Interminable. Unwatchable. Demoralizing.
Those were just a few words that came to mind to encapsulate the nearly four-hour viewing experience at Aloha Stadium on Saturday night, as Hawaii got torched 42-14 by erstwhile rival Fresno State to extend the Rainbow Warriors’ losing streak to eight.
Paul Harris’ fourth 100-yard game of the season — 126 yards on a season-high 26 carries — barely made a dent in the outcome, as UH was victimized by a plethora of penalties, four turnovers and a general malaise.
"I thought the run game was good," interim head coach Chris Naeole said of Harris’ play. "Obviously we got behind, you know, early. We threw the ball. We still ran it, but we threw some picks and the flow of the game didn’t work like how we wanted it to."
Harris, a junior out of Ventura College, somehow exuded calm afterward in the tunnels outside of the UH locker room. The most animated he got was when he sighed and said, "We were just shooting ourselves in the foot."
Making his even-keeled demeanor more amazing, "Housecall" has never before been part of such a miserable season growing up in Columbus, Ohio, or in junior college. If frustrations were boiling over, he masked it well.
"It wasn’t what we expected," Harris said of the past few months. "But the team’s still a brotherhood, still together, even though we’re losing. Just trying to find something to be the spark. But I love the team, we all love each other, so, I don’t know, the season just wasn’t what I expected. It wasn’t supposed to come out like this."
With UH behind four touchdowns in the third quarter, Harris refused to call it a game. His four shifty carries in a drive near the end of the period helped get the Rainbow Warriors into the red zone, where they would punch it in from 1 yard to get within 35-14. At that point, it wasn’t inconceivable a rally could be staged.
"The whole game we had a chance," Harris said. "We just were making dumb mistakes. We put a couple of drives together in the first half … but just dumb mistakes."
Harris’ record-setting 95-yard scoring run against UC Davis — and a 2-1 record — is a distant memory at this point, but he figures there’s still time to leave some positive memories for the team’s senior class. UH (2-9) concludes its season hosting two more favorable opponents: San Jose State (4-6) and Louisiana-Monroe (1-9).
Then again, Fresno State was struggling at 2-7 going into Saturday, and the Bulldogs racked up season highs in points scored, passing yards (285) and total yards (455) to win their fifth straight in the series.
"We want (the seniors) to leave with some more wins. I don’t want them to leave on a losing streak," Harris resolved. "That, and pride. Nobody wants to lose. Everybody hates it."
