Sports Notebook Star-Bulletin staff

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AhSoon suffers knee injury

Hawaii's concerns at left tackle continued when starter Keith AhSoon went out with an injury to his left knee on the Warriors offense's second play of the game.

UH coach Greg McMackin said AhSoon injured the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee and will have an MRI when the team returns to Honolulu to determine the extent of the injury.

"I was just blocking and somebody fell on me," AhSoon said. "That's the worst feeling, watching your teammates. You practice all week and then you're on the side."

AhSoon moved into the starting role when Laupepa Letuli suffered a shoulder injury against Florida that has kept him out of the last two games. AhSoon was replaced by Aaron Kia, who's been working through tendinitis in his knees.

"Keith's been so solid and so stable," offensive line coach Brian Smith said. "We just had to mid-stream adjust and Kia had to go in and we have to get him prepared for San Jose (State)."

Warriors run low on running backs

Leon Wright-Jackson started the game at running back for Hawaii, but reinjured his foot on the game's first play and didn't return. In the third quarter, Daniel Libre, who had just returned to practice last Wednesday, had to be helped from the field after reinjuring his ankle.

Kealoha Pilares carried the rushing load for Hawaii, taking the ball eight times for 36 yards and the Warriors' lone touchdown. Jayson Rego had two carries for 5 yards.

Rough half for both kickers

The words "wide left" became a common phrase of the first half. Oregon State's Justin Kahut missed all three of his field-goal attempts, and Dan Kelly's 44-yard kick late in the second quarter for Hawaii sailed wide of the left post. Kelly's miss was his third straight errant attempt. He was 0-for-2 against Weber State a week earlier and is 1-for-4 this season.

Sean Sehnem replaced Kahut in the second half and made a 32-yarder that gave OSU a 31-7 lead.

Mixed emotions for Cavanaugh

Oregon State offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh found satisfaction in the performance of the Beavers line yesterday, but it was still a tough afternoon for the former Hawaii assistant.

"It's hard playing Hawaii just with all the ties, it's not a fun deal for me," said Cavanaugh, who coached at UH from 1999 to 2004. The Beavers cleared the way for freshman Jacquizz Rodgers to rush for 110 yards and two touchdowns.

Houston on Mouton's mind

While Hawaii cornerback Ryan Mouton was focused on facing the Beavers yesterday, the Houston resident's thoughts were also with family members back in Texas this week as Hurricane Ike hit the state.

"I checked on them before the game, try to find out what was going on," Mouton said. "But when it's time to play the game, I have to play a game."

Mouton's parents, Suzanne and Ronald, made the trip to Corvallis and informed him that the rest of the family was safe.

Mouton finished with seven tackles and averaged 21.3 yards on three kickoff returns.

Jason Kaneshiro, Star-Bulletin