‘Bows turn road woes into a road whoa

RENO, NEV. >> On the final day of daylight saving time, the Hawaii football turned back the clock.

The Rainbow Warriors resurrected a back-in-the-day style of cold-blooded offensive efficiency and defensive hunger for a 27-14 victory over Nevada.

“It was a slugfest,” running back Landon Sims.

In helping Timmy Chang win his first road game since being hired as head coach in January 2022, the Warriors obliterated the memory of the previous week’s debacle, when they did not reach the red zone or deny third-down conversions. But on a relatively balmy afternoon on the Sierra Nevada Range, the Warriors mixed a physical ground attack with businesslike passing, and unleashed multiple blitzes without a safety net. Matthew Shipley also connected on two 50-yard field goals.

“Coach Chang is always saying: ‘What type of team do you want to be?’” quarterback Brayden Schager said. “We chose to be the team that digs deep and fights.”

The Warriors, who improved to 3-7 overall and 1-4 in the Mountain West, faced an opponent that won two in a row and appeared to have growing confidence in its defense. But the Warriors, who were outscored 97-24 in the first quarter of their first nine games, changed Saturday’s strategy. Suspecting they had been victims of sign-stealing this season, the Warriors huddled every down, calling plays that were encrypted on wrist bands. It was a two-fold tactic allowing the Warriors to focus on each play and slow the Wolf Pack’s aggressive pass rush.

The Warriors employed run/pass-option plays — with Sims hitting holes opened by zone blocks and Schager taking off on misdirection keepers and scrambles.

“I took some hits, I gave some hits,” said Sims, who averaged 5.9 yards on 11 carries. “Today I was definitely a downhill runner. At the end of the day, that’s my identity. I’m going to try to run guys over. I’m going to try to get that 4-plus yards every carry.”

With the Wolf Pack swarming toward Sims, that opened the way for Schager to fire to all levels within the snap-to-throw goal of 2.3 seconds. Aiming at a window as narrow as a loaf of bread, Schager lasered a 26-yard scoring pass to slotback Pofele Ashlock, who ran a slant route, for a 17-0 lead with 17 seconds left in the second quarter. It was the Warriors’ first halftime lead since Oct. 22, 2022, a span of 15 games.

Schager and Ashlock connected on an identical scoring play, this one covering 5 yards, to make it 24-7 in the third quarter.

“Hey, it’s the Texas connection,” Ashlock said of his fellow Lone Star State product. “We always talk about being on the same page. That play, we were.”

Their best connection was when Schager lobbed a pass over a defender to hit Ashlock in full stride on a crossing route. “It’s just the chemistry me and Fele are creating on and off the field,” Schager said.

Chang, who calls the offensive plays, said Schager was “seeing it.” When Sims was trudging for a first down, Schager joined in the so-called “tush push.” It was that group scrum that helped Schager gain a first down on a fourth-and-1 keeper.

“We slowed the game down, and tried to execute efficiently,” Chang said. “As the guys keep getting it and understanding it, we can become more balanced.”

The Pack could not counter against the Warriors’ heat-seeking defense. Nevada’s three first-quarter drives ended in two punts and a lost fumble. The Warriors were in a zone on those plays. After that, defensive coordinator Jacob Yoro lifted the restraints.

“I thought it was time to bring it,” Yoro said.

Instead of keeping two safeties back as, well, a safety net, Yoro began calling for cover-zero in which as many as seven defenders flooded the tackle box or the backfield.

“Everybody was blitzing, and the guys who were out were covering (receivers one-on-one),” safety Peter Manuma said. “No safety help. No nothing. It’s a gamble, but why not gamble when you’re in Nevada?”

The Warriors had six sacks and forced two turnovers that were parlayed into a touchdown and a field goal.

Brendon Lewis, a dual-threat quarterback, was bullied into 1-for-9 passing. He gained only 11 yards on scrambles. Saint Louis School graduate AJ Bianco had modest success on quarterback scrambles but was sacked six times.

On a fourth-and-goal from the UH 9 in the fourth quarter, Bianco thew incomplete while trying to dodge a seven-man attack. Later, Bianco also threw incomplete on fourth-and-2.

UH defensive end Elijah Robinson, who worked his way into the rotation last week, had two sacks. Defensive tackle Ezra Evaimalo used his quickness to elude blockers.

“We let it rip today,” said defensive tackle Andrew Choi, who had six tackles, including a share of a sack, and sealed the edge. “Our coaches did a great job emphasizing what we needed to do.”

Yoro said: “Every week, it’s a different game plan. Situationally, everything changes. But those (cover-zero blitzes) are all on the call sheet. It’s a matter of the flow of the game, understanding what kind of quarterback we’re playing against. This was a game, I felt, after the first quarter, we were going to cut it loose.”

But in the second half, after cornerback Virdel Edwards broke up a pass, he was flagged for talking to the receiver. When he pleaded his case to an official, he received a second unsportsmanlike penalty, resulting in an ejection. Edwards will not be suspended for any portion of the coming game against Air Force.

Chang experienced mixed emotions as the clock struck “0:00.” Chang coached Nevada’s receivers and tight ends for four years through 2021. After the game, several Wolf Pack players embraced their former coach.

Asked about the reunion, Chang said, “It’s the same I felt when I coached here (at Nevada). I didn’t like to play the University of Hawaii. In my heart, in my gut, I didn’t. And I feel the same way about playing Nevada. The bad thing is one wins, one loses. It’s part of it.”