Warrior ‘D’ sacks
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Any lingering thoughts that the Hawaii linebackers and interior linemen have been playing on the soft side were erased last night in Hawaii's 44-16 victory over Tulsa.
Warriors linebackers Ikaika Curnan, Lincoln Manutai and Tanuvasa Moe sacked Golden Hurricane quarterback James Kilian, while fellow linebacker Watson Ho'ohuli combined with cornerback Abraham Elimimian for another.
Left tackle Lui Fuga also got into the sack act by dropping Kilian in the backfield.
Moe finished with five tackles, one behind team leader Lono Manners, who got his first start at safety and made six tackles. Fuga, meanwhile, ended with four tackles.
"The coaches were making great calls," said Curnan, the man in the middle. "And the backers all hustled to the ball, hit the gaps and made the plays. We played hard and just got home.
"They didn't know how to block our blitzes. A few times when I got in, the running back cut me down, but the next time, I jumped over him and made the sack."
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Crossing the Rivers: UH quarterback Tim Chang passed former North Carolina State star Philip Rivers for second place on the all-time career passing yardage list with his first completion, a 17-yard pass to West Keli'ikipi.
After throwing for 378 yards last night, Chang now has 13,857 career yards. He is 1,174 behind the NCAA Division I-A record of 15,031 yards, set by Brigham Young's Ty Detmer (1988-91).
Chang's streak of passes without an interception to start the season is now at 159 attempts. The former school record for one season and a career is by Raphel Cherry, who threw 114 consecutive times without a pick in 1984.
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Tying Jason: Hawaii kicker Justin Ayat appears to be fully recovered from his groin injury.
Ayat lined up for a 56-yard attempt last night and put it straight through the North end zone uprights for a 6-0 first-quarter lead.
The kick tied Jason Elam's team record set Sept. 26, 1992, against Brigham Young at Aloha Stadium.
"The whole operation was good -- good blocking, good snap, good hold and I hit it and it went in," said Ayat, who was benched part of last season for inaccuracy and wasn't 100 percent for the first two games of this season.
"I wasn't initially aware that I tied the record. When we came off the field, my holder (Kurt Milne) said it was 56 or 57 yards. It definitely would have been better to beat it and get the record, but tying it is ... good. Being up there with Jason Elam feels good."