For the University of Hawaii football team, there was no consolation.
For the second consecutive Saturday, the Warriors suffered a one-possession loss to a Pac-12 opponent — this time 38-30 to Oregon State at Aloha Stadium.
That the Warriors were resurrected from a 38-7 deficit entering the fourth quarter did little to ease the sting. After all, the Warriors’ fingerprints were on the proverbial shovel that created the hole. A turnover, missed turnovers and numerous self-inflicted penalties were factors in opening the season at 0-2.
"We can’t play good football teams and make the mistakes that we make," UH coach Norm Chow said. "We just can’t. We have to cut it out or it’ll be another tough year."
To be sure, the Warriors had more spunk than time remaining.
"This team has big hearts, even though it sometimes doesn’t show on the scoreboard," UH wideout Marcus Kemp said. "We fight all we can and do all we can. Sometimes it doesn’t come out our way."
Adding injury to insult, two of the Warriors’ best players — running back Joey Iosefa and linebacker Jerrol Garcia-Williams — left the field on crutches. Iosefa, who scored three touchdowns, suffered what appeared to be an injury to his right ankle. Garcia-Williams, who can play inside and outside linebacker, said he suffered an injury to his left knee. Garcia-Williams will have an MRI today.
"We’re beat up," Chow said of ailments entering the game, "and we got beat up again. That’s the problem when you play a good team like this. You have to stay healthy, or the next guy has to step up."
The Warriors appeared to take control on the opening drive, performing to precision plays scripted by Chow and quarterbacks coach Jordan Wynn. The scouting report was that Iosefa, who averaged 3.1 post-contact yards per carry against Washington a week earlier, was difficult to stop. Instead of attacking his 245-pound body, OSU went for the football. On first-and-10 from the OSU 16, linebacker Jabral Johnson knocked the football from Iosefa’s grasp, and Siale Hautau recovered.
After a timeout, Sean Mannion threw 40 yards to flanker Victor Bolden, who slipped past corner Dee Maggitt, on a go route.
"That pass," UH defensive coordinator Kevin Clune said, "was to soften us up. That wasn’t the thing that killed us. It was everything else."
Indeed, with thoughts of deep routes dancing in UH’s helmets, the Beavers were able to employ the West Coast offense’s death-by-a-thousand-cuts strategy. Mannion had targets at all levels — wideouts Bolden and Richard Mullaney on various routes, and power-forward-type tight ends Connor Hamlett and Caleb Smith on middle screens and out patterns. On one play, Mannion rolled to his left, pivoted and threw across the field to Hunter Jarmon for 22 yards. Last week, Storm Woods was the Beavers’ most dangerous ballcarrier. This time, it was Terron Ward going for 124 yards and two touchdowns. Ward did not have a negative-yard carry.
Mannion finished 26-for-37 for 300 yards and three touchdowns. He also benefited from numerous UH blunders.
UH’s Scott Harding launched a rugby-style punt that stopped rolling at the OSU 9. But a procedure penalty led to a do-over, and the second punt gave the Beavers possession at the 40.
An incomplete pass became a 15-yard gain when UH linebacker Julian Gener was penalized for an attempted ankle tackle on Mannion, who still had the ball.
"They said I hit him low," Gener said, "but they (also) said I had a guy on me. It was a tough call. I have to play it smarter. I can’t make excuses about it."
UH safety Trayvon Henderson’s interception also was overturned because of an away-from-the-play defensive holding penalty.
And on and on.
The UH mistakes — 12 penalties totaling 108 yards — were bonuses for an OSU offense that rolled up 464 yards, an average of 6.4 yards per play.
"It was the West Coast, pro-style offense of picking us apart and getting down the field," Clune said. "We need to be able to take away from these offenses, and that’s not how it happened today."
The Warriors, meanwhile, struggled to cobble yards in the first three quarters.
"We kind of beat ourselves," said quarterback Ikaika Woolsey, who was 13-for-34 through three quarters and 20-for-50 for the game. "We started out slow in the first half. The offense can’t come out slow and not put points on the board when the defense is making stops. It’s not fair to the defense. They’re out there all night. We have to be better when we come out."
But the Warriors put together a frenetic finish. Iosefa scored on a run from a yard out on the opening play of the fourth quarter to close UH to 38-14.
On OSU’s next possession, UH linebacker Lance Williams blocked a punt, leading to Iosefa’s next touchdown. The 2-point pass failed.
Maggitt then forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff return. Four plays later, Tyler Hadden kicked a field goal from 33 yards to cut the deficit to 38-23 with 10:55 to play.
Woolsey scored from 2 yards out and Hadden’s point-after kick made it 38-30 with 1:35 left.
But Hadden’s onside kick went only 7 yards — 3 short of the minimum — giving the Beavers possession and allowing them to drain the clock.
"I think when we look at this game, we wish we could have been able to close it out a little bit better in the fourth," Mannion said. "We made enough plays to win."
Gener said: "At the end of the day, all we can do is keep fighting and fighting and get a win eventually. It starts again on Monday (with practice). We’re going to keep working."