WARRIOR FOOTBALL
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Warriors' Ryan Grice-Mullins tried to break free from Louisiana Tech defender Josh Victorian during first-half action of Hawaii's 45-44 overtime victory at Joe Aillet Stadium in Ruston, La., yesterday.
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Survivors
The Warriors turn away Louisiana Tech in overtime
STORY SUMMARY »
RUSTON, La. » A season of tremendous promise for Hawaii nearly died an early death last night in this small Louisiana town, as host LaTech did everything it could to try to take down 20th-ranked Hawaii.
Watching Colt
How Colt Brennan did last night:
Attempts |
61
|
Completions |
43
|
Yards |
548
|
Interceptions |
1
|
Touchdowns |
4 |
Scoreboard
West Virginia (3) |
48
|
Marshall |
23
|
Oklahoma (5) |
51
|
Miami |
13
|
Florida (4) |
59
|
Troy |
31
|
Texas (7) |
34
|
TCU (19) |
13 |
California (10) |
34
|
Colorado State |
28
|
South Carolina |
16
|
Georgia (11) |
12
|
Ohio State (12) |
20
|
Akron |
2
|
UCLA (13) |
27
|
BYU |
17 |
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The Warriors made big plays after halftime and survived, barely, as cornerback Gerard Lewis knocked away Zac Champion's pass on a 2-point-conversion attempt, and Hawaii won 45-44.
"On that last play I was just where I was supposed to be," Lewis said.
Lewis looks an inch or two shorter than the listed 5-foot-9, but is a giant in his teammates' eyes after saving the win and the Warriors' high hopes for the season.
UH improved to 2-0 and got a leg up in the WAC race it is predicted to win.
"They (Lewis and fellow starting corner Myron Newberry) play 7 feet tall. That's how their attitude is," said Jason Rivers, the senior receiver who was huge himself, tying his own school record for receptions in a game with 14, to go along with a game-high 176 yards and the winning touchdown in overtime.
Quarterback Colt Brennan didn't have his greatest outing, but he broke personal records for completions (43) and attempts (61) and directed five scoring drives after halftime.
He remains in the Heisman hunt after throwing for 548 yards, passing for four TDs and rushing for another.
But Brennan knows the Warriors must play better if they are to achieve their goals.
"I think we definitely lost some confidence and weren't ourselves (early) today," Brennan said, when asked about the Warriors falling behind 14-0 on two Patrick Jackson touchdowns. "I don't know if it's the travel or what. But they had a great game plan and made an unbelievable game out of it."
The question now is whether the Warriors drop in the rankings. Their reward for coming up with a clutch performance after halftime on the road will likely be remaining in the Top 25. But barely winning a game in which they were favored by four touchdowns could drop Hawaii a notch or two.
"We got a win and we're still unbeaten," said receiver Davone Bess, who caught 10 passes for 118 yards and a touchdown. "Now we have to take it to Las Vegas and do the same thing."
The Warriors practice in Houston this week before playing UNLV on Saturday.
Hawaii |
7 |
7 |
14 |
10 |
7 -- |
45 |
La. Tech |
14 |
7 |
10 |
7 |
6 -- |
44 |
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FULL STORY »
RUSTON, La. » When Louisiana Tech lined up with three receivers to the right instead of in kicking formation, Gerard Lewis was among several Warriors defenders to quickly ask for a timeout.
The Bulldogs came back in the same alignment, and Lewis and his teammates were ready. LaTech quarterback Zac Champion tried to audible out of the called play.
But the snap came first. And so did the Warriors, on a zone blitz.
"We were thinking they might do a Boise State (trick) play," UH coach June Jones said.
Champion got rid of the ball on time, but his hasty throw was batted to the turf of Joe Aillet Stadium, and the Warriors had won, 45-44. A green-clad section of about 200 (by far the largest gathering of UH fans in the three games the teams have played here) of the 22,135 in attendance were overjoyed. Inoke Funaki rubbed Lewis' head. Ryan Grice-Mullins hugged him and said, "Sky's the limit, cuz, sky's the limit." Colt Brennan said, "He's a great football player, and that's the bottom line."
Lewis, understated even in these situations, remained the cool one in the postgame humidity, walking around and accepting his teammates' appreciation -- proud, but not strutting, playing in front of a dozen family and friends from Texas.
"Just doing my job," Lewis said matter-of-factly, like he did last season to set up the Purdue victory with an interception, like he did last week with a fumble recovery to set the tone in the season opener.
"He's a baller," Jones said, when asked about Lewis' penchant for making the key play.
But this was much bigger than his previous exploits. This play saved the game, and the Warriors' long-term hopes.
"This could be the turning point of our season," receiver Davone Bess said.
There will be many more stringent tests, but UH passed the first one last night -- barely.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Hawaii wide receiver C.J. Hawthorne was dragged out of bounds by Louisiana Tech defensive back Tony Moss after he caught one of his six passes in last night's victory. Hawthorne ended up with 73 receiving yards.
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LaTech was defending its home field. Hawaii was defending its national ranking. Something had to give, and it finally did with Lewis' clutch play -- the last of several by both teams. No. 20 UH had a few more in the second half.
Lewis didn't have a great game up to that point, and he and Myron Newberry both shared time with Ryan Mouton.
"We were struggling, so we were alternating. But they kept their heads up and Gerard makes the play to win the game," defensive backs coach Rich Miano said.
Lewis said he was bothered by cramps, as the conditions drained several Warriors, including starting left tackle Keith AhSoon, whom Aaron Kia had to replace in the overtime drive.
While Lewis, kicker Dan Kelly (49-yard field goal to force overtime) and Colt Brennan (four TD passes after halftime) were the late-game heroes, it was Jason Rivers who energized the Warriors from start to finish.
Rivers tied his own school record of 14 catches and was game high with 176 receiving yards. He caught a 6-yarder from Brennan to give the Warriors the overtime lead.
The Warriors started out slowly -- partly because the Bulldogs controlled the tempo and both lines of scrimmage early on. Not to mention the scoreboard.
They led 14-0 on two Patrick Jackson runs before UH could muster a first down.
"Jiminy Christmas," Warriors defensive coordinator Greg McMackin said after LaTech put up 410 yards. "You gotta give them credit. Our guys played to exhaustion."
The Warriors battled back, on both sides of the ball.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Quarterback Colt Brennan raised his total touchdown passes thrown to 10 after the senior tossed four more in the Warriors' 45-44 overtime win over Louisiana Tech.
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Leon Wright-Jackson displayed his explosiveness and some instinctive moves on a 47-yard touchdown run, and Brennan ran for a 3-yard score to tie it at 14.
But Brennan fumbled and LaTech's Ben McGilton recovered at the Hawaii 26. Daniel Porter was across the line three plays later at the end of an 18-yard run.
"They ran a little better than we thought they would and they kept us off-balance. We gotta get better," Miano said.
Brennan was back to himself after halftime. His four touchdown passes give him 103 and moved him into fifth on the NCAA career list. He also set personal highs for completions (43) and attempts (61).
He threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Bess, giving UH a 35-31 lead with 8:35 left in the game.
UH's defense got the ball back on a sack by Rocky Savaiigaea and Mike Lafaele, but Brennan showed he's human on the next series.
"He made one mistake, the interception," Jones said, referring to the pick by Marquis McBeath with 5:51 left that led to Dennis Morris' 1-yard TD that put the Bulldogs up 38-35. "He didn't go through his progressions, and would've had C.J. (Hawthorne) for a touchdown.
"I'm glad we could win it for him. He took us down the field with the pressure on him," Jones added.
Kelly -- who earlier missed a 41-yarder and had a 48-yarder blocked -- made a 49-yarder with 1:34 left to tie.
"I didn't look," Jones said.
The defense -- with David Veikune sacking Champion on fourth down at midfield with 12 seconds left -- held to force the overtime.
Brennan overcame four sacks and the two turnovers to pass for 548 yards and lead the Warriors down the stretch.
"If you're going to blitz Colt Brennan, you can't be late," Bulldogs coach Derek Dooley said.
"I thought we did a good job of getting to him at times, but he also made us pay with some big plays. It's not everyday a guy throws against you and you feel like you did a pretty good job against him."
Grice-Mullins caught a 17-yard scoring strike from Brennan at 2:04 of the third quarter, giving UH its first lead, 28-24.
Antonio Baker recovered a bad handoff exchange between Brennan and Wright-Jackson at the UH 33. Three plays later, Champion lofted a pass into the hands of Josh Wheeler, and the Bulldogs regained the lead at 31-28 with 48 seconds left in the third quarter.
Hawaii 45, Louisiana Tech 44
At Aloha Stadium
Hawaii (2-0) |
7 |
7 |
14 |
10 |
7 |
-- |
45
|
Louisiana Tech (1-1) |
14 |
7 |
10 |
7 |
6 |
-- |
44 |
First Quarter
|
LaTech |
10:31 |
Patrick Jackson 2 run (Danny Horwedel kick) |
0-7
|
LaTech |
4:03 |
Jackson 16 run (Horwedel kick) |
0-14
|
UH |
1:43 |
Leon Wright-Jackson 47 run (Dan Kelly kick) |
7-14
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Second Quarter
|
UH |
10:11 |
Colt Brennan 3 run (Kelly kick) |
14-14
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LaTech |
5:14 |
Daniel Porter 18 run (Horwedel kick) |
14-21
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Third Quarter
|
UH |
9:47 |
Ryan Grice-Mullins 64 pass from Brennan |
21-21
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(Kelly kick)
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LaTech |
6:03 |
FG Horwedel 42 |
21-24
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UH |
2:04 |
Grice-Mullins 17 pass from Brennan (Kelly kick) |
28-24
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LaTech |
0:48 |
Josh Wheeler 3 pass from Zac Champion |
28-31
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(Horwedel kick)
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Fourth Quarter
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UH |
8:35 |
Davone Bess 19 pass from Brennan (Kelly kick) |
35-31
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LaTech |
3:01 |
Dennis Morris 1 run (Horwedel kick) |
35-38
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UH |
1:34 |
FG Kelly 49 |
38-38
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Overtime
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UH |
15:00 |
Jason Rivers 6 pass from Brennan (Kelly kick) |
45-38
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LaTech |
15:00 |
Dustin Mitchell 2 pass from Champion |
45-44 |
(pass failed)
Officials -- Referee: Frank White; Umpire: Steve Kohler; Linesman: Glen McKuin; Line judge: Dave Malone; Back judge: Shawn Hochuli; Field judge: Scott Monaco; Side judge: Otis Byrd; Scorer: Kyle Roberts.
Team Statistics
|
Hawaii |
LaTech
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FIRST DOWNS |
32 |
24
|
Rushing |
4 |
10
|
Passing |
25 |
12
|
Penalty |
3 |
2
|
NET YARDS RUSHING |
45 |
223
|
Rushing Attempts |
20 |
49
|
Average Per Rush |
2.2 |
4.6
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Rushing Touchdowns |
2 |
4
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Yards Gained Rushing |
83 |
258
|
Yards Lost Rushing |
38 |
35
|
NET YARDS PASSING |
548 |
187
|
Completions-Attempts-Int |
43-61-1 |
23-36-0
|
Average Per Attempt |
9.0 |
5.2
|
Average Per Completion |
12.7 |
8.1
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Passing Touchdowns |
4 |
2
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TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS |
593 |
410
|
Total offense plays |
81 |
85
|
Average Gain Per Play |
7.3 |
4.8
|
Fumbles: Number-Lost |
3-2 |
1-0
|
Penalties: Number-Yards |
10-80 |
9-70
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PUNTS-YARDS |
2-102 |
6-269
|
Average Yards Per Punt |
51.0 |
41.8
|
Net Yards Per Punt |
51.0 |
41.8
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Inside 20 |
1 |
4
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50+ Yards |
2 |
2
|
Touchbacks |
0 |
0
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Fair catch |
0 |
1
|
KICKOFFS-YARDS |
7-453 |
7-411
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Average Yards Per Kickoff |
64.7 |
58.7
|
Net Yards Per Kickoff |
41.4 |
38.9
|
Touchbacks |
0 |
0
|
Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD |
0-0-0 |
0-0-0
|
Average Per Return |
0.0 |
0.0
|
Kickoff returns: Number-Yds-TD |
7-139-0 |
7-163-0
|
Average Per Return |
19.9 |
23.3
|
Interceptions: Number-Yds-TD |
0-0-0 |
1-16-0
|
Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TD |
0-0-0 |
1-5-0
|
Miscellaneous Yards |
0 |
24
|
Possession Time |
27:14 |
32:46
|
1st Quarter |
4:27 |
10:33
|
2nd Quarter |
9:21 |
5:39
|
3rd Quarter |
8:16 |
6:44
|
4th Quarter |
5:10 |
9:50
|
Third-Down Conversions |
9 of 15 |
7 of 18
|
Fourth-Down Conversions |
0 of 1 |
2 of 3
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Red-Zone Scores-Chances |
4-4 |
5-6
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Sacks By: Number-Yards |
3-29 |
4-24
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PAT Kicks |
6-6 |
5-5
|
Field Goals |
1-3 |
1-2 |
Individual Offensive Statistics
RUSHING--UH, Wright-Jackson 6-53, Kealoha Pilares 3-0, Brennan 11-(-8).
LaTech, Jackson 23-98, Porter 10-68, Champion 12-22, Morris 2-22, Michael Mosley 2-13.
PASSING--UH, Brennan 43-61-1-548.
LaTech, Champion 23-36-0-187.
RECEIVING--UH, Rivers 14-176, Bess 10-118, Grice-Mullins 9-162, C.J. Hawthorne 6-73, Pilares 3-16, Wright-Jackson 1-3.
La Tech, Phillip Beck 5-40, Joe Anderson 4-41, Jackson 4-31, Wheeler 2-21, Anthony Harrison 2-18, Porter 2-11, Mitchell 2-4, Morris 1-15, Brian Jackson 1-6.
Individual Defensive Statistics
Hawaii |
Player |
Solo |
Ast |
Tot
|
S. Elimimian |
6 |
8 |
14
|
Adam Leonard |
5 |
7 |
12
|
Jacob Patek |
4 |
7 |
11
|
Karl Noa |
5 |
5 |
10
|
Myron Newberry |
2 |
7 |
9
|
Brad Kailimoku |
4 |
2 |
6
|
Michael Lafaele |
0 |
5 |
5
|
Gerard Lewis |
2 |
2 |
4
|
Dan Kelly |
2 |
1 |
3 |
|
David Veikune |
2 |
1 |
3
|
Fale Laeli |
1 |
2 |
3
|
Keao Monteilh |
2 |
0 |
2
|
Rustin Saole |
1 |
1 |
2
|
Keala Watson |
1 |
1 |
2
|
Dane Porlas |
1 |
1 |
2
|
Amani Purcell |
1 |
1 |
2
|
Ryan Mouton |
0 |
2 |
2 |
|
Colt Brennan |
1 |
0 |
1
|
Timo Paepule |
1 |
0 |
1
|
Guyton Galdeira |
0 |
1 |
1
|
Greg Salas |
0 |
1 |
1
|
Francis Maka |
0 |
1 |
1
|
Brashton Satele |
0 |
1 |
1
|
Siave Seti |
0 |
1 |
1 |
LaTech |
Player |
Solo |
Ast |
Tot
|
Antonio Baker |
6 |
8 |
14
|
Shalamar Walker |
4 |
5 |
9
|
Josh Victorian |
6 |
2 |
8
|
Tony Moss |
4 |
2 |
6
|
Weldon Brown |
3 |
3 |
6
|
Mark Dillard |
2 |
4 |
6
|
Quin Harris |
4 |
1 |
5
|
Deon Young |
3 |
2 |
5
|
Chris Pugh |
0 |
5 |
5
|
D'Anthony Smith |
1 |
3 |
4
|
Ramone Randle |
0 |
2 |
2
|
Josh Muse |
0 |
2 |
2
|
Justin Johnson |
0 |
2 |
2
|
Roosevelt Falls |
0 |
2 |
2
|
Stevon Howze |
1 |
0 |
1
|
Myke Compton |
1 |
0 |
1
|
Chris Lowery |
1 |
0 |
1
|
Anthony Crosby |
0 |
1 |
1
|
Marvin Lubin |
0 |
1 |
1
|
Ben McGilton |
0 |
1 |
1
|
Nolan Darby |
0 |
1 |
1
|
Marquis McBeath |
0 |
1 |
1 |
Tackles for loss-yards -- UH: Leonard 1.5-20, Laeli 1.5-6, Veikune 1-2, Newberry 1-1, Lafaele .5-4, Elimimian .5-2 . LaTech: Baker 1.5-5, Pugh 1.5-5, Harris 1-8, Smith 1-2, Victorian 1-1, Dillard, .5-4, McGilton .5-3, McBeath .5-2, Randle .5-0.
Sacks-Yards -- UH: Leonard 1-19, Veikune 1-2, Lafaele 5-4, Laeli 5-4. LaTech: Harris 1-8, Pugh 1-5, Dillard 5-4, Baker 5-3, McGilton 5-3, Smith 5-1
Fumbles forced -- UH: Patek. LaTech: Baker, Smith.
Fumbles recovered -- UH: None. LaTech: McGilton 1-5, Baker 1-0.
Interceptions -- UH: None. Hawaii: McBeath 1-16.
Passes broken up -- UH: Leonard, Patek, Newberry, Kailimoku, Monteilh, Desmond Thomas. LaTech: Harris 4, Dillard 2, Victorian.
Kicks blocked -- UH: None. LaTech: Dominique Faust.