StarBulletin.com

Hawaii bowls 'em over


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POSTED: Sunday, November 09, 2008

LAS CRUCES, N.M. » The Hawaii offense bucked some recent trends yesterday to reach a familiar result.

The Warriors offense enjoyed another productive outing against New Mexico State as Hawaii closed its 10-day stay on the mainland with a 42-30 victory at Aggie Memorial Stadium.

Hawaii had struggled to score in four of its previous five road games, but came through with its highest point and yardage totals of the season. The Warriors split their two-game road trip and gave their postseason hopes a boost.

“;The offense kept us in the game,”; Hawaii coach Greg McMackin said. “;They've been sort of feeding off the defense and special teams—now all of a sudden I thought the offense changed the whole momentum of the ball game.”;

Like Colt Brennan before him, Hawaii quarterback Greg Alexander picked apart the New Mexico State defense, completing 26 of 32 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns as the Warriors rebounded from the disappointment of the previous week's loss at Utah State.

By remaining perfect in five meetings with New Mexico State, Hawaii (5-5, 4-3 Western Athletic Conference) returns to Honolulu today two wins shy of a berth in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl with three home games to play following a bye this week.

“;We knew what was at stake. This was a must-win for us and that's how we approached it as a team,”; said UH linebacker Solomon Elimimian, who had a team-high 10 tackles. “;The offense played a heck of a game.”;

New Mexico State (3-6, 1-4)—which has given up an average of 47.5 points in the last four meetings with UH—dropped its fourth straight and had its flickering bowl hopes all but snuffed.

Brennan lit up the Aggies in the previous three years, and Alexander followed by piloting Hawaii to touchdowns on five of their first six possessions yesterday as the Warriors rolled up a season-high 447 yards.

“;We had an excellent game plan,”; Alexander said. “;We knew what they were doing, we got what we saw on film and exploited it.”;

Alexander—who described himself as “;slow as dirt”;—also ran for 66 yards, though four sacks resulted in a net of 37. He scored on a quarterback sneak to open UH's 21-point second quarter that gave the Warriors a 35-17 lead.

He capped the half with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Kealoha Pilares, then dove into the end zone on the 2-point conversion, spun in midflight by a big hit at the goal line.

“;Greg pulled a John Elway out there,”; McMackin said.

Alexander took full advantage of Pilares' return to the lineup from a sprained foot, connecting with the sophomore 10 times for 90 yards. Running back Daniel Libre provided ground support with 88 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

The offense's output overshadowed the stats New Mexico State produced in the shootout. Aggies quarterback Chase Holbrook threw for 394 yards and four touchdowns. Three of the scores went to receiver Chris Williams, who had touchdown receptions of 84, 23 and 83 yards on his way to a 221-yard day.

But the Warriors held the Aggies to 6 yards rushing in the game and contributed to the scoring with Ryan Mouton's 91-yard interception return in the second quarter.

The Aggies stunned the Warriors on their second play from scrimmage, when Holbrook faked a handoff and hit Williams running free in the secondary for an 84-yard touchdown 44 seconds into the game.

But Hawaii responded on its first possession with a seven-play drive that ended with Aaron Bain breaking tackles near the goal line to complete a 17-yard touchdown pass.

“;One of our goals was to come out to a quick start offensively,”; Alexander said. “;After they scored that first touchdown it was good to come right back down and respond, I think that gave us a lot of confidence.”;

Alexander's quarterback sneak to open the second quarter gave UH the lead for good at 21-14. The defense then gave the Warriors control when Mouton came up with a deflected pass and raced down the sideline for his second touchdown of the season.

“;We knew we had to win three of the next four (after the Utah State loss),”; Mouton said, “;and this is a great start.”;

 

Hawaii 42, New Mexico State 30

At Aggie Memorial Stadium

                                                                                                                                           
Hawaii (4-6, 4-3)14217042
New Mexico State (3-6, 1-4)1437630

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

     

     

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

     

     

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

     

 

 

First Quarter
NMSU14:16Chris Williams 84 pass from Chase Holbrook


(Kyle Hughes kick)0-7
UH09:39Aaron Bain 17 pass from Greg Alexander


(Dan Kelly kick)7-7
NMSU07:23Williams 23 pass from Holbrook (Hughes kick)7-14
UH03:31Daniel Libre 4 run (Kelly kick)14-14

 

       

Second Quarter
UH 14:57 Alexander 1 run (Kelly kick) 21-14
UH 08:33 Ryan Mouton 91 interception return


(Kelly kick) 27-14
NMSU 03:59 FG Hughes 29 27-17
UH 01:02 Kealoha Pilares 6 pass from Alexander


(Alexander run)

35-17

       

 

       

Third Quarter
NMSU 04:09 Williams 83 pass from Holbrook (Hughes kick) 35-24
UH 00:39 Libre 3 run (Kelly kick)

42-24

       

 

       

Fourth Quarter
NMSU 01:11 Marcus Anderson 23 pass from Holbrook


(Holbrook pass failed) 42-30

 

  Attendance: 10,861. Time: 3:28.
Officials—Referee: Clair Gausman; Umpire: Rick Orsot; Linesman: Tim Schlenvogt; Line judge: Robert Blair; Back judge: Victor Firth; Field judge: Brad Robinson; Side judge: Mike Cuttone.

 

Team Statistics

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

UHNMSU
FIRST DOWNS 2415
Rushing 103
Passing 1412
Penalty 00
NET YARDS RUSHING 1446
Rushing Attempts 3721
Average Per Rush 3.90.3
Rushing Touchdowns 30
Yards Gained Rushing 18241
Yards Lost Rushing 3835
NET YARDS PASSING 303 394
Completions-Attempts-Int 27-35-024-38-2
Average Per Attempt 8.710.4
Average Per Completion 11.216.4
Passing Touchdowns 24
TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS 447400
Total offense plays 7259
Average Gain Per Play 6.26.8
Fumbles: Number-Lost 4-32-1
Penalties: Number-Yards 11-952-10
PUNTS-YARDS 3-109 4-152
Average Yards Per Punt 36.338.0
Net Yards Per Punt 18.338.0
Inside 20 00
50+ Yards 0 0
Touchbacks 2 0
Fair catch 01
KICKOFFS-YARDS 7-4275-172
Average Yards Per Kickoff 61.034.4
Net Yards Per Kickoff 39.326.2
Touchbacks 20
Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD 2-0-01-14-0
Average Per Return 6.828.0
Kickoff returns: Number-Yds-TD 5-125-02-33-0
Average Per Return 25.016.5
Interceptions: Number-Yds-TD 2-123-10-0-0
Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TD 0-0-0 0-0-0
Miscellaneous Yards 00
Possession Time 35:0324:57
1st Quarter 10:354:25
2nd Quarter 4:0210:58
3rd Quarter 11:223:38
4th Quarter 9:045:56
Third-Down Conversions 9 of 126 of 14
Fourth-Down Conversions 0 of 0 2 of 3
Red-Zone Scores-Chances 5-8 1-2
Sacks By: Number-Yards 5-264-19
PAT Kicks 4-53-3
Field Goals 0-11-1

 

Individual Offensive Statistics

RUSHING—Hawaii, Libre 13-88, Alexander 13-37, Pilares 4-19, Wright-Jackson 1-4, Farmer 1-2, Rego 1-1, Peoples 2-(-4), Team 2-(-3). NMSU, Colston 5-11, Glynn 7-9, Holbrook 9-(-14).
PASSING—Hawaii, Alexander 26-32-0-288, Rausch 1-2-0-15, Funaki 0-1-0-0. NMSU, Holbrook 24-38-2-394.
RECEIVING—Hawaii, Pilares 10-90, Salas 7-91, Bain 6-64, Washington 3-40, Lane 1-18. NMSU, Williams 7-221, Anderson 7-91, Harris 4-18, Buckley 3-51, Nelson 1-8, Lee 1-3, Colston 1-2.

 

Western Athletic Conference Standings

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

ConferenceOverall

WLPFPAWLPFPA
Boise St.50196409032693
San Jose St.4212711664197194
Louisiana Tech3212211154192194
Nevada3221014554344289
Hawaii4317418155227299
Fresno St.2316717154292276
Utah St.2413818428203369
New Mexico St.1410618736216303
Idaho1512122628208419

  Friday
Nevada 41, Fresno St. 28
Yesterday
Boise St. 49, Utah St. 14
Hawaii 42, New Mexico St. 30
Louisiana Tech 21, San Jose St. 0
Saturday
Utah St. at Louisiana Tech
San Jose St. at Nevada
Boise St. at Idaho
New Mexico St. at Fresno St.

 

Individual Defensive statistics

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

     

     

       

     

     

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

     

     

       

       

       

       

     

 

 

HAWAII

Tackles
PlayerSoloAstTot
Elimimian4610
A. Leonard178
Maka336
Robinson235
Dowling224
Roberts134
Fonoti044
Mouton213
Meatoga123
C.J. Allen-Jones123
Thomas202
Ahmad202
Kiesel-Kauhane101
Rice101
Veikune101
Lolotai101
Purcell011
Watson011
Laeli011
J. Leonard011
Satele011

 

       

NMSU

Tackles
Player Solo Ast Tot
Paden 6 4 10
Anderson 5 5 10
Richardson 3 6 9
Powell 5 2 7
Fonoti 4 3 7
Scott 3 4 7
Baiamonte 4 2 6
Alford 1 3 4
Betts 3 0 3
Conner 1 1 2
Moss 0 2 2
Bradley 0 2 2
Nwoko 0 2 2
Butler 1 0 1
King 1 0 1
Fils 0 1 1
Hatchett 0 1 1
Diaz 0 1 1
House 0 1 1
Davenport 0 1 1
Fasavalu 0 1 1

Tackles for loss-yards—Hawaii, Maka 2-7, Meatoga 1.5-9, Elimimian 1-6, Veikune 1-4, Mouton 1-2, Fonoti 0.5-4. NMSU, Fonoti 2-15, Scott 2-7, Paden 1-4, Anderson 103.
Sacks-yards—Hawaii, Maka 1.5-5, Meatoga 1-7, Elimimian 1-6, Veikune 1-4, Fonoti 0.5-4. NMSU, Fonoti 2-15, Anderson 1-3, Scott 1-1.
Interceptions—Hawaii, Mouton 1-91, Robinson 1-32. NMSU, none.
Kicks blocked—Hawaii, none. NMSU, none.
Quarterback hurries—Hawaii, none. NMSU, Fonoti, Scott.