Robinson, Ulbrich MVPs

Hawaii record-setters Dan Robinson and Jeff Ulbrich were named the Alec Waterhouse most valuable players at last night's banquet at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.

Robinson set or tied 29 team marks, including career passing yards (6,038). Ulbrich came back from reconstructive knee surgery to break the single-season tackle record with 169.

The Ben Yee Most Inspirational Award was given to defensive end Joe Correia. He played several games with a broken hand and a sprained knee. Despite wearing a knee brace and a cast for the better part of the season, the former St. Louis School quarterback finished with 49 tackles.

Ben Wright won the defensive scout team award and Kevin Gilbride took home the honors for the offensive scout team. The Warrior Club winners were offensive lineman Kaulana Noa, cornerback Quincy LeJay and special teams standout Joaquin Avila.

Team captain winners were Robinson, linebacker Yaphet Warren and punter Chad Shrout.

Ulbrich sets standard

Middle linebacker Ulbrich raised the bar for season tackles to 169, including eight quarterback sacks. He broke a 31-year-old mark of 148 in last week's game with the Naval Academy.

"I wanted the next guy to have to have a great year to beat me," Ulbrich said. "A lot of credit has to go to my teammates and the defensive system we use. The linemen do a lot of engaging and that allows me to run and flow to the football. This is one season I'll never forget."

Robinson struggles

To say Robinson had an off-night would be treating his performance kindly.

In his final regular-season game, Robinson hit only 19 of 51 passes for 254 yards and one touchdown. He threw three interceptions to finish with 18 in 12 games this season. That tied the record set by Greg Tipton in 1986 in 377 attempts. Robinson attempted 556 passes this year, another of his 19 overall school marks that he set or tied in 1999.

Coming into the game, wideout Dwight Carter was among the nation's leaders in yardage and completions. He finished with four catches for 104 yards and one touchdown, but 75 of those yards came on the one scoring play.

"It didn't end the way we wanted it to, but we still have another game," Robinson said.

Earning a thousand

Avion Weaver finished with 80 yards rushing on 14 carries, but didn't have the kind of impact he had during Hawaii's three-game winning streak that ended with the loss to the Cougars. He finished with 645 yards and four touchdowns for the season.

He and Afatia Thompson alternated halves most of the way. Thompson had 435 yards as Hawaii produced 1,080 yards at the running back spot. "One of the biggest misconceptions in the run-and-shoot is you don't run,'' Jones said. "Producing 1,000 yards at one running back spot is the goal of teams who rush the ball all the time. So, I'm pleased with those numbers."

---

By Paul Arnett