HONOLULU — The University of Hawaii football team performed pretty much the same old song and dance throughout last Saturday’s 20-10 loss at San Diego State: mostly solid defense, but lack of consistency on offense.
HONOLULU — The University of Hawaii football team performed pretty much the same old song and dance throughout last Saturday’s 20-10 loss at San Diego State: mostly solid defense, but lack of consistency on offense.
And the lack of consistency on offense also could be traced a familiar theme: the receivers’ inability to get open, and quarterback Ikaika Woolsey’s lack of awareness and accuracy in getting the ball to the ones who could.
The Rainbow Warriors (2-5) rank 124th out of 125 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in completion percentage, at 47.3 percent. Now past the halfway point of the season, it is clear that the passing game is not UH’s strong point. So to keep throwing the ball 31 times — as Woolsey did last Saturday — to the same receivers who are rarely wide open … does not seem like a formula for success.
But the ground game also struggled, posting a season-low 90 yards at San Diego State. And with original starting running back Joey Iosefa suspended for the next two games due to an arrest for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, the rushing attack will need to look elsewhere for help.
The offense, in general, definitely needs a spark.
That is where sophomore running back Diocemy Saint Juste and freshman receiver Keelan Ewaliko come in.
Saint Juste gained 32 yards on just six carries (5.3 ypc) last Saturday, compared to 58 yards on 16 carries (3.6 ypc) by starter Steven Lakalaka. Saint Juste has the speed and agility to bounce outside and turn the corner, which offers a good complement to Lakalaka’s inside running.
And it’s not like he is an unknown commodity: Saint Juste gained 135 yards on 17 carries in the victory over Wyoming on Oct. 11, much of it coming after Lakalaka left the game due to concussion-like symptoms.
Saint Juste will need more than six carries this Saturday against Nevada, if Hawaii is throw less. More like eight or 10 rushes, at least.
Along those same lines, it is a wonder why Ewaliko has not even had six offensive touches all season, total. The most exhilarating moment for UH during last Saturday’s loss — besides Marcus Kemp’s acrobatic touchdown catch off Woolsey’s 39-yard Hail Mary pass — was Ewaliko’s apparent 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to open the second half.
Alas, the play was nullified by a debatable holding call on Ammon Barker, but it showed that Ewaliko has what most other Rainbow Warriors are lacking: breakaway speed and the potential to turn a small play into a big one.
Lakalaka had a crucial, 30-yard third-quarter touchdown run against Northern Iowa, and Kemp and Quinton Pedroza each had long catch-and-run TDs against Wyoming. But other than that, Hawaii has had very few big plays this season, especially ones created by an individual breaking away and out-running the opponent.
Even the Hail Mary touchdown on Saturday was the result of a fortunate tip of the ball and Kemp’s alert and quick adjustment — not by him beating someone on a route.
Several weeks ago, Rainbow Warriors coach Norm Chow appeared to acknowledge Ewaliko’s game-breaking potential and indicated he would be used more. But inexplicably, Ewaliko has been mostly limited to kick returns, which he has done admirably (20 yards per return, including a 34-yarder at Rice).
His first carry of the season — a 17-yard gain on a reverse against Northern Iowa — offered the first glimpse of what his speed could do, and he scored from 11 yards out on the same play against Wyoming. But amazingly, it’s been used only one other time, for an eight-yard gain at Colorado, and Ewaliko has only touched the ball one other time (a three-yard catch) from the line of scrimmage all season.
Woolsey tried to connect with Ewaliko on a deep route on last Saturday’s final possession, but the ball was intercepted after Ewaliko slowed down mid-route. But there should be other ways to somehow take advantage of his speed.
Just as Saint Juste deserves at least eight or 10 touches this Saturday, so too does Ewaliko at least two or three on offense, whether it is that reverse play or a swing pass to get him into the open field. To not use him at all, or only once on a reverse, while the rest of the offense is struggling to make a big play … well, that would be a waste.
Ever since true freshman Devan Stubblefield was lost for the season due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament the first week of practice, Hawaii has been searching for a big-play weapon on offense, With the absence of Iosefa, that search has been intensified.
But the answers might just be right in front of Chow.
He just needs to call on Nos. 13 and 22 more often.