The effects of a hard landing on his shoulder lingered for Vasquez Haynes in the moments after Saturday’s game.
But the pain of a loss was of greater concern for the University of Hawaii wide receiver following the Rainbow Warriors’ fifth defeat of the season.
Haynes caught six passes for a season-high 128 yards and a touchdown despite leaving the game for a spell in the third quarter after coming down on his shoulder while making a catch downfield.
But the statistics weren’t all that satisfying in light of UH’s 37-27 loss to San Jose State at Aloha Stadium that dropped the Rainbows to 0-5.
"The big thing is getting the W," Haynes said. "So if you have a whole bunch of numbers but you don’t get the win, the numbers don’t mean anything."
Haynes’ receiving total contributed to UH’s season-high 386 passing yards as quarterback Sean Schroeder threw for a career-best 342.
Hawaii seemed to carry in the momentum of a 34-point run in the second half against Fresno State a week earlier in taking a 14-3 lead in the second quarter against San Jose State.
But UH wouldn’t reach the end zone again until Billy Ray Stutzmann ran down a 28-yard touchdown pass with 2:22 left in the third quarter. By then, San Jose State had built a 20-point lead and managed to close out the road win.
"I definitely felt we came out a lot faster than we had in the past," said Chris Gant, who scored two touchdowns and nearly had a third. "That’s something good we can look at today, but we have to put it all together. No excuses, we lost the game. We just have to put it all together."
After Gant gave UH the lead with a 9-yard touchdown run, Haynes sparked UH’s next drive by making an over-the-shoulder catch for a 44-yard reception from Ikaika Woolsey. Three plays later, he snagged an 8-yard touchdown pass from Schroeder in the corner.
The UH offense struggled to sustain drives in the second quarter while SJSU scored 24 unanswered points to end the first half.
"At first they had one high safety, then after we opened up they went to two high," Haynes said, "so we had to run the ball more and try to get stuff to the sideline more. They changed up a little bit, but nothing we hadn’t seen."
Haynes left the game in the third quarter after landing on his shoulder while making a catch for a 35-yard gain. He had missed a substantial portion of fall camp with a shoulder injury, and aggravated it on Saturday.
"I felt it kind of pop, but it’ll be fine," Haynes said. "It’s no big deal. I just have to get my strength back, get some rehab this week and I’ll be fine.
"It wasn’t as bad as it was in camp. The first time I hurt it, it was excruciating."
Haynes was able to return to Saturday’s game and later made a 21-yard catch on third down that extended the drive that ended with Stutzmann’s score. Stutzmann had four catches for 51 yards and scored for the second straight game.
Gant finished with 73 yards on four receptions, including a 50-yard touchdown with 7:51 left in the game.
Gant thought he had a score earlier in the second half when he dove to catch a tipped pass in the back of the end zone. He was ruled out of bounds and the call was upheld after a review.
"Without a doubt in my mind it was 6," Gant said.
"But that’s part of the game. I can’t control it, so I try my hardest not to worry about it."
