SAN JOSE — The passing connection between Chevan Cordeiro and Elijah Cooks continues to click on for the San Jose State soccer workforce.
Cooks caught a career-best 10 passes for 121 yards and two first-half touchdowns and the Spartans snapped a two-game shedding streak with a 27-14 victory over Hawaii on Saturday afternoon in entrance of 15,012 followers at CEFCU Stadium.
SJSU (7-4, 5-3 Mountain West), having already clinched bowl eligibility, enhanced its probabilities of being chosen to play within the postseason for the second time in three seasons.
Knowledgeable his workforce posted this system’s first 6-0 dwelling file since 1978, coach Brent Brennan smiled and mentioned, “That’s cool. We’re all about altering historical past.”
Cordeiro accomplished 17 of 26 makes an attempt for 208 yards in opposition to his former college, together with his touchdowns of 5 and seven yards going to Cooks, a graduate switch from Nevada.
“We simply clicked towards the top of the season,” mentioned Cooks, who had as many as 50 members of the family on the ultimate dwelling recreation of his profession. “Because the season goes on, the quarterback believes in any person extra. He believes in me.”
Cooks now has a career-best and MWC-leading 10 TD catches this season. Over the previous six video games, he has 40 receptions for 575 yards and 7 scores.
“He makes my job straightforward,” Cordeiro mentioned of his roommate. “Now we have that connection, we have now that chemistry.”
When the Spartans wanted to transform a fourth-and-4 play from the Hawaii 34-yard line, Cordeiro went downfield to the 6-foot-4 Cooks, who made a diving catch for a primary down on the 5. That arrange a discipline purpose that stretched the result in 27-14 with 7:08 to play.
“It got here right down to successful the matchup. We belief Elijah,” Cordeiro mentioned of the fourth-down play. “I simply needed to drop the ball in there and let him run it down.”
Cooks had a productive profession at Nevada however his 2020 and ’21 seasons had been lower brief by accidents. He has performed each recreation this season and has 63 catches for 983 yards.
“I’ve had a whole lot of ups and downs. There’s nothing higher than the ups in soccer,” he mentioned. “Once I’m on the market on the sector I’m the happiest I ever am.”
Hawaii (3-10, 2-6) reached the SJSU 2-yard line within the ultimate 3 minutes earlier than the Spartans’ protection twice made tackles for loss earlier than linebacker Viliami Fehoko sacked Brayden Shager on fourth down to finish the menace.
The Rainbow Warriors crossed midfield seven occasions however managed simply two scores, due to clutch performs by the Spartans’ protection.
“I don’t care in the event that they don’t get throughout the 50 so long as they don’t get ultimately zone,” Brennan mentioned. “Our protection got here by means of.”
The sport was significant for Cordeiro, who grew up on the islands and performed 4 seasons for the Rainbow Warriors earlier than transferring to SJSU.
Really, he known as the expertise of dealing with his outdated defensive teammates “bizarre.”
“I used to play them in apply and so they couldn’t contact me,” he mentioned. “They had been attempting to get in my head the entire recreation. I used to be there for 4 years in order that they’re nonetheless my brothers. After the sport we had been all hugging.”
The Spartans gave themselves some respiratory room at 21-6 with a 10-play, 75-yard drive to open the second half. Senior Kairee Robinson bouncing outdoors to the left to attain on a 1-yard run with 9:46 left within the third quarter. Robinson, a De La Salle Excessive product, wound up with a career-best 148 speeding yards.
A 27-yard discipline purpose by Schive two performs into the fourth quarter boosted the Spartans’ result in 24-6.
NOTE: An athletic division spokesperson confirmed the Spartans is not going to play a make-up recreation in opposition to New Mexico State earlier than the bowl recreation. The sport, initially set for Oct. 22, was postponed indefinitely after the loss of life of SJSU freshman operating again Camdan McWright, killed in a visitors accident the day earlier than.
