TUCSON, Ariz. >> In the desert, the University of Hawaii football team thirsted for answers in a 47-28 loss to Arizona.
The Rainbow Warriors were left low and dry against a Pac-12 opponent that dominated every phase despite being without its top quarterback and running back.
Brandon Dawkins made his second consecutive start in place of injured quarterback Anu Solomon, delivering a 1-2 combination of arm strength (16-for-21 for 235 yards and three touchdowns) and footwork (gaining 118 yards, including three scoring runs).
And J.J. Taylor, who opened the week as the third-string running back, was a human blur, sprinting for 168 yards, punctuated by a vapor-trailing, 61-yard sprint into the end zone.
“That young J.J. Taylor made a couple of our guys look silly,” said UH coach Nick Rolovich, who was unsuccessful in recruiting the freshman running back. “He’s a special player.”
The Wildcats wasted little time — their first five scoring drives averaged 1 minute, 57 seconds —in racing to a 34-7 halftime lead. During the intermission, the Warriors wasted little time in deciding to replace quarterback Ikaika Woolsey with Dru Brown, who transferred from College of San Mateo in July.
“We were stale,” Rolovich said of the decision. “We weren’t doing anything.”
Woolsey, who started each game in the Warriors’ 1-3 start, was 11-for-25 for 117 yards. His interception was a result of a tipped pass. On the Wildcats’ ensuing possession, wideout Tyrell Johnson turned on the ignition on a jet sweep and dashed 24 yards for a touchdown and a 20-0 lead with 4:44 left in the first quarter. Johnson is capable of running 40 yards in 4.34 seconds and 100 meters in 10.4.
“We started off kind of slow,” Woolsey said. “I have to be more consistent on offense.”
Brown led the Warriors on three touchdown drives in the second half. Running back Steven Lakalaka provided two of the touchdowns. Brown conjured the third when he faked a handoff to Lakalaka running left, and then ran 3 yards untouched to the right.
“I thought Dru went in there and played well,” Rolovich said.
Brown finished 10-for-18 for 117 yards. He ran five times for 33 yards. But he also lost a fumble on the Warriors’ final drive.
With a bye this week, the Warriors will evaluate the personnel. Asked about the quarterback situation, Rolovich said, “I think we’re going to have a pretty good discussion.”
Woolsey said: “Whether I’m in or Dru’s in, we’re supporting the team. Whenever he’s in, I try to do my best to help him out and be those extra eyes on the field. He played really well tonight. Hat’s off to him.”
Brown and Woolsey are close friends. “The way I approach it,” Brown said of the quarterback situation, “we’ll be better because we’re both competing each and every day and every drill. Ikaika makes me better, and I make Ikaika better. That’s how I approach it. It’s not who plays and who doesn’t. I don’t lose myself in that because I can’t control it. What I can control is what I do and how I approach each day.”
Rolovich said he is looking for an improvement in accuracy. UH quarterbacks have completed half of their passes — 60-for-120 — with six touchdowns against seven interceptions.
“It makes me angry being a 50-percent-completion team,” Rolovich said.
Rolovich also would like to see a reduction in errors. The Warriors were penalized 12 times for 95 yards. Two infractions nullified touchdown passes; a third voided an interception. Rolovich described the number of penalties as “ridiculous.”
“I thought (the penalties) came at some bad times for us,” Rolovich said. “You’re not going to win many games consistently making 12 penalties.”
The Wildcats, meanwhile, seized advantage from every Warrior mistake.
It was a surprising turnaround for the Wildcats, who managed three first-half points in their first two games and were without Solomon, who won the quarterback’s job after an intense preseason competition. The Wildcats spread their formations, thinning the Warriors’ 4-3 defense and creating more space for Dawkins. Dawkins, who was not sacked, often broke or out-raced defenders. He completed passes to nine different players.
“That kid can do some stuff with his legs,” Rolovich said. “He had 120 (yards) rushing? Credit to their coaching staff on how they used Dawkins. … I thought they were smart how they used him. They played to his strengths and coached to his strengths.”
Running back Nick Wilson averaged 127 yards in the Wildcats’ first two games. But he suffered an injury in the first quarter, and spent the second half with his left foot in a walking boot. Earlier in the week, No. 2 running back Orlando Bradford was dismissed from the team following his arrest on domestic-abuse accusations. The Wildcats turned to Taylor, who was a candidate to redshirt.
Taylor averaged 9.3 yards per carry. All but one of his 18 carries went for positive yards.
“He’s a tough competitor and player,” Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez said of Taylor. “He really is mature beyond his years, as far as this level of football. We’re real proud, and we need him because Nick (Wilson) is out, and we don’t know how long he’ll be out. JJ is going to have a lot of great opportunities to play a lot.”
The Warriors will have two weeks to prepare for their Mountain West opener against Nevada.
“We should be at full strength come conference,” Rolovich said. “Now it gets real. We’ll see what we’re really about.”
STATS
FIRST QUARTER
ARIZONA
>> Brandon Dawkins 24 rush. Jake
Matthews rush failed.
>> Drive: 8 plays, 88 yards, 2:39 elapsed time. Time: 9:13. Score: Arizona 6, Hawaii 0
ARIZONA
>> Dawkins 14 rush. Josh Pollack kick.
>> Drive: 6 plays, 82 yards, 1:59 elapsed time. Time: 5:00. Score: Arizona 13, Hawaii 0
ARIZONA
>> Tyrell Johnson 24 rush. Pollack kick.
>> Drive: 1 plays, 24 yards, 0:09 elapsed time. Time: 4:44. Score: Arizona 20, Hawaii 0
HAWAII
>> John Ursua 15 pass from Ikaika Woolsey. Rigo Sanchez kick.
>> Drive: 9 plays, 81 yards, 3:29 elapsed time. Time: 1:10. Score: Arizona 20, Hawaii 7
SECOND QUARTER
ARIZONA
>> Shun Brown 56 pass from Dawkins. Pollack kick.
>> Drive: 4 plays, 75 yards, 1:14 elapsed time. Time: 7:17. Score: Arizona 27, Hawaii 7
ARIZONA
>> Dawkins 6 rush. Pollack kick.
>> Drive: 9 plays, 80 yards, 3:47 elapsed time. Time: 1:44. Score: Arizona 34, Hawaii 7
THIRD QUARTER
ARIZONA
>> Pollack 27 field goal.
>> Drive: 12 plays, 81 yards, 5:28 elapsed time. Time: 9:27. Score: Arizona 37, Hawaii 7
HAWAII
>> Steven Lakalaka 1 rush. Sanchez kick.
>> Drive: 13 plays, 78 yards, 5:18 elapsed time. Time: 4:04. Score: Arizona 37, Hawaii 14
ARIZONA
>> J.J. Taylor 61 rush. Pollack kick.
>> Drive: 2 plays, 51 yards, 0:36 elapsed time. Time: 3:28. Score: Arizona 44, Hawaii 14
FOURTH QUARTER
HAWAII
>> Lakalaka 6 rush. Sanchez kick.
>> Drive: 10 plays, 67 yards, 3:27 elapsed time. Time: 14:54. Score: Arizona 44, Hawaii 21
ARIZONA
>> Pollack 28 field goal.
>> Drive: 11 plays, 61 yards, 4:52 elapsed time. Time: 10:00. Score: Arizona 47, Hawaii 21
HAWAII
>> Dru Brown 3 rush. Sanchez kick.
>> Drive: 12 plays, 74 yards, 5:27 elapsed time. Time: 4:25. Score: Arizona 47, Hawaii 28
TEAM STATISTICS
|
HAW |
ARI |
| First downs |
25 |
28 |
| Rushes-yards |
38-168 |
49-347 |
| Passing |
261 |
235 |
| Comp-Att-Int |
21-43-1 |
16-21-0 |
| Return Yards |
124 |
38 |
| Punts-Avg. |
5-44.0 |
4-41.25 |
| Fumbles-Lost |
1-1 |
1-0 |
| Penalties-Yards |
12-95 |
11-105 |
| Time of Possession |
31:36 |
28:24 |
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Hawaii: Lakalaka 16-63, Saint Juste 8-34, D.Brown 5-33, Harris 6-25, Woolsey 3-13. Arizona: J.Taylor 18-168, Dawkins 15-118, Z.Green 9-35, T.Johnson 2-27, N.Wilson 2-3, (Team) 3-(minus 4).
PASSING—Hawaii: Woolsey 11-25-1-117, D.Brown 10-18-0-144. Arizona: Dawkins 16-21-0-235.
RECEIVING—Hawaii: Kemp 6-81, Ursua 5-83, Timoteo 3-35, Lakalaka 3-14, Collie 2-27, Barker 1-11, Torres 1-10. Arizona: S.Brown 5-92, Phillips 3-35, Grant 2-17, Poindexter 1-25, J.Taylor 1-18, D.Cooper 1-15, Griffey 1-13, T.Johnson 1-12, Wood 1-8.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—None.
