Boise State walk-on awarded scholarship, then delivers career best against Hawaii
The day after Boise State’s win over Colorado State, Jonah Dalmas received some life-altering news on the tail end of a team presentation.
After acknowledging the offensive and defensive players of the game as well as the weekly blue-collar scholars, there was one last slide that popped up for everyone to see.
Dalmas, the Broncos’ walk-on freshman kicker, had earned himself a scholarship.
“We kind of used that military term ‘pays to be a winner’ and ‘hard work does not go unnoticed,’ ” Boise State coach Bryan Harsin said. “That was the last slide, and that was awarded to Jonah Dalmas.
“In that last game, he did everything — kickoff, punt, field goals.”
Dalmas joined the Broncos this season after serving a two-year church mission. The 2017 Rocky Mountain High graduate was a perfect 6-for-6 on PATs is his debut in the Broncos’ season-opening 42-13 win over Utah State. He later assumed kickoff and punting duties while starter Joel Velazquez spent two games on the inactive list.
Through five games, Dalmas is 4-for-4 on field goals, including a career long of 42 yards in Saturday’s 40-32 win at Hawaii. He would be perfect on PATs, too, if not for a blocked try against the Rainbow Warriors that stopped his run at 22 in a row and 26-for-27 overall.
“He’s just been a guy that from day one has stood out, not just as a player but as a person,” Harsin said. “Everybody on the team has appreciated him being a part of it. He’s worked extremely hard, and then he’s been very good out there on the field.
“Hard work does not go unnoticed. He was able to earn that, so we’re proud of him.”
Dalmas had the Broncos’ only points early in the game against Hawaii. He made a 32-yard field goal with 1:13 remaining in the first quarter to tie the game at 3-3. His 42-yarder with 10:09 on the clock in the second quarter put Boise State ahead for good.
‘Spotty’ tackling gives Hawaii life
The Broncos owned a 40-17 lead at the start of the fourth quarter, but the Rainbow Warriors made the final margin a one-score game with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
“It was definitely spotty,” Boise State cornerback Avery Williams said of the Broncos’ tackling. “There was times we were doing a great job tackling, getting three-and-outs and getting off the field. There was other times, even myself I missed a tackle in the red zone.
“Whenever we make mistakes like that, we’re gonna correct it the very next day, so we’re expecting to have tackling circuits tomorrow in practice. The great thing about this defense, we always look forward to things like that. We always look forward to making the corrections that we need.”
Boise State was also flagged a season-high eight times for 94 yards. The Broncos committed three penalties on Hawaii’s final scoring drive of the game: holding on third-and-10 that wiped out an interception by Jalen Walker, a roughing the passer infraction and a pass interference call on fourth-and-11.
“It comes down to tackling,” Harsin said. “We had guys in the right position, so we need to work on our tackling. We need to improve in that area. And every guy out there wants to. They’re all trying, and I thought Hawaii did a good job. They ran hard. They did make some guys miss.”
Career night for Van Buren
During his Monday press conference, Harsin predicted junior running back Andrew Van Buren was going to have a “great week.”
That hunch came to fruition Saturday as Van Buren ran for a career-high 113 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries. Van Buren’s touchdowns came on a pair of 11-yard runs in the third quarter.
“You could see Andrew tonight get into a groove,” Harsin said. “He was hitting it downhill and he started to bounce a few runs.”
It was the third consecutive start for Van Buren in place of sophomore George Holani, who hasn’t played since suffering an apparent leg injury in the first quarter against Air Force on Oct. 31.
Broncos lose 12 players to COVID-19
Boise State was without seven players because of positive COVID-19 tests, and another five because of contact tracing, the university announced about 45 minutes before kickoff. The Broncos were without 14 players (9 positive tests, 5 contact tracing) the previous week against Colorado State.
Starting right tackle Nick Crabtree was listed among the players who didn’t make the 6-hour flight to Honolulu. Neither did reserve offensive lineman Dallas Holliday, who also missed last week’s win over Colorado State.
Quarterbacks Jack Sears and Chase Cord were also listed as inactive. Sears suffered a potential head injury in the Broncos’ loss to BYU, and Cord has yet to play this season as he continues to recover from injuries suffered last season and offseason ankle surgery.
Linebacker Brock Miller, wide receiver Octavius Evans and safety Evan Tyler were out for the third week in a row, but punter Joel Velazquez returned after missing two games.
Defensive linemen Keeghan Freeborn and Jackson Cravens were out for the second straight week, but nose tackle Scale Igiehon returned after he was slowed by an ankle injury the past couple of weeks. Freeborn is out for the season with a broken ankle.
Only 74 players can dress for games this season, according to the Mountain West, and Boise State listed 37 as inactive against Hawaii. The Broncos dressed 66 players — just 13 more than the 53 required to hold a game, according to the conference’s COVID-19 protocols.
The Broncos were without 35 players against Colorado State.
Quick hits
Senior nickel Kekaula Kaniho served as the Broncos’ honorary fourth game captain. ... Boise State was led onto the field by DJ Schramm with the Dan Paul Hammer, Benton Wickersham with the American flag and Riley Smith with the Bleed Blue flag.. ... Redshirt sophomore Billy Bowens hauled in his first career reception on a 6-yard pass from quarterback Hank Bachmeier on the Broncos’ opening drive. ... Redshirt sophomore tight end Tyneil Hopper recorded his first career reception on an 8-yarder from Bachmeier in the second quarter. ... Boise State receiver CT Thomas extended his streak of consecutive games with a reception to 35 with a 55-yard catch in the first quarter. ... Bachmeier threw his first interception of the season in the second quarter. Hawaii sophomore Cameron Lockridge made the pick, but the Rainbow Warriors were unable to cash in on the turnover. ... Redshirt senior Jalen Walker tied a career high with eight tackles. ... Redshirt junior Shane Irwin recorded his second multi-sack performance in as many games and leads the Broncos with five sacks this season.
This story was originally published November 22, 2020 at 4:00 AM.
