Aggies keep it close but fail to capitalize

For two-plus quarters, UC Davis quarterback Ben Scott played the role of game manager nearly to perfection.

The Aggies were 7-for-11 converting third downs and Scott was an efficient 12-for-17 passing. Running back Manusamoa Luuga was churning out 4 yards per each of his 19 carries and the Aggies had minimized UH’s offensive possessions to trail by only three.

This wasn’t the game plan UC Davis coach Ron Gould put together for this weekend, but it was working midway through the third quarter.

Then came the play.

UC Davis allowed a 95-yard touchdown run by Hawaii’s Paul Harris to fall behind by double digits for the first time and never recovered in an eventual 47-27 loss to the Rainbow Warriors on Saturday night at Aloha Stadium.

Scott hooked up once in the fourth quarter with Chris Martin for a 69-yard touchdown and the Aggies scored 10 points late to cover the 21-point spread.

However, it was still their 13th loss in 15 games against FBS teams dating back to 2005.

"The game plan was we felt like we could run the football," Gould said. "We wanted to run and play-action and that’s who we are. We didn’t come here to try to shorten the game. That’s not our goal. We came to win the football game."

The Aggies were within striking distance at 13-10 when Harris went almost untouched from the Hawaii 5 into the end zone on the opposite end of the field.

UH outscored the Aggies 34-17 in the second half, beginning with that run, to notch the victory.

"It was on us as a staff," Gould said. "We have to get the call in faster and get aligned and so that hurt, too. That was a stinger, because for the most part we had those guys wrapped up and we let one get out of the gate on us."

UC Davis held Hawaii to 98 yards on the other 30 carries, but that one play changed the entire dynamic of the game.

The Aggies had to go for bigger plays, and hit one when Chris Martin beat the defense for a 69-yard touchdown pass from Scott.

More often than not, the Aggies missed on those opportunities either because of missed throws, turnovers or penalties. UC Davis was flagged nine times, including once for a hold that wiped out a 50-yard screen pass.

It also had a key fourth-down run end in a turnover when Luuga fumbled after appearing to cross the first-down marker. Hawaii took the ball over and scored six plays later to make it 26-10.

"We still haven’t tapped into our potential yet," said Scott, who finished 18-for-25 for 233 yards and two scores. "You see glimpses of it. You saw glimpses against Nevada, you saw glimpses against South Dakota, you saw glimpses tonight. It’s going to click one of these games, and when it does, it’s going to be trouble."

UC Davis ran 73 plays to Hawaii’s 55 and dominated the time of possession, controlling the ball for nearly 40 minutes.

It wasn’t quite what Scott expected. He thought the Aggies would be able to gash the UH defense for larger gains.

"We had a couple of opportunities. I missed one to Ramon (Vargas) on the sideline here and missed him down the field by a step and a half, and if we convert on that, we go up," Scott said. "(Hawaii) didn’t do anything different that we didn’t expect. We just can’t shoot ourselves in the foot."