Hawaii's Chad Owens finished with 276 all-purpose yards and five touchdowns in last night's game.
Owens too slippery
for ’Cats
What Hawaii receiver Chad Owens saw while walking up to the line of scrimmage let him know big things might be in store for last night's game against Northwestern.
"They tried to play us man, and as a receiving corps you have to love that," Owens said. "Your eyes have to light up when someone tries to come up and play you man. That's a one-on-one battle in which you have to believe that you can win."
Owens won the battle more than not in a record-breaking performance against the Wildcats.
He finished with nine catches for 155 yards and five total touchdowns to lead UH to the 49-41 win.
Already Hawaii's all-team leader in all-purpose yards, Owens tied the week-old school record for touchdown receptions in a game when he snagged his fourth scoring pass from Tim Chang late in the third quarter. Jason Rivers set the record the previous week against Idaho.
He also broke the UH mark when he returned a punt for a touchdown for the fourth time this season. His five career punt returns for scores is also a record.
His five total touchdowns last night tied the record set by running back Heikoti Fakava against Yale in 1987.
"It was a total team effort across the board," Owens said. "Everyone did their part, all the receivers, whoever got in there."
He delivered a telling blow early in the third period with perhaps the most spectacular of his four punt returns for scores with his career-long 76-yarder early in the third quarter.
Owens fielded the punt and bolted up the middle of the field. Punter Brian Huffman appeared to have Owens wrapped up at the Northwestern 45, but Owens broke free and found room to the left side. He avoided one more swipe at his feet before sprinting to the end zone.
"He's like a bar of soap," UH running back West Keli'ikipi said.
The UH passing game was largely out of rhythm through the first quarter. The Warriors had two interceptions and three punts to show for their first five possessions.
On the sixth, UH quarterback Tim Chang scrambled and was shoved out of bounds. He slammed into the Northwestern bench and was shaken up. He left the game for one play and two plays later hit Britton Komine on a streak down the right side for 45 yards. On the next play, he threw a laser to Owens for an 11-yard touchdown.
Chang later found Owens for scoring strikes of 40 and 35 yards to turn a 13-0 deficit into a 28-20 halftime lead.
"We got off to a bad start; it didn't look like it was going to be too good. But we fought through it," Owens said. "This whole year we've been fighting adversity and I think that's what helped us hold it together in this game and turn things around. We redirected those lows to highs and we just took off an never looked back."
