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Five big plays from Hawaii’s 58-7 loss to Air Force

Dave Reardon

1. Down Not Down

» Situation: Air Force 7, Hawaii 0, 3:40 remaining, first quarter, Air Force ball, first-and-10 at Hawaii 44.

» The Play: QB Kris Roberts appeared to be down after an 8-yard gain. But he gets up off of FS Marell Jackson and runs for 25 more yards to the Hawaii 11.

» Impact: On the next play, RB Jacobi Owens scored on an 11-yard run.

» Roberts: "I think I landed on top of someone. I’m not sure if I actually did, so I kept running."

2. Hold On Loosely

» Situation: Air Force 14, Hawaii 0, 3:33 remaining, first quarter, Hawaii ball, first-and-10 at own 17.

» The Play: WR Quinton Pedroza catches a long pass from QB Max Wittek downfield and gains 43 yards before Jesse Washington knocks the ball out of his right hand. Weston Steeelhammer recovers at the Air Force 40.

» Impact: Hawaii’s longest gain from scrimmage went for naught as Air Force took over and scored again three series later.

» Wittek: "We had a lot of opportunities to make plays. We just have to make them."

3. No Fumble

» Situation: Air Force 14, Hawaii 0, 13:59 remaining, second quarter, Hawaii ball, fourth-and-10 at own 33.

» The Play: P Rigoberto Sanchez kicks one 53 yards to PR Garrett Brown. Brown falls down after catching the ball, but gets back up and apparently fumbles with Hawaii’s Jalen Rogers recovering. But after review, it is determined Brown was down before fumbling and Air Force retains possession at its own 11.

» Impact: A huge break for Hawaii was negated. Other than Keenan Ewaliko’s touchdown kickoff return, Hawaii never got closer to the Air Force goal than to its 36-yard line as time expired.

» Wittek: "When it rains it pours."

4. Bright Spot

» Situation: Air Force 51 , Hawaii 0, 5:56 remaining, fourth quarter, Air Force kicking off from own 35.

» The Play: KR Keelan Ewaliko takes the ball at the 2-yard line and bursts up the left sideline and through the Air Force defenders for a touchdown.

» Impact: The score allows Hawaii to prevent its fourth shutout loss of the season.

» Ewaliko: "It’s always been one tackle, one shoelace. To finally break through and score it’s awesome. I can’t really take full credit because I wouldn’t be able to do what I do if it wasn’t for the boys up front making that sacrifice."

5. It’s over

» Situation: Sunday, day after Air Force beats Hawaii 58-7, 11:38 a.m., e-mail from Hawaii media relations director Derek Inouchi.

» The Play: Hawaii announces coach Norm Chow has "been relieved of his duties, effective immediately," and, "Chris Naeole will serve as interim head coach for the remainder of the 2015 season."

» Impact: At 2-7 with four games remaining, Hawaii cannot have a winning season. But it will try to salvage some pride, starting Saturday at UNLV. Chow’s four-year tenure ends with a 10-36 record.

» Hawaii Athletic Director David Matlin: “Ultimately, we feel this decision is in the best interest of the University and Athletics Department and we need to move in a different direction. Coach Chow should be commended for helping our football program achieve all-time highs in APR scores and graduation rates.

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