Rainbow Warrior football suffers shocking loss

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. >> Pieces of Hawaii’s s heartbreaking 28-27 football loss to New Mexico were strewn throughout University Stadium.

UH defensive coordinator Tom Mason cursed into the chilly evening about a stand that crumbled during the Lobos’ touchdown drive in the final minute.

Rigo Sanchez fought back emotions as he exited the field. He delivered field goals of 49 and 47 yards in the first half, but hooked wide left a 22-yard attempt that would have provided the Rainbow Warriors with a nine-point cushion with 2:14 to play.

"The long ones don’t really count if I don’t make the ones that really matter," Sanchez said.

And the Warriors were left to stare in disbelief at empty hands that should have held their first road victory of the season.

Painful outcome?

"They all hurt, right?" head coach Norm Chow said.

After a fourth consecutive loss dropped their records to 2-5 overall and 0-3 in the Mountain West Conference, the Warriors’ postgame orders were the same.

"Close ranks," Chow said, "and keep marching."

The Warriors, who entered as 51/2-point underdogs, faced longer odds when starting quarterback Max Wittek could not overcome injuries to both knees and a foot. The decision not to play Wittek was made on Friday night, hours after he hobbled through practice at Highland High. By then, the Warriors knew they also would be without ailing wideout Quinton Pedroza, left guard Elijah Tupai, running back Mel Davis, and linebackers Jeremy Castro and Benetton Fonua. Defensive end Luke Shawley remained in Honolulu to sort out a personal situation.

Still, running back Paul Harris, who was held out of the previous week’s game because of concussion-like symptoms, sprinted for 125 yards and two touchdowns, and Steven Lakalaka contributed 83 yards.

Ikaika Woolsey, who started 12 games last season, was dazzling in the first half, when he was 9-for-12 for 151 yards. He added 44 passing yards after the intermission when the Warriors turned to ball-control, time-burning tactics.

And the Warriors made big defensive plays. Defensive end Kennedy Tuliamsealii forced a fumble on a third-down play at the UH 1. Safety Dany Mulanga forced a fumble and cornerback Jamal Mayo’s ensuing recovery set up Woolsey’s 27-yard scoring pass to slotback Dylan Collie to boost the Warriors’ lead to 24-14 in the second quarter. In the third quarter, it appeared the Lobos successfully converted on fourth-and-1 when quarterback Lamar Jordan short-hopped a snap and handed the ball to running back Jhurell Pressley. But defensive end Meffy Koloamatangi was injured during the play, and while he was being treated, the referees reviewed the play. They ruled that Jordan’s right knee was down before the handoff, resulting in a 4-yard loss and change of possession.

After their second drive of the fourth quarter stalled, the Lobos decided to change quarterbacks, replacing a triple-option magician (Jordan) with a pure passer (Austin Apodaca). But they had to wait for the switch. The Warriors, ahead 27-21, went with a jumbo package — offensive tackle Leo Koloamatangi was used as a blocking tight end — to gobble 62 yards and 6 minutes, 13 seconds and set up Sanchez’s field-goal attempt from 22 yards.

The snap was clean to the right hash, but Sanchez’s kick was not true.

"It was fine," Sanchez said, referring to the snap, weather and mile-high altitude. "It was just on me. Nobody else. On me."

Afterward, Woolsey, who moonlights as the holder, told Sanchez: "Don’t put your head down. You can’t put this all on you. You made all your field goals all week."

Apodaca, a junior college transfer, then entered. Apodaca completed three third-down passes, and avoided a turnover when Mayo could not secure a potential interception. "No excuses," Mayo said. "I should have made the play."

Apodaca’s 12-yard pass, on third-and-10, advanced the ball to the UH 28.

Mason then called for a corner blitz. Nick Nelson, racing from Apodaca’s right, hit the quarterback a nano-second after he released a pass. Dameon Gamblin made a double-move to slip past middle linebacker Julian Gener. Gamblin made the acrobatic catch, then stumbled his way into the end zone with 55 seconds left. Zack Rogers’ point-after kick ended the scoring.

Mason said a nickelback or safety should have filled the area behind Gener. But that defender had to provide backup for a corner. Gener said: "I can’t expect the safety to help every play. It’s on me. There’s no excuses for that play. I have to play better. It’s a tough one."

While Nelson hit Apodaca, it was not impactful enough to affect the pass.

"I could have gotten to him real quick," Nelson said. "I hesitated in getting to the line. I felt I should have read it a little quicker."

Apodaca said his first intent was to go to Carlos Wiggins, a speedy wideout who scored on a 100-yard kickoff return in the first quarter. But the defender on Wiggins did not budge in the prevent scheme. "Then I looked on the inside, and ‘Gambo’ (Gamblin) ran a great route and kind of beat (Gener). Right when I threw it, I knew it."

All week, the Warriors had worked on attacking the Lobos’ triple-option running attack. "Then we got beat on a pass," Mason said.

New Mexico coach Bob Davie said: "It’s an unforgiving sport. It’s unforgiving. I mean, the kid misses a field goal. Then all of a sudden, we get the ball back and take the ball down the field and score. It’s an unforgiving game. So, first of all, credit to Hawaii. They came out and they played hard. I thought they really played well."

But Mason said: "It comes down to you have to make plays in those situations, and we didn’t make plays."

FIRST PERIOD

Hawaii

>> Score: Paul Harris 1-yard run. Rigoberto Sanchez kick.

>> Drive: 12 plays, 75 yards, 4:40 elapsed time. Time: 10:20. Score: UH 7, New Mexico 0

New Mexico

>> Score: Carlos Wiggins 100-yard kickoff return. Zack Rogers kick.

>> Time: 10:09. Score: UH 7, New Mexico 7

Hawaii

>> Score: Sanchez 49-yard field goal. 

>> Drive: 9 plays, 62 yards, 3:28 elapsed time. Time: 0:42. Score: UH 10, New Mexico 7

SECOND PERIOD

New Mexico

>> Score: Jhurell Pressley 2-yard run. Zack Rogers kick. 

>> Drive: 17 plays, 82 yards, 7:36 elapsed time. Time: 8:05. Score: New Mexico 14, UH 10

Hawaii

>> Score: Harris 1-yard run. Sanchez kick.

>> Drive: 9 plays, 79 yards, 3:27 elapsed time. Time: 4:33. Score: UH 17, New Mexico 14

Hawaii

>> Score: Dylan Collie 27-yard pass from Ikaika Woolsey. Sanchez kick.

>> Drive: 5 plays, 54 yards, 1:11 elapsed time. Time: 1:45. Score: UH 24, New Mexico 14

THIRD PERIOD

New Mexico

>> Score: David Anaya 11-yard pass from Lamar Jordan. Rogers kick.

>> Drive: 7 plays, 34 yards, 2:55 elapsed time. Time: 7:53. Score: UH 24, New Mexico 21

FOURTH PERIOD

Hawaii

>> Score: Sanchez 47-yard field goal. 

>> Drive: 5 plays, 23 yards, 2:25 elapsed time. Time: 12:59. Score: UH 27, New Mexico 21

New Mexico

>> Score: Dameon Gamblin 28-yard pass from Austin Apodoca. Rogers kick. 

>> Drive: 10 plays, 80 yards, 1:19 elapsed time. Time: 0:55. Score: New Mexico 28, UH 27

TEAM STATISTICS

DEFENSIVE STATISTICS

TACKLES FOR LOSS-YARDS: UH—Kennedy Tulimasealii 2-7, Simon Poti 1.5-12, Makani Kema-Kaleiwahea 1-3, Jerrol Garcia-Williams 1-1, Daniel Lewis 1-1, Jahlani Tavai 0.5-9. New Mexico—Maurice Daniels 2-9, Dakota Cox 0.5-1, Ryan Langford 0.5-1. 

sacks-yards: UH—Simon Poti 1.5-12, Makani Kema-Kaleiwahea 1-3, Jahlani Tavai 0.5-9. New Mexico—Maurice Daniels 1-7.

INTERCEPTIONS: UH—none. New Mexico—Lee Crosby 2-29.

kick blocked: UH—none. New Mexico—none.

quarterback hurries: UH—none. New Mexico—Kimmie Carson, Maurice Daniels.