Hawaii Warriors vs. Nevada Wolfpack | Football | November 15, 2003

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**Joined in progress during the 2nd quarter

RENO, Nev- The Hawaii Warriors filed out of gloomy Mackay Stadium yesterday afternoon, heads down, trying to ignore a chorus of jeers.

"Aloha means good-bye, aloha means good-bye, aloha means good-bye," one parka-wearing Nevada fan chirped with glee, again and again.

A couple of the UH players flashed smiles and shakas in sarcastic response, but most realized they really had no room to do anything but keep moving on the first leg of a long, sad trip home after a 24-14 loss.

"The weather had nothing to do with this," Hawaii senior defensive tackle Lance Samuseva said after contributing six tackles to the losing effort. "They just did a good job on both sides of the ball and it was a well-deserved win."

One positive about the Warriors is they don't point fingers after losses, at least publicly. But you couldn't blame the defense if it did after yesterday.

For the second game in a row, the run-and-shoot ran and hid. This time Hawaii didn't escape with a zebra-aided win like at San Jose State, and the Wolf Pack dealt a possible death blow to UH's hopes for a Western Athletic Conference championship.

The Warriors (6-4, 5-2 WAC) scored only one offensive touchdown as the 3-point underdog Wolf Pack (6-5, 4-3) harassed UH quarterback Tim Chang all afternoon and produced more than enough on offense to break a three-game losing streak while snapping Hawaii's four-win run.

"We're so much better than what we showed," junior receiver Chad Owens said. "Again offensively, we didn't put it in the end zone. To get shut out in the first half is so disappointing."

It wasn't for lack of effort by Owens, who finished the game with 12 catches (matching his own school record) for 164 yards and a 38-yard touchdown reception from Chang that gave UH a 7-6 lead at 10:38 of the third quarter.

And 11 game-clock seconds later, when Travis LaBoy scooped and scored on a Nevada fumble from 16 yards out, it appeared the Warriors might roll over the Wolf Pack.

But UH didn't keep control long enough to even consider that. Two quick TDs and a field goal later in the period gave Nevada the lead, and it never lost the momentum again.

Chance Kretschmer (73 yards on 16 carries) jumped into the end zone from 1 yard out with 6:17 to go in the third, capping a 10-play, 80-yard drive.

One play later, defensive tackle Derek Kennard Jr. intercepted a Chang pass tipped by teammate Carl LaGrone Jr., and ran 11 yards for a score and the biggest play of the game. Nevada led 18-14 after missing on a pair of 2-point conversion tries. But Damon Fine was fine on field goals, making four of five to aid in the win. Meanwhile, UH kicker Justin Ayat continued to struggle, missing field-goal tries of 30 and 48 yards.

Hawaii coach June Jones stated the obvious afterward.

"We played well enough on defense to win. We just didn't get it done on offense," he said. "We didn't pass-protect well enough, didn't run-block well enough, didn't throw well enough. There was a lot of good effort, but we didn't execute."

Constant pressure on Chang hurt the Warriors, too. He was sacked three times and hurried continually.

Hawaii's frustrations began early, as UH took the opening kickoff and drove from its 14 to the Nevada 12 in 15 plays -- only to see Ayat miss a 30-yard field-goal attempt. UH's next possession reached the Wolf Pack 27, but also resulted in a bust when Chang misfired on fourth-and-5.

The Warriors' defense for the most part contained Kretschmer, who dominated with 162 punishing rushing yards when Nevada beat UH here 28-20 two years ago.

But Wolf Pack quarterback Andy Heiser did a savvy job selling play-action fakes, getting his team into range for Fine field goals of 28 and 43 yards and a 6-0 halftime lead.

Heiser, who completed 15 of 30 passes for 169 yards, didn't look quite as good on the first drive after the break.

After he was sacked by Mel Purcell, setting up third-and-long, Heiser threw a ball up for grabs that UH's Abraham Elimimian caught and ran 15 yards to the Nevada 39, setting up the Chang-to-Owens TD on the next play.

Then LaBoy scored his first UH touchdown when Heiser dropped the ball and LaBoy got a good FieldTurf bounce in stride.

Heiser quickly regained his composure to mount the steady drive ending in Kretschmer's score.

After Kennard's six points, Keone Kauo forced John West to fumble, and Daryl Towns recovered for Nevada. Fine took advantage with a 25-yard field goal to make it 21-14 with 1:58 still left in the third quarter.

Towns' interception of Chang with 10:51 left in the game wasn't the absolute end for UH. But on the heels of Fine's final 3-pointer, this one from 23 yards, the 10-point lead seemed like 100, taking into account Hawaii failed to make up similar late-game deficits at UNLV and Tulsa earlier this season.

As it has happened in all four of UH's losses this season, the Warriors could not answer a big defensive play by the opponents.