graves who came back from an illness that had stricken him during the week to revive both the crowd and a struggling UH offense with 13-for-27 passing for 199 yards after an inauspicious start.
Graves entered with 12 minutes, 21 seconds remaining in the second quarter, handed off twice, was sacked, stopped for no gain on a rush and threw incomplete on his first series. By the time he returned, UH was staring at a 17-0 deficit.
But whatever butterflies he had earlier, Graves was game-ready upon his return, masterfully driving UH to touchdowns on three consecutive possessions for a 21-17 third-quarter lead that brought out the best in a defense that had needed a spark.
Graves’ performance — he found receivers and scrambled for first downs — largely belied his inexperience. So much so, it nearly became one of UH legend when Graves just missed a touchdown connection with Royce Pollard from the Fresno 35 in the waning seconds. Instead the last-gasp drive expired at the Fresno State 39 as time ran out on another in a series of Warriors-Bulldogs battles.
The last one, it turns out, in 20 years of shared Western Athletic Conference membership.
But it stamped Graves as someone who will give the Warriors at least a battling chance down the stretch this season and something to look forward to for the next one.
Graves won’t be the Warriors’ only quarterback come spring when New Mexico transfer Stump Godfrey joins squad members Cayman Shutter and Kevin Spain plus whomever else they might pick up along the way. But by the depth of his performance Saturday, Graves should finish out this season on top and start out at frontman to lead the Warriors into the Mountain West Conference.
"He’s going to be our guy from here on out," said head coach Greg McMackin.
Which, in the wake of the declining season, renews the question of who might be coaching him next year. With recruiting getting into full swing, you hope UH officials are working on an answer sooner rather than later.
Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com.
