Sports Notebook
Star-Bulletin staff
|
WARRIORS FOOTBALL
Injuries hit two Warrior starters
Two key Hawaii offensive players, running back Daniel Libre and left tackle Laupepa Letuli, may miss several games with injuries.
Libre, who rotated with starter Leon Wright-Jackson, rushed for a team-high 35 yards on four carries, before leaving the game with a high sprain to his right ankle.
Letuli exited with an injury to the AC joint in his left shoulder. Aaron Kia, who was locked in a tight battle with Letuli for the starting job, took over at left tackle.
Wright-Jackson appeared to be shaken up when Major Wright hit him helmet-to-face-mask at the end of a 14-yard run in the second quarter.
"The ref asked me if I was OK," Wright-Jackson said. "I said, 'Yeah, are you gonna call it? He speared me in my face.' And he just walked away. It's football, it happens. But I tried to see if I could get the flag."
Wright-Jackson finished with a game-high four receptions for a team-high 39 yards and 33 yards on seven rushes.
Kelly climbs the charts
Hawaii kicker Dan Kelly moved into a tie for second place on UH's all-time scoring list.
The senior's 30-yard field goal, UH's first points of the season, and his extra point in the fourth quarter gave him 268 points, knotting him with Justin Ayat. Jason Elam owns the record with 395 points.
Taylor shines in Warriors debut
Receiver and return man Jovonte Taylor was one of the more productive Warriors yesterday.
Taylor, a JC transfer making his Division I debut, caught two passes for 38 yards in a backup role, including a 26-yarder for UH's longest gain from scrimmage. Taylor also ran back three kickoffs for 57 yards. His 30-yard kickoff return was Hawaii's longest play of the day.
"We made a lot of mistakes," Taylor said, showing more concern for the score than his stats. "It's going to be some intense practices this week. We have to get our minds right and put this behind us."
UH receiver finds his way home
Sophomore receiver Rick Taylor, slowed by injury in fall camp, wasn't on Hawaii's travel roster, but he made his way to Gainesville anyway.
After clearing it with UH's compliance officials, Taylor -- a high school teammate of Tim Tebow -- paid his way to Florida and suited up for the game, though he didn't play.
"I didn't mind doing that because I've been waiting for this game for 2 1/2 years," he said.
Touches of aloha in Gainesville
Several thousand Hawaii fans made their way to Gainesville; about 2,500 from the islands and another several hundred from the mainland.
The band Hapa played on campus Friday night, and a reception was held at UF for UH alumni yesterday morning before the game, organized by Jane Inouye, a Gainesville resident from Hawaii.
Mike Lum of Orlando and Bobby AhQuin, formerly of Waimanalo and now living in Atlanta, organized the largest tailgate party for the Warriors fans.
The King Kekaulike High School football team from Maui also attended the game. Na Alii defeated Bay High 20-0 in Panama City on Friday. Coach J.W. Kenton is a Florida graduate and said he cheered on the Gators while the players pulled for Hawaii.
Jason Kaneshiro and Dave Reardon