A loss is a loss

FRESNO, Calif. » The University of Hawaii football team exhausted opportunities and time in a 28-21 loss to Fresno State.

Norm Chow’s third season as UH head coach ended when a frenetic comeback from a 28-0 deficit ran out of steam on a chilly Central Valley evening.

It ended with the Rainbow Warriors’ onside kick — symbolically — not bouncing their way as the Bulldogs’ Shannon Edwards grabbed and then cradled the football at midfield with 44 seconds to play.

It ended with the Warriors walking off the field and through an inflatable tunnel to the silence of the visitors locker room. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs, wading in a red wave of fans, celebrated winning the West Division title and qualifying for next week’s Mountain West title game.

"Same old story," UH center Kody Afusia said, acknowledging the similarities to last year’s near comeback against the Bulldogs. "Last year was the same. It sucks being in that situation."

In a span of 12 minutes, 5 seconds, the Warriors scored three touchdowns on Ikaika Woolsey throws to close to 28-21 with 45 seconds to play.

But all the good the Warriors did in the final quarter was not good enough.

"You can’t go down 28-0," said Jordan Wynn, UH’s quarterbacks coach and play-caller. "That’s the obvious thing. We came back, and it was 28-21. If we start at 21-0, who knows? But you can’t go down 28-0. That’s the bottom line."

The Warriors had opportunities to chisel the deficit early. But two red-zone drives in the third quarter netted zero points. Woolsey was intercepted on a pass to slotback Donnie King in the end zone.

"They played man," Woolsey said. "I tried to get out early and throw it out front. But (safety Derron Smith) made a good play. I have to be smarter with the ball in the red zone. If I throw that away, we have (another) opportunity with it being third down."

It was Smith’s 15th career interception, but his first this season.

"Opportunity presented itself, and I capitalized on it," Smith said. "I was in man (coverage). I just played eyes on my man (King), and I came up with the pick."

Later, the Warriors faced a fourth-and-8 from the FSU 11. The Warriors decided to go for the field goal with 2:15 left in the third quarter. Tyler Hadden was wide right from 29 yards.

"We thought we had to have points up," Chow said. "Was it the right decision? I’m not so sure, especially after he missed it."

The Warriors also were undone by eight false-start penalties. Woolsey was sacked six times. There were 16 plays in which the Warriors needed at least 11 yards for a first down, including three first-and-15 situations.

"The tough part is it wasn’t first-and-10," Chow said. "It was first-and-15, with all those things going on. That got us a little bit. It’s tough enough to make first-and-10, but now we’re on first-and-15, it’s even harder."

The Warriors had a hopeful start when they forced a three-and-out on the Bulldogs’ opening drive.

But the Warriors’ first possession lasted one play. Woolsey tried to throw to tight end Harold Moleni. But middle linebacker Karl Mickelsen jumped the route for the interception. "I didn’t do a good job of holding my eyes downfield and keeping the ‘backer inside" Woolsey said. "I just went straight to my target. (Mickelsen) jumped that. … I have to be better with my eyes in holding him back. I went to (Moleni) too quick. Harold ran a good route."

The Bulldogs then took two plays to take a 7-0 lead, with running back Marteze Waller running the final 11 yards.

Waller’s availability was listed as iffy because of an injured right shoulder. He started, then made the Warriors feel the pain. Waller rushed 25 times for 137 yards and two touchdowns.

Justin Johnson caught a 6-yard scoring pass from Brian Burrell. It was Johnson’s second reception of the season.

Josh "Juice" Quezada, Waller’s understudy, scored on a 4-yard run.

"It’s a 60-minute ballgame, and we didn’t do our part in the first half," UH defensive coordinator Kevin Clune said. "It’s something about this team we have to get figured our in the offseason. We have to come out and play for 60 minutes."

The Bulldogs often align in three- or four-receiver formations. They have three speedy receivers — Josh Harper, Greg Watson and Aaron Peck — to stretch defenses. Johnson is the bonus. Freshman tight end Chad Olsen is an off-line tight end who is mostly a check-down target. From that look, the Bulldogs have an offense within an offense. Burrell, an elusive runner, and Waller run read-option schemes.

"That’s the way the world’s going in offensive football," Clune said.

What’s more, the Bulldogs tried to push the tempo. In racing to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter, they ran a play every 19.6 seconds.

The Warriors could not match the Bulldogs’ accelerated start.

"We shouldn’t start so slow" Chow said.

The Warriors were outgained 164 yards to 25 in the first quarter.

At halftime, Chow challenged the Warriors to finish strong.

"Our guys don’t quit," Chow said. "They work as hard as they can work. I’m real proud of them."

At that point, the Warriors’ slim chance of winning the West was denied when San Diego State routed San Jose State.

"We heard at one point in the game that San Diego State won," Afusia said. "I didn’t care. I was trying to bust (Fresno State’s) season up. I just wanted to beat Fresno State. It didn’t fall into place. We wish them the best."

A catch for Koloamatangi

Left offensive guard Leo Koloamatangi got every lineman’s dream — the ball.

Koloamatangi plucked it out of the air late in the waning seconds of the second quarter and ran about 5 yards for a 1-yard gain to the Fresno 38-yard line.

"Everybody likes to get the ball in their hands," said Kolomatangi, a 6-foot, 5-inch, 275-pound sophomore.

When Woolsey’s pass was tipped, "I wasn’t really thinking anything, just do whatever … get the ball," Koloamatangi said.

Iosefa fourth all-time

Running back Joey Iosefa rushed for 68 yards on 22 carries in the last game of his UH career and finished with 2,218 yards.

He ranks fourth on the all-time UH list behind Gary Allen (3,451), Michael Carter (2,528) and Travis Sims (2,311), having passed Larry Sherrer (2,174).

"It is hard going out like this," Iosefa said. "But I like that we never quit, we fought it to the last second. Things didn’t always go our way, but we stuck around as a team, as a family, as a brotherhood."

Opener against Colorado

In case you were wondering, UH is scheduled to open its 2015 season with Colorado at Aloha Stadium on Sept. 5.

TEAM STATISTICS

DEFENSIVE STATISTICS

HAWAII

FRESNO STATE

TACKLES FOR LOSS-YARDS — Hawaii, Julian Gener 1.5-14, Beau Yap 1-3, Taz Stevenson 0.5-1. Fresno State, Tyeler Davison 3-12, Todd Hunt 2-11, Shannon Edwards 1-9, Maurice Poyadue 1-4, Donavon Lewis 1-4, Jeff Camilli 1-2, Kyrie Wilson 1-1, Curtis Riley 1-1.
SACKS-YARDS — Hawaii, Julian Gener 1-14, Beau Yap 1-3. Fresno State, Tyeler Davison 3-12, Todd Hunt 1-9, Shannon Edwards 1-9, Donavon Lewis 1-4.
INTERCEPTIONS — Hawaii, Simon Poti 1-7, Jalen Rogers 1-(-4). Fresno State, Derron Smith 1-21, Karl Mickelsen 1-0.
KICKS BLOCKED — Hawaii, none. Fresno State, none.
QUARTERBACK HURRIES — Hawaii, none. Fresno State, Donavon Lewis.

FIRST QUARTER

FRESNO STATE
» Score: Marteze Waller 11-yard run. Kody Kroening kick.
» Drive: 2 plays, 43 yards, 0:25 elapsed time. Time: 13:27. Score: Fresno State 7, UH 0.

FRESNO STATE
» Score: Justin Johnson 6-yard pass from Brian Burrell. Kroening kick.
» Drive: 12 plays, 65 yards, 3:53 elapsed time. Time: 7:44. Score: Fresno State 14, UH 0.

FRESNO STATE
» Score: Josh Quezada 4-yard run. Kroening kick.
» Drive: 9 plays, 66 yards, 3:07 elapsed time. Time: 2:35. Score: Fresno State 21, UH 0.

SECOND QUARTER

FRESNO STATE
» Score: Waller 4-yard run. Kroening kick.
» Drive: 15 plays, 96 yards, 5:09 elapsed time. Time: 0:47. Score: Fresno State 28, UH 0.

FOURTH QUARTER

HAWAII
» Score: Harold Moleni 4-yard pass from Ikaika Woolsey. Tyler Hadden kick.
» Drive: 9 plays, 30 yards, 4:15 elapsed time. Time: 12:50. Score: Fresno State 28, UH 7.

HAWAII
» Score: Donnie King 5-yard pass from Woolsey. Hadden kick.
» Drive: 10 plays, 58 yards, 4:03 elapsed time. Time: 8:11. Score: Fresno State 28, UH 14.

HAWAII
» Score: Quinton Pedroza 2-yard pass from Woolsey. Hadden kick.
» Drive: 18 plays, 80 yards, 2:48 elapsed time. Time: 0:45. Score: Fresno State 28, UH 21.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

HAWAII

FRESNO STATE