Chanticleers rely on best available QB to upset Spartans at Hawaii Bowl
Throughout high school, quarterback Ethan Vasko wore the same golden cleats, even as they needed to be resoled.
On Saturday night he displayed his golden arm, throwing three touchdown passes to lead Coastal Carolina to a 24-14 victory over San Jose State in the EasyPost Hawaii Bowl at the Ching Complex.
About 4,000 fans saw Vasko, a third-string freshman, spoil SJSU quarterback Chevan Cordeiro’s homecoming. Cordeiro, a Saint Louis School graduate who played four seasons with Hawaii before transferring to the Bay Area, was held to 215 passing yards as the Spartans fell short in a late comeback.
Vasko, who was named the game’s most outstanding player, coolly directed the Chanticleers’ spread-option offense. He was 20-for-33 for 199 yards, and led the Chants with 52 rushing yards on 16 non-sack keepers and scrambles.
“We prepared all week, even the week before,” Vasko said of his program from Myrtle Beach, S.C. “We were confident. We were excited to play.”
After the Spartans scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to close to 17-14 with 8:30 to play, Vasko directed the Chants on a 75-yard scoring drive that culminated with wideout Sam Pinckney’s one-handed catch in the right corner of the end zone. Vasko’s third touchdown pass of the game made it 24-14.
“We needed (the touchdown),” Pinckney said. “I just had to make a play. The play was designed if it was man-to-man (coverage), he was going to throw it to me. If it was zone, it was going to go to the other side. … My job is to make the quarterback look good. I did my best to make him look good.”
On their ensuing possession — boosted by consecutive interference penalties against cornerback Keonte Lusk — the Spartans advanced to the 2. But a false start, a sack and two incompletions led to Kyler Halvorsen, a Kaiser High graduate and former UH kicker, being summoned for a 32-yard field-goal attempt. Halvorsen’s kick sailed wide right.
The Chants then ran out the clock, triggering a jubilant celebration on the field.
After Vasko was announced as the winner of the Hugh Yoshida Trophy, he embraced his father, Rick.
“From the time he was 6 years old, I knew he had something,” the elder Vasko said. “We saw it for years. The drive he has. What really impressed me was his composure and the way he relaxed in the moment.”
Vasko was making his fourth start of the season. The Chants’ top two quarterbacks — Grayson McCall and Jarret Guest — entered the transfer portal earlier this month. McCall, who had not played since suffering an injury in the Chants’ seventh game, has committed to transfer to North Carolina State. But McCall was included on the travel roster and was on the Coastal Carolina sideline during the game.
San Jose State running back Kairee Robinson, who fumbled only twice this season coming in, lost the ball on two second-half runs that were parlayed into CCU points.
After Cordeiro sprinted — and hurdled — his way to the CCU 6, Robinson got the ball on a handoff. But Teddy Tiokeng knocked the football free and linebacker Shane Bruce recovered at the 13.
“At first, I wanted to pick it up and run with it,” Bruce said. “But people started diving in. I just wanted to get this thing, and get it back to the offense.”
The Chants then drove 87 yards, with Vasko’s 2-yard scoring toss to Kendall Karr extending the lead to 14-0.
“He threw the ball in the perfect spot,” Karr said of the Kleenex-box-sized window. “I think I caught it one-handed. I’m trying to be like Pinckney.”
The Spartans’ next drive also ended with a Robinson fumble at the SJSU 34. That led to Kade Hensley’s 49-yard field goal.
“It was a hard-fought game,” SJSU coach Brent Brennan said. “At the end of the day, they beat us fair and square. We didn’t make enough plays to win it. I give them a lot of credit. They made the plays when they had to.”
Brennan also praised Cordeiro, who played the final game of his six-season college career. “He’s one of the best competitors I’ve ever been around, ” Brennan said. “That showed up at the end of the game the way he was pushing our team.”
Cordeiro recalled the emotions of the tumultuous 2021 season under Todd Graham, who was UH’s head coach then..
“When I came from Hawaii to (San Jose), I was in a bad place mentally, ” Cordeiro said. “I didn’t really like football. When I got (there), the whole team took me in as a brother the first day I got there. I’m forever grateful. It doesn’t really matter about the wins and losses. The love of the game, I found that again. That’s what I’ll remember the rest of my life.”
