Hawaii Warriors vs San Jose State Spartans

November 23rd, 2009 kNuke Posted in NCAA Football | No Comments »

The Hawaii Warriors escaped with a win, defeating the San Jose State Spartans 17-10 in OT. It was an ugly game with six total turnovers, two for Hawaii and four for San Jose State. Both teams had a chance to win the game in regulation, but failed. Leon Wright-Jackson’s 5-yard TD run in OT proved to be the difference.

Offense: Shane Austin was 28-46 for a career-high 299 yards. Austin made some poor decisions and extremely questionable throws, but he did show the ability to squeeze the ball into tough spots and make plays. I’d say that Moniz and Austin are about equal; I’m still holding out hope that the coaches truly re-evaluate the QB situation next year.

Jon Medeiros is clearly the most reliable Hawaii WR. Alex Green averages a fumble per 10-15 carries. Aaron Kia will end his career as the mostly penalized Warrior, ever. Kealoha Pilares needs to ride pine. I’m back on the LWJ bandwagon, but he needs to learn how to catch a pass. At the end of the day, 17 points is not going to get it done.

Defense: The defense played well, but let’s call a spade a spade. San Jose State is not good, not even close to good; maybe the worst team in the nation. There is almost no excuse losing to a backup Senior QB. Still, the defense came up huge causing a fumble at the end of regulation.

Special Teams: Scott Enos needs to be better; his kicks are too low. I feel like Jovonte Taylor could break one at any moment. That running into the kicker penalty could have been huge, but I liked the fact that at least they’re trying to block the kick.

Coaching: Kudos to Coach Mack for going for it on 4th and 5, but 4th and 16 is a little crazy. I’d like to have seen the offense on the field for 4th and 2. Penalties were an issue again, but coaching Aaron Kia at this point is useless. The defense was solid, 10 points is a great game. Loved the shovel passes when they were called, but the offense still needs more imagination; fade, stop-fade, menehune formation, WR-lateral pass… something exciting?

Final Word: Ugly wins are becoming Hawaii’s trademark, but the dream is still alive.

Helmet Stickers:
Jon Meideros – 10 catches for 149 yards
Lametrius Davis – 2 INTs

Side note: I missed the last two games so there are no recaps.