After suffering a 33-14 loss against the Oregon State Beavers in Corvallis, Ore., on Sept. 7, the Hawaii Warriors are back in action Saturday as they face the Nevada Wolfpack at 2:05 p.m. in Reno, Nev., at Mackay Stadium. The
After suffering a 33-14 loss against the Oregon State Beavers in Corvallis, Ore., on Sept. 7, the Hawaii Warriors are back in action Saturday as they face the Nevada Wolfpack at 2:05 p.m. in Reno, Nev., at Mackay Stadium.
The Warriors, who sit at 0-2 on the season, will be opening up Mountain West Conference play and will be looking to play all four quarters this time around.
In their matchup against the Beavers, the Warriors mustered 14 first-half points, matching Oregon State’s point total for a halftime tie.
But while the Warriors kept stride with the Beavers in the opening half, things got out of hand in the second.
The Beavers scored two touchdowns in the third quarter to separate the two teams, 28-14. The Warriors didn’t answer the rest of the game as Oregon State tacked on a field goal and safety in the fourth to bring the final score to 33-14.
Hawaii’s offense struggled again, going for just 239 total yards and completing only one first down in 11 third down tries.
Although the Warriors defense put some points on the board with a interception return in the second quarter, they didn’t do much better.
The Warriors’ D gave up 508 total yards and allowed the Beavers to convert eight third downs on 19 attempts and three of four fourth-down attempts.
While the Warriors won’t be playing a team ranked in the nation’s top 25 on Saturday, they will still have their hands full against their long-time rivals from Reno.
Holding a record of 1-2, the Wolfpack’s two losses have come against the No. 13 UCLA Bruins and the No. 8 Florida State Seminoles.
Though it’s tough to measure just how good the Wolfpack are with their only win coming against the 0-3 UC Davis Aggies, there is no denying that they will ready to play against the Warriors.
Saturday’s matchup will be the 14th straight year that the Warriors and Wolfpack face off and their second matchup since both teams joined the Mountain West Conference back in 2012.
Nevada holds the overall series lead against Hawaii, which dates back to 1920, nine to eight.
The Wolfpack are seven point favorites against the Warriors and are carrying a two-game winning streak into Saturday’s game against Hawaii.
Saturday’s game will be broadcasted on Oceanic Pay-Per-View (Digital Ch. 255) and ESPN 1420 AM.
• Tyson Agbayani, sports writer, can be reached at 245-0437 or tagbayani@thegardenisland.com.
