Saturday, September 11, 1999
STARBULLETIN.COM LATE UPDATE
’Bows end the
dreaded streakRobinson, Carter set
school records as UH defeats
Eastern Illinois 31-27Ulbrich knows how to play
By Pat Bigold
Star-BulletinDan Robinson passed for a single-game school-record 452 yards and Hawaii snapped the longest losing streak in Division 1-A football with a 31-27 squeaker against Division 1-AA Eastern Illinois before 25,816 fans tonight at Aloha Stadium. Robinson, a 6-foot-4, 219-pound senior, completed 24 of 40 passes (no interceptions) and threw four touchdown passes as Hawaii rallied from a 17-10 halftime deficit by scoring on all three of its third-quarter possessions.
His performance topped Garrett Gabriel's 1989 record of 440 yards against Brigham Young.
Two of Robinson's scoring passes went to junior transfer Attrice Brooks, who finished with 94 reception yards.
But senior wide receiver Dwight Carter set a single-game Rainbows record with 220 yards and one touchdown on nine catches.
Walter Murray's 153 yards against Colorado State in 1985 was the previous record.
"It takes the pressure off," said Hawaii head coach June Jones of his first collegiate coaching victory.
Hawaii had 541 yards total offense. But the game was not a stellar defensive performance for the Rainbows.
They yielded 497 yards to the Panthers who stayed in contention until their final possession.
Eastern Illinois had 27 first downs to Hawaii's 20.
"It wasn't the prettiest played game but we got the win and that's what counts," said Jones.
"We made some progress on offense. Defensively, we didn't play our best game. We just have to get to the drawing board."
Panther quarterback Anthony Buich, a 6-1, 213-pound junior, passed for 284 yards and two touchdowns. Buich, who showed a surprisingly quick release under heavy Hawaii pressure, completed 23 of 38 passes and was intercepted once.
Former Maui prep star Robert Kemfort had the biggest defensive play of the second half when he made the initial hit to stop fullback Andre Jones short of a first down on 4th-and-1 at the Hawaii 20 with 7:20 left.
Eastern Illinois's last drive ended with 1:57 left at the Panther 41.
Hawaii got off to a bad start in the first half, turning the ball over three times.
But the turnover that hurt most was Jamal Garland's fumble of the opening kickoff. Terri Griffis recovered at the Hawaii 38 to set up Buich's flea flicker to split end Phil Taylor for a touchdown eight seconds into the game.
Chad Larner made it 10-0 with an 18-yard field goal that topped off a 13-play, 79-yard drive that consumed 5:25.
Hawaii scored its first offensive points of the season two minutes and one second into the second quarter with a 22-yard field goal by Eric Hannum.
The Rainbows scored their first touchdown with 2:16 left in the half on an 80-yard pass play from Robinson to Attrice Brooks. Brooks hauled in the pass on the run at the Panthers 43, near the Eastern Illinois sideline and just ahead of two defenders.
The kick by Hannum tied the game at 10-10.
But Buich marshalled a nine-play, 74-yard drive that culminated in a 10-yard touchdown pass to Paul Massat with 30 seconds left in the half.
Larner's kick have the Panthers a 17-10 lead at intermission.
Phil Austin's one-handed interception grab at the Eastern Illinois 29 only 1:47 into the second half set up a two-play scoring drive that tied it again for the Rainbows.
Dwight Carter took the 12-yard pass from Robinson and extended himself into the endzone as he was tackled.
Only 4:13 later, J.R. Taylor hit the right side on a run and fumbled at the Hawaii 36 where Daniel Ho-Ching recovered for the Rainbows.
Three plays and 1:37 later, Robinson passed six yards to former St. Louis all-stater Craig Stutzmann to put the Rainbows ahead, 24-17.
That lead was short-lived as Wayne Brown capped a five-play, 64-yard drive with a 26-yard sprint around the left side to tie the game for the third time.
But on the next Hawaii possession, Robinson moved his team 79 yards on 10 plays, finishing the drive with a 14-yard scoring pass to Brooks that gave the Rainbows a 31-24 lead.
The Panthers had 15 first downs to Hawaii's 10 in the first half and ran off 41 plays to the Rainbows' 34.
But Hawaii had a big advantage in aerial yardage in the half with 255 yards to 171 yards. Carter had 98 of those yards on three receptions.
Linebacker Jeff Ulbrich, who led all WAC defenders last week with 17 tackles against USC, also made a key defensive in the second half for Hawaii. He sacked Buich 13 yards to the Panthers' 46 to bring up 3rd and 22 with a little more than two minutes gone in the fourth quarter. Eastern Illinois wound up punting.
Ulbrich and Quincy LeJay (who scored Hawaii's defensive touchdown against USC) led the Rainbows in tackles with nine apiece.
Hawaii sacked Buich three times for minus 22 yards. Robinson, who was taken down four times last week, was not sacked tonight.
Hawaii 31 - Eastern Illinois 27
Eastern Illinois 10 7 7 3 -- 27 Hawaii 0 10 21 0 -- 31Scoring summary
EIU: J.R. Taylor 38 pass from Anthony Buich (Chad Larner kick)
EIU: Larner 18 FG
UH: Eric Hannum 22 FG
UH: Attrice Brooks 80 pass from Dan Robinson (Hannum kick)
EIU: Paul Massat 10 pass from Buich (Larner kick)
UH: Dwight carter 12 pass from Robinson (Hannum kick)
UH: Craig Stutzmann 6 pass from Robinson (Hannum kick)
EIU: Wayne Brown 26 run (Larner kick)
UH: Brooks 14 pass from Robinson (Hannum kick)
EIU: Larner 19 FG
Individual Statistics
RUSHING--EIU: Jabarey McDavid 18-94, Brown 11-80, J.R. Taylor 5-18, Frank Cutolo 1-15, Buich 8-6, Andre Jones 1-0. UH: Avion Weaver 5-36, Afatia Thompson 11-33, Robinson 5-16, Stutzmann 1-4.PASSING--EIU: Buich 38-23-1 for 284 yards. UH: Robinson 40-24-0 for 452 yards.
RECEIVING--EIU: Seth Willingham 6-90, Massat 6-37, Phillip Taylor 4-89, J.R. Taylor 3-23, Cutolo 2-30, Rahsaan Smith 1-8, Nathan Kreke 1-7. UH: Carter 9-220, Stutzmann 7-62, Channon Harris 3-31, Brooks 2-94, Weaver 2-19, Lelie 1-26.
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
Ka Leo O Hawaii
