Saturday, October 23, 1999
Hawaii beats
Tulsa, 35-21
Tulsa scored first but
couldn't stay in control1999 season special Renee Ruble
Associated PressTULSA, Okla. -- Hawaii quarterback Dan Robinson totaled 283 yards with three touchdowns for a 35-21 victory Saturday over Tulsa in the Western Athletic Conference. The Golden Hurricane has the WAC’s longest losing streak at six, including four conference games. Almost 15,800 spectators were at Skelly Stadium for Tulsa’s homecoming, but only a handful remained for the entire game.
Hawaii’s conference-leading offense outgained Tulsa’s 434 yards to 393. Afatia Thompson had 73 yards rushing on 13 carries with two touchdowns.
Tulsa freshman quarterback Josh Blankenship made his first start, replacing Michael Wall, who sustained a season-ending knee injury last week. Blankenship completed 27-of-42 attempts for 271 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. John Mosley gained 103 on 18 carries, including one touchdown.
The Rainbow Warriors, who were 0-12 last season, improved to 5-2, including 3-1 in the WAC under first-year coach June Jones. Dwight Carter, who leads the WAC in reception and receiving yards, had only 41 yards and one touchdown.
Tulsa (1-6, 0-4) didn’t have a turnover until the second half when Hawaii picked off three passes. The Warriors did not turn over the ball.
The Hurricane scored first on an 8-yard run by Mosley on their first possession.
Hawaii tied it on Thompson’s 1-yard run in the first quarter, then took the lead early in the second on another Thompson TD run. Hawaii built a 21-7 lead in the closing seconds of the half on Robinson’s 1-yard pass to Carter.
The crowd was on its feet when Blankenship completed a 47-yard pass to Damon Savage on the opening play of the second half to put the ball at Hawaii’s 22-yard line. About two minutes later, Blankenship completed a 7-yard TD pass to Donald Shoals.
The mood switched after Tulsa was intercepted on each of its next two possessions, setting up Robinson for a 34-yard scoring pass to Craig Stutzmann with 5:02 left in the third quarter.
On the next possession, the Hurricane moved the ball down to the 5-yard-line before Blankenship was sacked for a 10-yard loss. Tulsa kicker Chris Earnest then missed a 27-yard field goal attempt wide right.
Hawaii secured the victory with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Stutzmann in the opening minutes of the fourth to make it 35-14. Tulsa scored with 15 seconds left in the game on a 4-yard pass to Jerrold Smith.
The five wins for Hawaii this season match the Warriors’ total for the last three years. Tulsa was Hawaii’s first road game since winning at Southern Methodist last month, snapping a 24-game WAC losing streak.
