Lobos’ late charge Not Enough in Loss to Hawai'i

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 (10/26/2019) FB vs Hawai’iALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — New Mexico made a furious comeback effort, but in the end it wasn’t enough.  Hawai’i scored on four of its five offensive possessions and also added a 14-yard interception return for another score as Hawai’i raced to a 32-point halftime lead and defeated New Mexico 45-31 to spoil UNM’s 95^th Homecoming game.  The win ended a seven-game losing streak to UNM by the Rainbow Warriors.
 
New Mexico dropped to 2-6 overall and 0-4 in conference play, while Hawai’i ended a two-game losing streak and moved to 5-3 overall and 2-2 in the Mountain West.
 
New Mexico was down 35-3 at the half and 45-10 with 9:16 left in the fourth quarter before a furious rally that saw UNM score three times in the just 3:13 and then get picked off at the 3-yard line in trying to get within a score with under two minutes left.
 
The highlight for UNM was the play of Ahmari Davis, who rushed for a career-high 200 yards, the 14^th time UNM has had a 200-yar rusher, and the 10th individual overall.  It was UNM’s second straight home game with a runner going for at least 190 yards.  Davis had a career-long 66-yard touchdown in the third quarter along with a long 39-yard run that set up UNM’s first points of the game.  Davis has run for at least 100 yards in all three home games that he has played.
 
Down 45-10 in the fourth after a 9-yard touchdown pass from Chevan Cordiero to Lincoln Victor with 9:16 to go, UNM began the comeback.  Tevaka Tuioti hit Anselem Umeh for a 40-yard pass to the 19 yard line, and Davis ran it in on the next play to make the score 45-17.
 

Q4 | TOUCHDOWN LOBOS! Jordan Kress for the 3rd Lobo TD of the quarter! 45-31 Hawaii with 4:05 left#GoLobos pic.twitter.com/CmPpym9jiw

— New Mexico Football (@UNMLoboFB) October 26, 2019

Hawai’i took over at it’s 28 after a fair catch, and on fourth-and-one at its own 37, Rainbow Warrior head coach Nick Rolovich rolled the dice, and it came up snake eyes.  Devin Sanders and Brandon Burton broke through for a tackle for loss, and then Hawai’i was hit with a personal foul and UNM started at the 21.  After a touchdown was wiped out on a penalty for UNM, Tuioti hit Anu Somoye for a 9-yard score and with 4:41 left, it was 45-24.
 
Hawai’i opted to not run the ball, and went three-and-out, taking just 15 seconds off the clock.  UNM took over after a punt and Tuioti hit Jordan Kress for a 59-yard touchdown on the first play, and with 4:03 left a once insurmountable lead was whittled to two scores.  UNM almost cut it further when on second down McDonald’s pass went in and out of the hands of Letayveon Beaton, who had room to run on a return.
 
UNM got it back with 2:25 to go, and drove to the Hawai’i 28 before Ikem Okeke picked off Tuioti at the three to end it.
 
Davis’s 66-yard touchdown to open UNM’s second half scoring was set up by UNM’s second interception of the season.  Erin Austin, a defensive lineman, stunted after a blitzed and dropped into overage, and he snatched Cole McDonald’s pass out of the air and ran it back nine yards.  Davis then took it from there, bursting through the line, shaking a tackler and racing the 66 yards for UNM’s only score of the third quarter.
 
Hawai’i, known for its run-and-shoot, high-flying passing offense, scored three rushing touchdowns in the first half.  The first came on its second offensive play quarterback Cole McDonald, who is known more for his arm than his legs, surprised everyone with a quarterback keeper around the end that went for a 76-yard touchdown.
 

Q3| TOUCHDOWN LOBOS!! Ahmari Davis with the 67-yard run into the endzone! 35-10 Hawaii with 11:02 left in the third#GoLobos pic.twitter.com/CDon4tQIlC

— New Mexico Football (@UNMLoboFB) October 26, 2019

UNM was able to answer with a 39-yard Andrew Shelley field goal, but UNM couldn’t score again in the half, despite only one drive ending in a punt.
 
Down 7-3 and deep inside its own territory, UNM’s offense gave up a score when a pass intended for Cedric Patterson III was tipped and caught for an interception by Solomon Matautia, who ran it back 14 yards to make it 14-3.
 
Cole McDonald finally used his arm for a score on a 54-yard touchdown pass to Kumoku Noa to make it 21-3, and then McDonald got his second rushing touchdown at the 8:50 mark of the second quarter to make it 28-3.  The Rainbow Warriors added a 1-yard touchdown with just 33 seconds left in the half to make it 35-3 at the break.
 
Backup quarterback Chevan Cordeiro threw a fourth quarter touchdown pass to Lincoln Victor to make it 45-10, and that’s when UNM’s comeback attempt began.

 
Postgame Notes:  Hawai’i 45, New Mexico 31
 
This was the 25th meeting between the two teams.
Hawai’i now leads 15-10
Series is tied 4-4 Albuquerque
Hawai’i leads 11-6 in Honolulu
Hawai’i has now won one straight in the series
Hawai’i has now won one in a row in Albuquerque
 
Starting lineup changes for UNM from published two-deep
Offense: Eric Beilman started as a second TE for Emmanuel Logan-Greene.  David Zavala started at left guard for Chris Estrella.
Defense: Brandon Burton started as a sixth DB for DE Trent Sellers.
                                                                                                                          
*New Mexico’s captains were Alex Hart, Kyle Stapley and Trent Sellers
*UNM won the toss and received. The Hawai’i kicked off to start the game, defending the south goal.  UNM is now 4-4 on the coin toss.
*Josh Woisin was the New Mexico Man and carried the flag onto the field.  It was his first honor.
 
TEAM NOTES:
*UNM suffered its second pick six of the season when Tevaka Tuioti was intercepted on a tipped pass and it was returned 14 yards by Solomon Matautia. 
*Davis’ 100-yard game was the fifth this season by a Lobo, with four of those coming at home.
*Hawai’i threw for 323 yards, becoming the seventh team this season (of eight) to throw for at least 300 yards in a game against UNM.
*Hawai’i gained 578 yards of total offense, the second-highest allowed by UNM this season.  Notre Dame had 591.
*New Mexico’s 500 yards of offense was its second 500-yard game of the season after getting 598 against New Mexico State.
*UNM’s seven pass breakups were the second-most in a game this season.
 
INDIVIDUAL NOTES:
*Andrew Shelley opened the scoring for UNM with a 39-yard field goal.  It was his first attempt in the 30 to 39-yard range this season.
*Ahmari Davis’ 198 yards was a career-high, and his 66-yard touchdown was a career-long rush.  Davis now has 543+ yards rushing on the season.  His 198 was the 14^th-most by a Lobo in school history.
*Davis’ two touchdowns gave him a team-leading six on the season.
*De’John Rogers had a career-high three pass breakups and he is now tied for the team lead with Donte Martin with seven each.
*Jacobi Hearn recorded a sack to give him 6.0 on the season, tying for the second-most in the Bob Davie era behind Garrett Hughes, who had 6.5 in 2016 through 13 games.
*Bryson Carroll had three kickoff returns for 128 yards and is now averaging 35.0 yards per return.  That number would top the previous single-season best mark of 34.7 by the great Don Perkins, set in 1959.
*Two of Tyson Dyer’s three punts were downed inside the 20, giving him 25 on the season out of 39 punts.
*Jordan Kress had his second 100-yard game of the season receiving, the first Lobo to accomplish that since Deon Long did it twice in the first four games of the 2011 season.