HONOLULU — The football gods went off script for Chevan Cordeiro.
A fairytale ending to the local quarterback’s six-year college career was not to be as San Jose State’s fourth-quarter rally was stymied in a 24-14 loss to Coastal Carolina in the EasyPost Hawaii Bowl at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex on Saturday night.
SJSU, which took in the Saint Louis School graduate Cordeiro after he transferred out of the University of Hawaii amid dissatisfaction with then-coach Todd Graham following the 2021 season, waited until the fourth quarter to get on the scoreboard. Cordeiro worked some comeback magic, as the Mountain West’s career leader in total yardage and touchdowns has done many times for UH and SJSU, guiding two touchdown drives in the final period.
But after the Sun Belt’s all-time leader in receiving yardage, Sam Pinckney, hauled in a one-handed 8-yard touchdown from Hawaii Bowl MVP Ethan Vasko to extend CCU's lead back to 10 with 2:43 left, SJSU kicker Kyler Halvorsen, a Kaiser High graduate, missed a 32-yard field goal that the Spartans needed to keep their slim hopes alive.
Outside a familiar UH locker room that SJSU borrowed for the game, Cordeiro expressed sadness for the outcome but deep satisfaction in his career path. He said he’ll remember how, after four years at Hawaii, he was accepted immediately by Coach Brent Brennan and a set of opponents-turned-teammates upon his arrival in the Bay Area.
“When I came from Hawaii to (SJSU), I was in a bad place and mentally I didn’t really like football,” Cordeiro said. “When I got here, the whole team took me in, a brother already the first day I got there, and I’m forever grateful. It doesn’t really matter about the wins and losses. The love of the game, I found that again. And that’s what I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”
After one last media scrum in the Islands, he hugged Brennan and a procession of family members.
He kept close ties with several players he left behind at UH and said he saw some of them in the stands Saturday.
“(Andrew) Choi. (Jonah Kahahawai)-Welch, (Jonah) Panoke,” Cordeiro said. “There’s more that I could list, but I have a lot of guys from Hawaii to San Jose and we’ll probably be brothers for life.”
A crowd of about 4,000 (7,089 tickets issued) was on hand for the second Hawaii Bowl played at the Ching Complex, a mix of “Teal Nation” supporters of the Chanticleers, traveling Spartans fans, local friends and family of SJSU’s five players from Hawaii, and some true neutral spectators.
There wasn’t much for them to see through three quarters – the 7-0 CCU lead at intermission marked the lowest-scoring half in Hawaii Bowl history – and the pace plodded. SJSU rued several missed opportunities to that point, including a penalty-stalled 12-play drive in the second quarter that ended in a turnover on downs, and consecutive third-quarter possessions that resulted in fumbles by All-MWC first-team running back Kairee Robinson. Cordeiro, another MWC first-teamer, had scampered 27 yards the previous play and hurdled a prone CCU defender in the secondary to advance the ball to the Chanticleers’ 6-yard line.
“Those plays are devastating,” Brennan said. “But I have so many great memories of my time with Chevan and what he was for our team and our program. He was just one of the best competitors I’ve ever been around. That showed at the end of the game, the way he was pushing our team.”
Cordeiro was 16-for-30 for 215 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions, plus seven carries for 59 yards in his final game. He added the Mountain West career completions record when he notched his 962nd in the third quarter.
He plans to take two weeks off then will prepare for whatever opportunity arises next, be it a pro day or all-star game.
"We had the momentum. We were rolling. We hurt ourselves the whole game," Cordeiro said. "Give props to Coastal Carolina. They played a good game. ... I hope the guys returning look at this and start grinding already, because they’ve got a special team next year. I told my QB room that this is the best QB room that I’ve been a part of. In six years ... I never thought the best part would be the film room. We joked around, made it fun again. I love them and they have a special team coming back."
Ultimately, SJSU (7-6) didn’t come close to replicating its 35-0 shutout of Hawaii at Ching Complex on Oct. 28, the Rainbow Warriors’ homecoming night.
Brennan noted that not many teams would’ve come back from a 1-5 start to a season and tied for its conference’s best league record with six straight wins as SJSU did. But, after SJSU came up empty in its third bowl game in four years, he allowed that CCU’s option attack was difficult to prepare for and presented challenges unlike Air Force’s triple option from weeks prior.
During the week, SJSU had the decided feel of the home team, but CCU (8-6), of Conway, S.C., was comfortable on the shores of Oahu as the first Sun Belt team to play in a Hawaii Bowl in the event's 20 games. Vasco, a third-stringer who was summoned late in the regular season due to injuries, and for the bowl game because of the NCAA transfers portal entry of would-be starter Grayson McCall, had three touchdowns and no picks.
“Proud of our team to withstand a great rally by San Jose State,” coach Tim Beck said. “Proud of our guys for the way they finished the game at the end.
“I think it was awesome (out here). … Everybody that was involved with the bowl, class act.”
It was CCU's fourth straight bowl game since 2020. It improved to 2-2 in those games.
Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.