Oct. 6, 2013
Honolulu, Hawaii-----There were freshmen of impact on both sides of the ball in San Jose State's first Mountain West Conference win in school history - a 37-27 victory at the University of Hawaii.
For the first time in recent memory, San Jose State (2-3, 1-1 Mountain West) had three freshmen, redshirt freshmen tight end Billy Freeman and running back Jarrod Lawson and true freshman wide receiver Tyler Winston score touchdowns for the Spartans.
Three more freshmen, running backs Tim Crawley and Thomas Tucker and linebacker Christian Tago, played key roles in the victory to end a three-game losing streak.
For the first time this season, San Jose State showed it could overcome a deficit, take a lead and close out a victory. The Spartans trailed 14-3 late in the first quarter, scored 31 unanswered points from the end of the first through nearly the end of the third quarter and came up with enough big plays in the second half to preserve the win.
SEASON HIGHS IN RUSHING YARDS, TOTAL OFFENSE & TAKEAWAYS
San Jose State racked up season-highs of 216 yards rushing and 534 yards of total offense. For nearly three quarters, it was a quick-strike, big-play attack.
Chandler Jones started the comeback with a 61-yard touchdown catch-and-run with the Spartans trailing, 14-3. Jones ran a crossing route, split two Hawaii defenders, took a bullet from David Fales and ran the last 40 yards untouched.
Though Fales completed less than 50 percent of his passes for the first time in a San Jose State uniform, he made good on a 35-yard scoring pass to tight end Billy Freeman, who was wide open down the middle. It simply was a case of the Spartan quarterback who still passed for 316 yards and three touchdowns making the connection and he did giving San Jose State a 17-14 advantage.
Then, it was Jarrod Lawson's turn with a 39 yard run through the right side of the Spartans' line for a 27-14 halftime lead. The freshmen trio of Crawley, Lawson and Tucker combined for 45 carries for 230 yards and a touchdown. Lawson gained 89 yards on 12 carries; Crawley 93 on 21 attempts and Tucker, 48 on 12 rushes, all in the second half.
THREE FIELD GOALS BY LOPEZ
In between, Austin Lopez converted two of his three field goals in the first half. His 44-yarder on the first possession of the game was good for a 3-0 advantage. Then, Lopez connected on a personal best 51-yard try that hit the crossbar and bounced over. He later connected on a 37-yard try that closed out San Jose State's scoring with 12:21 left in the game.
Hawaii stayed in the game in the second half with a pair of Sean Schroeder touchdown passes of 28 and 50 yards to wide receivers Chris Gant and Billy Ray Stutzmann to keep the Rainbow Warriors (0-5, 0-3 Mountain West) within striking distance. Despite Schroeder and back-up Ikaika Woolsey combining to throw for 386 yards, San Jose State came up with a season-high three interceptions and four takeaways overall.
San Jose State stays on the road next week taking on Colorado State, October 12, in a 1:30 p.m. (CDT) start.