Ault pleased with Wolf Pack’s effort in loss
Eleven seconds. That's how close UNR came to handing Hawaii its first loss of the season Friday.
But Dan Kelly kicked a 45-yard field goal with 11 seconds left to give the No. 14 Warriors a 28-26 victory over the Wolf Pack in Reno and keep Hawaii undefeated at 10-0, 7-0 in the Western Athletic Conference.
With the exception of the Warriors' 45-44 win at Louisiana Tech in the second week of the season, Friday's game was the closest of the year for Hawaii, which was without star quarterback Colt Brennan for all but two plays.
Brennan's backup Tyler Graunke threw for 358 yards and two touchdowns.
Despite the loss, UNR coach Chris Ault said he was pleased with his team's effort.
"We made a nice improvement, especially on the defensive side of the ball, but we came up a little short," Ault said in Monday's WAC teleconference.
The Wolf Pack (5-5, 3-3) led 26-25 midway through the fourth quarter after Luke Lippincott scored on a 5-yard run set up by Colin Kaepernick's 45-yard pass to Marko Mitchell.
Lippincott also converted a pair of fourth-down runs during UNR's 90-yard scoring drive in the third quarter. Kaepernick capped the drive with a 3-yard TD run to give the Wolf Pack a 20-19 edge.
Lippincott, a junior who rushed for 140 yards on 25 carries, topped the 100-yard mark for the fifth straight game and seventh time this season. He also scored two touchdowns and has nine in his last five games.
Kaepernick, a freshman, ran for a touchdown and threw for a score, and has accounted for 20 TDs in his last five games.
Mitchell, who had three catches for 70 yards, saw his streak of five straight games with a touchdown reception end. The run was tied for the fourth-longest active streak in the country.
UNR will get back in action at San Jose State (4-7, 3-4) at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Ault said Spartans quarterback Adam Tafrails is "as good as any quarterback we've played against."
Tafrails has completed 222 of 354 passes (62.7 percent) for 2,680 yards and 16 TDs, with 10 interceptions.
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0354.
