Hawaii football team plays spoilers against New Mexico State

LAS CRUCES, N.M. >> The University of Hawaii football team went a long way from home — 3,205 miles — to ruin New Mexico State’s homecoming.

The Rainbow Warriors overcame self-inflicted mistakes and sloshy weather to power their way to a 41-21 victory at Aggie Memorial Stadium.

“It was a great team win,” UH coach Todd Graham said. “Anytime you can make mistakes and win … I like the fight of this team. I was very pleased with them. I was proud of them.”

The Aggies closed to 31-21 when quarterback Jonah Johnson, who did not play in the previous game because of a wrist injury, scored on a 2-yard keeper with 10:20 to play. But the Warriors regained a cushion on Matthew Shipley’s 41-yard field goal with 6:52 to go. After that, the red sea of 13,932 fans departed, including NMSU’s marching band.

“They shouldn’t have scheduled us for homecoming,” said multi-purpose player Calvin Turner, who noticed the vacated stands where the band had played. “That’s crazy when I saw that.”

For the Warriors, it was an ensemble performance. They amassed 215 rushing yards, including another play-rewind-play touchdown from Turner. Turner got the ball on a jet sweep to the left, found a dead end, made a U-ey, and eluded four would-be tacklers en route to a 14-yard touchdown.

“It just happened,” Turner said of his improvisational run. “I can’t tell you how it happened, I’m in the mood of the game, and nothing was happening (on the left side), so I happened to go the other way.”

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In the fourth quarter, when Turner took the snap as the wildcat quarterback, the Aggies shifted after he took steps to the right. Turner gave the ball to Dedrick Parson, who ran around left end for a 19-yard touchdown.

“That was all DP,” Turner said. “I handed him the ball, and he did his thing.”

The Warriors entered the game with a feisty attitude. When the Aggies settled for Ethan Albertson’s 33-yard field goal after their opening drive stalled at the UH 13, the Warriors called and then raised the stakes. In a one-play scoring drive that spanned 10 seconds, Chevan Cordeiro connected with wideout Nick Mardner for 74 yards. The Aggies were in a 4-2 alignment, with cornerback Syrus Duman protecting the flats. That left safety Caleb Mills to circle back to cut off the go route along the left sideline.

“I just beat him to the spot,” Mardner said.

Cordeiro said: “The hardest throw is when a guy’s wide open. You need to hit him. Nick got open.”

The pass was true, and Mardner sprinted the final 31yards for a 7-3 lead the Warriors would not relinquish. Cordeiro completed all six of his first-quarter throws.

UH’s defense showed tough elasticity. In the first half, the Aggies were forced to attempt field goals on three of four red-zone drives. In turn, the Warriors scored a defensive touchdown to extend their lead to 17-3 in the second quarter.

Under pressure, Johnson tried to throw to running back O’Maury Samuels on the right side. Quentin Frazier, blitzing from the hybrid position, deflected what was determined to be a lateral. The ball was scooped by cornerback Cameron Lockridge at the NMSU 5. Lockridge sprinted into the end zone. After a quick reiew, the officials upheld the lateral ruling and accompanying touchdown.

“It was a lateral,” Graham said. “I’m proud of (the defensive players). They played to the whistle. The ball was thrown quick. I knew (the officials) shouldn’t have reversed it. It was a good play.”

But during the intermission, Graham was miffed the Warriors had several defensive lapses. NMSU tight end Thomaz Whitford repeatedly broke free with football’s version of the screen-and-roll. Whitford would engage with a defender, then curl to daylight. Whitford had six catches for 88 yards. The Aggies also found space on weak-side runs in the first half.

“We got that corrected at halftime, and stopped it,” said Graham, who makes the defensive calls. He also said the Warriors were slow to adjust when the Aggies ran the two-minute tempo that resulted in Johnson’s touchdown keeper. “I thought we got too soft,” Graham said. “We’ve got to run the defense.”

But those were glitches in an otherwise gritty effort. Linebacker Darius Muasau, who made a team-high 11 tackles, appeared to be refreshed by the second-half rain.

“It brought back memories,” said Muasau, a Mililani High alumnus. “You know how the rain is in Mililani, and how the weather can be sometimes. It was good to play in conditions like that again. When it’s rainy, you see more run plays than passes.”

Khoury Bethley came up with a strip-and-recovery play. With safety Chima Azunna unavailable because of an ailment, Eugene Ford moved to safety and Bethley played the hybrid safety-linebacker position. “Khoury’s done well,” Graham said. “He’s been a great leader for us on defense.”

The Warriors held the Aggies to 3.0 yards per carry in the second half.

It was fitting the Warriors ended the Aggies’ final possession with Lockridge’s interception with 29 seconds to play.

“It’s tough to win on the road,” Graham said. “To win — and the way we finished strong at the end — I like how our guys took charge. We had great effort. It was a great team win.”