Irish Escape Hawaii With Bowl Status Intact

November 29, 1997

Notre Dame at Hawaii Final Stats

By Brian Lucas, The Scholastic 1997 Football Review

They had come so far in the past month and a half. Four consecutive victories, including two over top-25 teams, had put them in position for a bowl invitation. All that lay between the Notre Dame football team and a holiday excursion were the lowly Hawaii Rainbow Warriors, 3-8 overall and losers of five straight. But as Irish fans have learned this season, nothing can be taken for granted.

With 13:39 left in the game, the ‘Bows held a 22-14 lead and Notre Dame’s bowl hopes were on the line. Aloha Stadium, only three-quarters full, seemed more intimidating than Death Valley, and the Irish appeared confused. Things looked bleak, but the players remained positive. “We were going to go down and score,” Powlus said. “I never thought, ‘Oh my God, we could not score, we could lose this game.’ I had complete confidence in the team.”

Autry Denson, who rushed for 143 yards, provided the spark that began the comeback. With a first-and-10 near midfield, the junior took the handoff and burst up the middle for 43 yards before he was dragged down at the 9-yard line. Three plays later, Denson scored his second touchdown and brought the Irish within two. The two­ point conversion failed as Powlus’ pass to Bobby Brown went off the diving receiver’s fingertips. With just over 11 minutes remain­ing, Notre Dame found itself in a familiar position, trailing late in the game and in need of a defensive stop. And as has been the case many times this year, the defense responded.  

Hawaii had three possessions after Denson’s touchdown but failed to get a first down. “To the credit of our defense, they found a way late in that game to force Hawaii to punt,” Notre Dame Head Coach Bob Davie said. “That was critical, obviously.”

On Hawaii’s final punt the Rainbows committed a costly 15-yard face mask penalty that put the ball on the Hawaii 49 with 2:20 remaining. The Irish offense didn’t seem to be in much of a hurry. Losing 7 yards on the first two plays, they faced a third-and-17.

In dire need of a big play, the Irish got one. With his offensive line providing good protection, Powlus stepped back in the pocket and delivered a perfect pass to Raki Nelson, who was streaking across the middle. Nelson didn’t have to break stride and wasn’t brought down until he reached the 9-yard line. “Raki was the third look,” Powlus said. “He ran a great route. I got some time to throw it. Again, it’s making a play when we had to.”

Three straight runs by Denson moved the Irish to the 3-yard line. From the right hash mark, senior Scott Cengia nailed the 20-yarder to give the Irish their fourth late-game comeback of the season and a 23-22 victory. “I’m really proud of the way our team came back,” Davie said. “I thought that if there was a way, our players would pull it out because the attitude on that sideline was steady.”

Notre Dame’s play on the field was anything but steady for the first three quarters, however. The Irish started the game in resounding fashion. On Hawaii’s first play from scrimmage, cornerback Allen Rossum stepped in front of quarterback Josh Skinner’s pass and returned it 37 yards for a touchdown. Notre Dame appeared to geared for a rout, but the offense did not follow Rossum’s lead. The Irish scored only seven offensive points in the first 48 minutes of the game.

“Once again we shot ourselves in the foot at times,” Davie said.”We just didn’t play real well offensively but we played well enough to win the game.”

After Rossum’s touchdown, both teams wasted drives. Notre Dame punter Hunter Smith pinned Hawaii back at its own 11 where the Rainbows started their first scor­ing drive. Under the direction of senior Tim Carey, who replaced Skinner after the starter was injured, Hawaii drove 89 yards and capped it off with a 1-yard touchdown run by Charles Tharp. Eric Hannum missed the extra point, allowing the Irish to hold on to a one-point lead.

Notre Dame’s offense responded with a long drive of its own, going 80 yards (70 on the ground) in 12 plays before a 12-yard touchdown run by Denson put Notre Dame ahead 14-6.

On Hawaii’s next possession, the Rain­bows cut that lead to five with a 23-yard field goal following an apparent pass inter­ference on the Irish that, if called, could have given the ‘Bows a touchdown.

Neither team could move the ball on their final possessions of the half, so the Irish took a five-point lead into the locker room. Though they held the lead, Hawaii domi­nated on the stat sheet. The ‘Bows held the advantage in first downs, total yards and time of possession.. The most interesting statistic may have been Powlus’ halftime line: one completion, three attempts, 10 yards. “We wanted to establish the running game so we weren’t throwing the ball, re­ally,” Powlus said. “It’s hard to get in a rhythm when that happens.”

That showed in the second half as the Irish reverted to an early-season trend of third-quarter struggles. The opening drive of the second half stalled near midfield and Hunter Smith came on and pinned Hawaii at its 12-yard line with a 39-yard punt. The Irish defense continued its bend-but-don’t­ break policy as the Rainbows drove to the Notre Dame 28 but couldn’t get any closer.

Hannum kicked a low, line-drive 45-yard field goal that somehow made it through the uprights and pulled the Rainbows within two.

After Notre Dame went three-and-out, Smith’s punt was partially blocked and downed at the Notre Dame 46. With most of the 35,177 people in Aloha Stadium on their feet, Hawaii again couldn’t punch the ball into the end zone. But Hannum booted a 33- yard field goal and the Rainbows had their first lead of the game, 15-14.

Notre Dame and Hawaii alternated three­ play series and the Irish got the ball back on their 20. But the Irish again failed to get a first down. Smith came out for his sixth punt of the day and unloaded a 45-yarder. Eddie Klaneski hauled it in at his own 40 and returned the ball to the Notre Dame 8. From there Tharp scored his second touchdown, giving the Rainbows an eight-point lead and setting the stage for the Irish comeback.

Though the Irish didn’t play as well as they would have liked, Davie and his play­ers were quick to point out that Hawaii played an excellent game. “It wasn’t a case of us just not playing,” Davie said. “It was a case of Hawaii coming out there and playing. They’re headed in the right direc­tion.”

The Irish, too, were headed in the right direction –  toward a bowl game. “I think we deserve to go to a bowl game,” Davie said. “We were able to win six of our last seven games. We want to go and we need to go. As far as where we go … I have no idea.” The way the season began, Irish fans doubted that a bowl game was even a possi­bility. So for everyone involved, not know­ing where they were going sure beat know­ing they weren’t going anywhere.