GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Hawaii wide reciever Jason Rivers broke away from UAB defender Zac Woodfin en route to scoring the Warriors' first touchdown during Friday's Hawaii Bowl. Rivers had 11 receptions for 148 yards in the game.

Warriors must
replace many

Several key players have used
their eligibility and UH opens
against USC

As the buzz of a season saved for the University of Hawaii football team slowly slides away, the realization arises that the Warriors face a huge rebuilding job heading into 2005.

Roller-coaster Ride The Hawaii football team had a wild up-and-down season Sept. 4 Florida Atlantic 35, Hawaii 28 Sept. 18 Rice 41, Hawaii 29 Oct. 2 Hawaii 44, Tulsa 16 Oct. 9 Hawaii 48, Nevada 26 Oct. 16 UTEP 51, Hawaii 20 Oct. 23 Hawaii 46, San Jose St. 28 Oct. 29 Boise State 69, Hawaii 3 Nov. 6 Hawaii 34, LaTech 23 Nov. 12 Fresno State 70, Hawaii 14 Nov. 20 Hawaii 52, Idaho 21 Nov.27 Hawaii 49, Northwestern 41 Dec. 4 Hawaii 41, Michigan St. 38 Dec. 24 Hawaii 59, UAB 40* *UAB was technically the home team at the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl played at Aloha Stadium. Otherwise, home team is in bold.

That is amplified by the fact that UH opens its season against USC, and the Trojans might have Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart at quarterback, and will have first-team All-American Reggie Bush at running back and returning kicks.

Meanwhile, UH loses its marquee players, quarterback Tim Chang and slotback/punt returner Chad Owens -- plus 11 other seniors who started in Friday's stirring 59-40 victory over UAB in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl.

Hawaii finished 8-5, and was just a few plays away from 10-3.

"Had we taken care of two games, Florida Atlantic and at Rice, it would be maybe even better," coach June Jones said.

Most of the 2000 recruiting class contributed mightily to UH's 36-17 record of the past four years, with many playing key roles during all four winning seasons. They led the way to Hawaii setting a school record for wins over four consecutive seasons. (UH has had better winning percentages over four-year spans, and the Rainbows went 33-11 from 1970 to 1973 under coach Dave Holmes.)

"It's a pretty unbelievable group of seniors," Jones said.

Not only the big-name stars will be missed, he added.

"One guy who goes unnoticed is (receiver) Gerald Welch. (Defensive tackle) Lui Fuga, seems like he's been here eight years. Abraham (cornerback Elimimian), contributed from Day One."

Running backs Michael Brewster and West Keli'ikipi, receiver Britton Komine, offensive lineman Uriah Moenoa, special teams player/linebacker Chad Kapanui -- the list goes on and on of players who made significant contributions for two, three or four years.

Then there were the late-bloomers who helped the Warriors come back from 4-5 less than two months ago to win the last four games. Players like middle linebacker Watson Ho'ohuli and defensive tackle Darrell Tautofi finally conquered injuries and off-field demons to work their way into the lineup.

Ho'ohuli led UH's defense with nine tackles Friday, and Tautofi sacked UAB quarterback Darrell Hackney twice.

As expected, the Warriors defense was the team's weak spot. But the unit played well when it needed to during UH's eight consecutive home victories -- especially after halftime.

"Every game it was basically the same," Ho'ohuli said. "We come out in our basic defense, and in the second half we give them different looks. All kinds of blitzes, pressure on the quarterback."

Blazers star receiver Roddy White said UH came up with big plays in key spots.

"They came up with a lot of stops when they needed them," he said.

The Warriors offense also played well after halftime in home games this season.

UH outscored the opposition 99-39 in the third quarter of Aloha Stadium games.

"The difference in the game was the third quarter, when they stopped us right out of the gate," Blazers coach Watson Brown said. "We lost it when we had to go from two dimensions to just passing."

On the road, it was the opposite, but worse. Hawaii couldn't stop the run at Rice, Boise State or Fresno State, and it led to disaster. Away from home, things got worse after halftime -- UH's third quarter deficit for the four games was 103-20.

The road woes, combined with a season-opening overtime loss to Division I-A Florida Atlantic, led to unrest among the Warriors' semi-faithful.

A rash of injuries on defense and inconsistency on offense hurt UH. Jones was criticized for failed trick plays and the porous defense.

After the Warriors lost 69-3 at Boise State, the team got a lift the next week when Chang broke the NCAA career passing-yardage record in a home victory against Louisiana Tech. He finished his career with 17,072 yards passing, and more than a dozen school passing and total offense records.

"I don't think what he's accomplished will be done again," Jones said. "Fifty years from now (the NCAA yardage record) will probably still be standing."

Owens grabbed some national attention of his own, as spectacular punt returns became an ordinary occurrence, and his quickness and toughness made him Chang's primary receiver. He received All-America recognition from most of the entities that select teams, including the most credible team, that chosen by the Associated Press. Owens also won the Mosi Tatupu Award, given to the nation's top senior special teams player.

Owens scored 12 touchdowns in the last three games, including nine in victories against Big Ten opponents Northwestern and Michigan State.

Chang said the incredible ups and downs of the season will help the next wave of Warriors who saw it happen from the sidelines, and sometimes in the trenches.

"The young guys got to see a lot," he said. "We just pulled together, tight. It showed a lot of character."

Unfortunately for UH, several young players who were counted on to contribute as early as next season left the program. The most notable are running back Andrew Pearman and cornerback Ray Bass. The Warriors suffered more than the usual amount of attrition that a team of 100-plus players normally has to deal with.

The biggest story of spring ball will be the search for Chang's replacement. Sophomore (in 2005) Jack Rolovich seems to have the lead going in, but second-year freshmen Tyler Graunke and Brandon Satcher (if he can resolve an off-field personal issue) will also contend.

On defense, linebackers Ikaika Curnan and Tanuvasa Moe will be seniors, and will try to avoid the injuries that plagued them this year. Kenny Patton and Turmarian Moreland look solid at the corners, and Leonard Peters is a third-year starter at safety.

But the defensive front needs help, especially if end Mel Purcell does not play because of family concerns.

A replacement needs to be found for kicker Justin Ayat, who finished his career second on UH's all-time scoring list.

The offensive line should be the most solid unit, as Moenoa is the only regular starter whose eligibility expires.

UH loses its top two running backs and three starting receivers, but junior Jason Rivers will be back at wideout. He led the Warriors with 11 catches for 148 yards Friday. The articulate and athletic Rivers -- along with the senior linebackers, offensive lineman Samson Satele, and others -- is expected to assume leadership duties.

"I want that role. Chad came up to me, told me to stand behind my quarterback, have faith in your players," he said.

"I talked to Jason Rivers and told him, 'It's your time now.'," Owens said. "(The young players) need to do nothing more than what they're already doing. Just keep doing what they're doing."

Jones said the seniors -- who, as individuals and as a group, made the most of their potential -- set the right example.

"They taught our young kids what they need to do," he said.

FINAL STATISTICS

Team Statisics

	HAWAII	OPP
FIRST DOWN	288	326
Rushing	66	177
Passing	206	137
Penalty	16	12
RUSHING YARDAGE	1,247	3,284
Yards gained rushing	1,432	3,635
Yards lost rushing	185	351
Rushing attempts	264	609
Average per rush	4.7	5.4
Average per game	95.9	252.6
Touchdowns rushing	17	42
PASSING YARDAGE	4,402	3,057
Att-Comp-Int	636-370-18	423-236-14
Average per pass	6.9	7.2
Average per catch	11.9	13.0
Average per game	338.6	235.2
Touchdowns passing	38	21
TOTAL OFFENSE	5,649	6,431
Total plays	900	1032
Average per play	6.3	6.1
Average per game	434.5	487.8
KICK RETURNS: No-Yds	62-1,241	46-1,192
PUNT RETURNS: No-Yds	38-532	40-419
INT. RETURNS: No-Yds	14-80	18-195
FUMBLES-LOST	19-8	24-10
PENALTIES-YARDS	78-647	111-911
PUNTS-AVG	56-38.5	61-40.1
TIME OF POSSESSION/GAME	27:43	32:17
3RD-DOWN CONVERSIONS	76/173	89/193
4TH-DOWN CONVERSIONS	5/16	14/22

Rushing

	G	Att	Net	Avg	TD	Long
Brewster	13	113	722	6.4	6	42
Keliikipi	12	72	336	4.7	7	21
Akina	7	12	102	8.5	0	28
Satcher	1	6	34	5.7	0	15
Latuselu	8	7	29	4.1	1	12
Maneafaiga	1	4	19	4.8	1	13
Chang	13	37	15	0.4	2	22
Bass	1	2	5	2.5	0	3
Rolovich	2	1	5	5.0	0	5
Owens	13	1	0	0.0	0	0
Team	12	9	-20	-2.2	0	0
Total	13	264	1,247	4.7	17	42

Passing

	G	Att	Comp	Int	Yds	TD	Long
Chang	13	602	358	13	4,258	38	75
Akina	7	19	7	4	84	0	19
Rolovich	2	8	4	1	37	0	16
Kapanui	12	2	0	0	0	0	0
Team	11	2	0	0	0	0	0
Satcher	1	1	1	0	23	0	23
Milne	13	1	0	0	0	0	0
Total	13	636	370	18	4,402	38	75

Receiving

	G	Rec	Yds	Avg	TD	Long
Owens	13	102	1,290	12.6	17	75
Rivers	13	80	973	12.2	7	74
Komine	13	53	788	14.9	4	62
Welch	13	45	515	11.4	5	30
Brewster	13	34	273	8.0	1	31
Dickerson	13	15	143	9.5	1	31
Keliikipi	12	17	131	7.7	0	26
Poumele	6	13	151	11.6	2	29
Sample	4	7	71	10.1	0	24
Ferguson	11	2	60	30.0	0	44
Weems	3	1	6	6.0	0	6
Melson	6	1	1	1.0	0	1
Moenoa	10	0	0	0.0	1	0
Total	13	370	4,402	11.9	38	75

Total Offense

	G	Plays	Rush	Pass	Tot	Avg
Chang	13	639	15	4,258	4,273	328.7
Brewster	13	113	772	0	772	55.5
Keliikipi	12	72	336	0	336	28.0
Akina	7	31	102	84	186	26.6
Satcher	1	7	34	23	57	57.0
Rolovich	2	9	5	37	42	21.0
Latuselu	8	7	29	0	29	3.6
Maneafaiga	1	4	19	0	19	19.0
Bass	1	2	5	0	5	5.0
Team	12	11	-20	0	-20	-1.7
Total	13	1,032	3,284	3,057	6,341	487.8

Scoring

	TD	FG	1XP	2XP	Tot
Owens	22	0	0	0	132
Ayat	0	11	54	0	87
Keliikipi	7	0	0	0	42
Rivers	7	0	0	0	42
Brewster	7	0	0	0	42
Welch	5	0	0	1	32
Komine	5	0	0	0	30
Poumele	2	0	0	0	12
Elimimian	2	0	0	0	12
Chang	2	0	0	0	12
Latuselu	1	0	0	0	6
Maneafaiga	1	0	0	0	6
Dickerson	1	0	0	0	6
Moenoa	1	0	0	0	6
Total	63	11	54	1	467

Punting

	No.	Yds	Avg	Long
Milne	54	2,154	39.9	55
Team	2	0	0.0	0
Total	56	2,154	38.5	55

Punt Returns

	No.	Yds	Avg	TD	Long
Owens	36	531	14.8	5	76
Ferguson	2	-2	-1.0	0	0
Hogan	0	3	0.0	0	3
Total	38	532	14.0	5	76

Kick Returns

	No.	Yds	Avg	TD	Long
Ferguson	32	679	21.2	0	66
Dickerson	14	299	21.4	0	40
Brewster	4	82	20.5	0	27
Latuselu	3	38	12.7	0	24
Maneafaiga	2	34	17.0	0	19
Owens	2	45	22.5	0	28
Faimealelei	1	15	15.0	0	15
Kapanui	1	5	5.0	0	5
Kafentzis	1	-5	-5.0	0	0
Komine	1	42	42.0	1	42
Cole	1	7	7.0	0	7
Total	62	1,241	20.0	1	66

Interceptions

	No.	Yds	Avg	TD	Long
Elimimian	5	30	6.0	1	20
Peters	4	20	5.0	0	15
Kamakawiwo'ole	1	15	15.0	0	15
Patton	1	0	0.0	0	0
Moreland	1	15	15.0	0	15
Hollingsworth	1	0	0.0	0	0
Moe	1	0	0.0	0	0
Total	14	80	5.7	1	20

TACKLES

	G	UT	AT	Tot
Peters	13	77	43	120
Ho'ohuli	13	50	34	84
Purcell	13	47	27	74
Elimimian	12	48	17	65
Moe	9	29	33	62
Patton	11	38	18	56
Kapanui	12	23	28	51
Broadway	13	29	20	49
Kamakawiwo'ole	12	26	22	48
Fuga	13	24	13	37
Kafentzis	13	18	15	33
Manners	7	18	14	32
Faga	13	13	19	32
Kalilimoku	12	16	13	29
Curnan	9	16	11	27
Alama-Francis	11	15	7	22
Manutai	13	10	10	20
Tautofi	12	10	7	17
Hogan	7	14	2	16
Akpan	11	7	9	16
Paepule	8	7	6	13
Keomaka	8	7	6	13
Lutu-Carroll	9	7	6	13
Allen-Jones	11	6	5	11
Moreland	9	7	3	10
Hollingsworth	6	6	4	10
Noa, Kilinahe	11	8	0	8
Bass	4	4	4	8
Dickerson	13	1	3	4
Runge	12	1	3	4
Manuma	9	0	4	4
LaCount	7	1	3	4
Sauafea	5	2	2	4
Lau	8	2	2	4
Lau	8	2	2	4
Quinabo	6	3	1	4
Cole	7	2	1	3
Welch	13	1	2	3
Rivers	13	3	0	3
Ayat	13	3	0	3
Milne	13	2	1	3
Faavi	10	2	1	3
Blackburn	4	2	1	3
Faimealelei	10	2	0	2
Harley	3	2	0	2
Fergerstrom	9	0	2	2
Melson	6	1	1	2
Komine	13	1	1	2
Watson	2	1	1	2
Noa, Karl	6	1	1	2
Owens	13	0	1	1
Murray	1	1	0	1
Tautofi	8	0	1	1
Keomaka	1	0	1	1
Dickerson	12	1	1	2
Akina	7	0	1	1
Miranda	4	1	0	1
Keliikipi	12	1	0	1
Tuioti-Mariner	3	1	0	1
Brewster	13	0	1	1
Total	13	619	431	1050

Hawaii Records

Tim Chang

Games played
» Career: 53, 2000-2004; (tied with Justin Ayat)

Passing attempts
» Quarter: 30, vs. San Jose State, Oct. 28, 2000
» Half: 45, vs. San Jose State, Oct. 28, 2000
» Game: 70, vs. Rice, Sept. 27, 2003
» Season: 624 in 2002
» Career: 2,436

Completions
» Quarter: 15, vs. Fresno State, Oct. 11, 2003; tied with Dan Robinson and Nick Rolovich
» Half: 29, vs. Fresno State, Oct. 11, 2003
» Game: 42, vs. Rice, Sept. 27, 2003
» Season: 358**, 2004
» Career: 1,388, 2000-20004

Completions percentage
» Season: 59.5, 2004 (358 of 602)
» Career: 57.0 (1,388 of 2,436)

Interceptions
» Game: 5, at Rice, Oct. 21, 2000
» Season: 22, 2002
» Career: 80*

Consecutive passes, no ints.
» Season: 178, 2004
» Career: 200, 2003-2004

Yards
» Season: 4,474, 2002
» Career: 17,072*, 2000-2004

Yards per game
» Career: 322.11 (17,072 in 53)

Consecutive 200-yard games
» Season: 13, 2004
» Career: 14 (twice)

Touchdowns
» Season: 38, 2004
» Career: 117, 2000-2004

Consecutive games w/ TD pass
» Season: 11, 2002 (tied with Dan Robinson)
» Career: 13, 2000-2002

Total offense plays
» Game: 77, vs. Rice, Sept. 27, 2993
» Season: 663, 2002
» Career: 2,587, 2000-2004

Yards gained
» Season: 4,457, 2002
» Career: 16,910*, 2000-2004

Yards gained per game
» Career: 319.1, 2000-2004

Touchdowns responsible for
» Season: 40, 2004
» Career: 123, 2000-2004

Chad Owens

» Receptions
» Game: 14, vs. Army, Nov. 22, 2003
» Season: 102, 2004
» Career: 239, 2001-2004

Receptions per game
» Season: 7.8, 2004

Receiving Touchdowns
» Game: 4, vs. Northwestern, Nov. 27, 2004 and vs. Michigan State, Dec. 4, 2004 (tied with Jason Rivers)

All-Purpose Yards
» Game: 342, vs. BYU, Dec. 8, 2001
» Career: 5,461, 2001-2004

Points scored
» Game: 30, vs. Northwestern, Nov. 27, 2004
» Season: 132**, 2004

Total touchdowns
» Game: 5, vs. Northwestern, Nov. 27; tied Heikoti Fakava vs. Yale, Oct. 3, 1987.
» Season: 22**, 2004
» Career: 38, 2001-2004; tied Michael Carter, 1990-93

Kickoff returns
» Game: 9, vs. Miami-Ohio, Nov. 17, 2001

Kickoff return yards
» Game: 249, vs. BYU, Dec. 8, 2001

Kickoff return avg. yards
» Game: 50.3, vs. BYU, Dec. 8, 2001
» Season: 33.6, 2001

Punt return yards
» Career: 1,014, 2001-2004

Touchdown returns
» Season: 5, 2004
» Career: 6, 2001-2004

Justin Ayat

Games played
» Career: 53, 2001-2004; tied with Tim Chang

Points kicking
» Season: 111, 2001

PATs attempted
» Game: 10, vs. BYU, Dec. 8, 2001
» Season: 60**, 2004
» Career: 211, 2001-2004

PATs made
» Game: 9, vs. BYU, Dec. 8, 2001
» Season: 55, 2001
» Career: 193, 2001-2004

Longest field goal made
56 yards, vs. Tulsa, Oct. 2, 2004; tied Jason Elam vs. BYU Sept. 26, 1992

Jason Rivers

Touchdown receptions
» Game: 4, Idaho, Nov. 20, 2004

Abraham Elimimian

Interceptions
» Game: 3, at UTEP, Oct. 15, 2004; tied five others

Jason Ferguson

Kickoff returns
» Game: 10, at Fresno State, Nov. 12, 2004

Team

TDs w/ same passer, receiver
» Season: 17, 2004, Tim Chang to Chad Owens
» Career: 28, 2001-2004, Tim Chang to Chad Owens
Punt return average
» Season: 14.0
Sacks
» Game: 10, vs. Idaho, Nov. 20, 2004; ties vs. BYU, Oct. 28, 1999

* -- denotes NCAA record
** -- denotes record set (not extended) in Friday's Sheraton Hawaii Bowl