Aztecs Pull Out All the Stops, Still Fall Short of Hawaii, 32-30

SAN DIEGO — At least it cannot be said that the San Diego State football team won’t try just about anything in its attempt to break out of its losing ways.

The Aztecs used a halfback pass, a desperation defense culled from the dusty pages of an old University of Washington game plan and some rarely seen animated sideline behavior from Coach Denny Stolz against Hawaii Saturday night.

But as it has been for most of the season with the Aztecs, all they had to show for their spirited comeback from a 17-0 first-quarter deficit was another loss. This time it was by a score of 32-30 in front of the largest home crowd of the season, a homecoming gathering of 27,142 at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

It was Hawaii’s first victory over the Aztecs since 1984 and gave the Rainbow Warriors (5-1, 3-1) a sweep of their three Western Athletic Conference road games for the first time since 1985.

The loss was the Aztecs’ fourth in a row and dropped them to 1-5 and 1-2 in the WAC. And the frustration of the losing streak finally began to show outwardly on Stolz, who was visibly upset with officials.

When they failed to call what Stolz appeared to think should have been pass interference against Hawaii on the last play before the half, he was so anxious to get a loud word in with them that he became entangled in his headset wires as he attempted to get quickly across the field. Once freed, he shouted at the officials all the way along their walk to the runway.

The toughest call might have been late in the game. After the Aztecs scored to draw within 32-23, officials ruled a 2-point attempt no good because Patrick Rowe was out of bounds when he made the catch. Stolz’s anger again appeared to flare.

The play took on even greater significance when Hawaii’s Jamey Collins fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and the Aztecs’ Keith Owens recovered.

Two plays later, quarterback Brad Platt passed 14 yards to Monty Gilbreath for the touchdown. Tyler Ackerson added the extra point to draw the Aztecs to within 32-30 with 3:29 left.

But the comeback that began after Hawaii freshman Jason Elam kicked the last of his four field goals--a career-best 48-yarder with 6:49 to play for a 32-17 lead--fell short when linebacker David Maeva intercepted Platt’s pass at the SDSU 37 with 50 seconds left. The ball slipped through Gilbreath’s grasp and into Maeva’s.

It was the third interception of Platt and the second that had been tipped first by an Aztec. Platt finished 22 of 31 for 221 yards and 2 touchdowns.

The interception ended what was the best Aztec rally of the season and left Stolz jogging across the field to meet referee Guy Gibbs. Stolz could be seen pointing to the end zone, still discussing a disputed call as the two men walked together off the field.

The Aztecs lost despite the first 100-yard game from tailback Paul Hewitt since he rushed for 259 yards in a 39-36 victory over Air Force. Hewitt finished with 105 yards on 22 carries and added his first Aztec touchdown pass on a first-quarter option play.

Hewitt’s pass was one of several chances the Aztecs took. But their biggest gamble might have been their new defense.

Beset by injuries that left starting cornerbacks Mario Mitchell and Clark Moses on the bench with sprained ankles and several other players at less than their best, the Aztecs scrapped their usual 3-4 defensive front.

SDSU opened in a modified 4-2 with two down linemen, two stand-up ends, two linebackers and five defensive backs. The alignment was one defensive coordinator Ed Schmidt had seen when he was a graduate assistant at Washington.

The Huskies, decimated by injuries themselves, turned to the defense in a time of need. The result was an upset victory over USC and an eventual trip to the Rose Bowl.

The goals and results were more modest Saturday night.

Hawaii quarterback Warren Jones gave the Aztecs trouble in the air and on the ground. He completed 10 of 15 passes for 177 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for Hawaii’s first 2 touchdowns.

Still, the 32 points allowed was the Aztecs’ second-best of the season, behind the 31 they gave up in a loss at Stanford Sept. 17. And it might have turned out much better for the Aztecs had they not fallen behind early once again.

Just when it seemed they could not find another way to bury themselves early in the first quarter, the Aztecs came up with a new twist against the Rainbow Warriors.

This time, offensive mistakes did them in. SDSU turned the ball over on three of its first four possessions. Platt threw 2 interceptions, both of which were returned to the Aztec 7-yard line, and Hewitt, who rarely fumbles, lost the ball for the first time this season.

The result was that the Aztecs trailed, 17-0, with 4:01 left in the quarter.

It was the third consecutive game in which the opponent scored three times before the Aztecs scored once. And each time, SDSU found a different way to self-destruct.

Two weeks ago, Oregon scored its first two touchdowns when SDSU had only 10 men on the field, and the Aztecs got off two short punts; the Ducks took a 21-0 lead. Last week, Wyoming jumped ahead, 21-0, as the Aztec defense was simply overrun.

This time the damage was quick and costly.

On the Aztecs’ first series, Platt threw a short third-down pass to fullback Jim Jennings. The ball bounced off Jennings’ hands and to Hawaii cornerback Michael Coulson, who returned the interception 37 yards to the SDSU 7.

This normally would have been a time for Hawaii running back Heikoti Fakava, who entered the game with 9 touchdowns. But Fakava did not start and played sparingly because of bruised ribs sustained the week before in a 42-25 loss to Texas El Paso.

That left the finishing touches to Jones, who scored on a 6-yard draw for the first of his two first-quarter touchdowns.

Hawaii wasted no time getting the ball back when Platt threw his second interception on third play of the next series. This time it was free safety Walter Briggs, a quarterback last year, who intercepted a pass Platt threw just before he was hit by a rushing defender.

Briggs returned the ball 26 yards to the SDSU 7. Jones ran for his second touchdown on the next play, giving Hawaii a 14-0 lead.

After an exchange of punts, the Aztecs again gave up the ball, this time on Hewitt’s fumble at the Hawaii 36. The Rainbow Warriors drove to the SDSU 18 before settling for a 34-yard field goal by Elam.

Unlike their earlier losses, the Aztecs began to get back into the game. They scored touchdowns on each of their next two possessions, the first with a bit of razzle-dazzle.

Hewitt, known for his scoring prowess, was at the other end of the Aztecs’ first touchdown. He took a pitch from Platt, pulled up and threw 32 yards into the end zone to Rowe. It was the first completion in three Aztec tries for Hewitt, a former option quarterback in high school. SDSU trailed, 17-7, with 1:47 left in the first quarter.

It was also the first time in three games that the Aztecs had scored in the first quarter. For the season, they have been outscored, 94-17, in the first period.

The Aztecs’ second touchdown came on their longest drive of the game, 73 yards in 12 plays and ending on Platt’s 1-yard sneak. Suddenly, SDSU was within 17-14 with 9:23 left in the half.

But Hawaii ended the Aztecs’ hopes of a quick comeback when they added 9 points on their next two drives. Elam kicked another 34-yard field goal with 5 minutes left, and Jones threw a 12-yard touchdown pass wide receiver Chris Roscoe with 43 seconds to play in the half.

The teams exchanged field goals to open the second half. Hawaii scored on Elam’s 30-yarder and Ackerson answered with a 36-yarder to make it 29-17.

Aztec Notes

San Diego State outside linebacker Kevin Maultsby left the game in the first half with a shoulder injury. . . . SDSU receiver Monty Gilbreath caught a 5-yard pass in the first quarter to extend to 20 games the streak in which he has caught at least one pass. The school record of 23 was set by Chris Hardy in 1986. Gilbreath started at split end in place of injured lfred Jackson (dislocated finger)