Monday, November 19, 2001
[ UH WARRIOR FOOTBALL ]
Offensive line sets Sure, it was a thrilling pass-and-catch session, like something you might see if NFL quarterbacks and receivers played flag football.
up Rolo’s scoring binge
They don't run or shoot, but the
blockers protect those who doASK THE COACH
UH STATISTICSBy Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.comBut there was much more to Hawaii's 52-51 victory over Miami (Ohio) at Aloha Stadium on Saturday night.
Of course, there was freshman Justin Ayat's 24-yard field goal to win it with time running out, and Sean Butts' blocked extra point to set it up. And fourth quarter sacks by Chris Brown and Nate Jackson slowed Miami quarterback Ben Roethlisberger just enough.
But without stellar play from Hawaii's offensive line, none of it would have been possible.
Warrior quarterback Nick Rolovich, who tore up the RedHawks' secondary as well as several pages of the UH record book, is the first to acknowledge it.
"They were great," said Rolovich, who threw a school-record seven touchdown passes. "They played so hard for me."
Lui Fuata, Manly Kanoa, Brian Smith, Vince Manuwai and Uriah Moenoa (along with running backs Thero Mitchell and Mike Bass) allowed only one sack as Rolovich completed 30 of 53 passes for 500 yards.
"Especially in the second half, they were pretty much just a wall. A lot of times I should just get rid of it, so if I do get sacked it's not necessarily their fault," Rolovich said. "It's not just me and the receivers and the running backs out there. We all feel that way."
The O-line also went through the entire game without a penalty, as Hawaii was flagged only 5 times for 33 yards.
"I think we played really well," senior center Brian Smith said. "We knew their defensive line was big and strong. We knew it'd be a big test for us and we're glad we came out on top. It's up there with our best games."
It was a game Rolovich and wide receiver Ashley Lelie got to watch yesterday afternoon as they tended to their sore muscles at Lelie's apartment.
"It's funny," Lelie said. "We get to hear what the announcers say about us."
Especially for Lelie -- and if he develops consistency -- talking heads from outside of Hawaii may have to learn how to pronounce his name.
Lelie may have climbed back into contention for postseason individual honors after a couple of mediocre games; he was in danger of squandering the national exposure he gained from three TD grabs, including the game-winner, against Fresno State on ESPN three weeks ago.
He caught six passes Saturday for a career-high 211 yards and three TDs. (Dwight Carter holds the single-game yardage mark with 220), and climbed the NCAA charts in yardage and touchdowns.
While it's doubtful Lelie can get enough attention for All-America consideration, despite a late push by UH's sports media relations department, a strong finish could set him up for all kinds of possibilities next season, his senior year.
And Lelie, who became the program's first receiver with more than 1,000 yards in more than one season, still says he'll likely be back to try for a third.
"Oh yeah, as of now that's what I'll be doing," the Radford High graduate said. "But anything could happen."
Lelie preferred to talk about how all four starting receivers scored on Saturday.
"That's why you play football, to see your teammates play well and have fun, too," he said. "I'm excited for everybody else."
Everybody else included Justin Colbert (10 catches, 151 yards, 1 TD), Channon Harris (8-65-2) and Craig Stutzmann (5-66-1).
"I don't know if there's another group of receivers that can do the things we do and are all on the field at the same time," said Harris, seconding Lelie's claim of UH's receivers being the best in the nation. "If one guy's down, the other three will pick him up."
Once again, Rolovich performed much better in the second half as the Warriors won their sixth of seven games with him at the controls. It was the third win when UH trailed at halftime.
Rolovich has passed for 1,268 of his 2,318 yards and 13 of his 21 TDs after halftime.
"He always waits to get it going. He says he wants to keep the crowd in the game," Harris said. "I'm going to war with Rolo no matter how he plays. He could go 0-for-10 and we're going to have a chance to win. That's just the kind of player he is."
NICK OF TIME
Nick Rolovich's statistics in second half of his seven startsSMU, 38-31 OverTime win
16-for-24, 2 TDs, 211 ydsUTEP, 66-7 win
6-for-11, TD, 97 yardsTulsa, 36-15 win
8-for-14, TD, 112 yardsFresno State, 38-34 win
19-for-30, 3 TDs, 237 yards, 2 INTsSan Jose State, 34-10 win
8-for-16, TD, 181 yards, INTBoise State, 28-21 Loss
12-for-21, TD, 139 yardsMiami (Ohio), 52-51 win
17-for-23, 4 TDs, 291 yards
WAC STANDINGS
CONFERENCE OVERALL W L PF PA W L PF PA Str La. Tech 6 1 292 216 6 4 363 334 L1 Boise St. 6 2 307 184 7 4 385 270 W2 Fresno St. 5 2 290 170 9 2 415 258 W3 Rice 5 2 253 210 8 3 313 298 W2 Hawaii 5 3 277 180 7 3 359 243 W1 SMU 3 4 152 192 3 6 179 256 W1 San Jose St. 3 4 220 255 3 7 260 380 L1 Nevada 2 5 201 286 2 8 238 400 L2 UTEP 1 6 139 278 2 8 204 366 L6 Tulsa 0 7 126 286 1 9 184 368 L9 Yesterday
Hawaii 52, Miami (Ohio) 51
Kansas State 40, Louisiana Tech 7
SMU 24, Tulsa 14
Boise State 56, San Jose State 6
Fresno State 61, Nevada 14
Rice 27, UTEP 17Friday (All times HST)
San Jose State at Fresno State, 11 a.m
Saturday (All times HST)
Louisiana Tech at Tulsa, 10 a.m.
Rice at SMU, 10 a.m.
Nevada at UTEP, 4:05 p.m.
Central Michigan at Boise State, 10: 05 a.m.
Air Force at Hawaii, 6:05 p.m.
ASK THE COACH
10 questions with University of Hawaii Coach June JonesWarriors ‘just keep playing’
The day after each Hawaii football game this season the Star-Bulletin asks coach June Jones 10 questions. Here is what Jones had to say after Hawaii's 52-51 victory over Miami (Ohio) at Aloha Stadium on Saturday.Star-Bulletin: Another come-from-behind victory. How rewarding is that for you as a coach?June Jones: I'm happy for the guys. They never quit at any time and that's what you've got to do to be competitive and win.
SB: What did you tell the team at halftime?
JJ: We just told them to just keep playing. We said before the game that whether we have to score 7 or 70 we'll find a way to win. Just hang in there and do it for each other.
SB: Composure in key situations seemed to be a big difference between the two teams. Do you agree?
JJ: We've had that all year. That's a big positive, especially considering we're a very young team.
SB: The Fresno State victory obviously had larger big-picture implications. But for pure excitement in the final minutes, all the twists and turns, can you compare this with any other game you've been involved with?
JJ: I had one other game like this, as a player (for Portland State). We beat Montana 50-49 when I threw a touchdown pass as time ran out.
SB: Going in last night, did you expect to call as many passing plays as you did?
JJ: Actually we had intended to run more. We thought we could contain them better. But when we saw what their offense was doing early, we knew we would have trouble stopping them. They've got a really good offense. So to keep pace we had to try to score every play.
SB: Nick Rolovich seemed more subdued than after previous victories this season. Has he reached a certain comfort level in confidence?
JJ: He's a winner. He won a national championship in junior college. He knows how to win games late. Rolo's always competitive in the fourth quarter.
SB: Everyone who knows him knows Ashley Lelie is not a braggart. But after the game he said Hawaii has the best receiving corps in nation. Do you agree?
JJ: I haven't seen everyone. But I sure do like this group. All of them made unbelievable catches. Each player took turns making big plays. That's a big difference between this year and last year, when we didn't have those. Whoever has to do it at a certain time is doing it.
SB: Justin Colbert running the option was an interesting wrinkle. Was that just something to give Miami's defense something extra to think about?
JJ: We've been waiting for the right game to try that.
SB: How good is Miami's Ben Roethlisberger?
JJ: He may be the best freshman quarterback I've ever seen.
SB: Now there's an adjustment for the defense to make for Air Force's option ground attack. Are you confident the defense can bounce back?
JJ: Yeah, what we did against Miami on defense is no different than some top 20 teams. They got 400 yards against Iowa in the second half alone. Our defense came up with a couple big plays when we needed them at the end and could've had a couple more but just missed some tackles.
Dave Reardon, Star-Bulletin
TEAM STATISTICS [UH STATISTICS]
HAWAII OPP FIRST DOWN 232 223 Rushing 60 93 Passing 150 114 Penalty 22 16 RUSHING YARDAGE 806 1,561 Yards gained rushing 1,101 1,875 Yards lost rushing 295 314 Rushing attempts 249 426 Average per rush 3.2 3.7 Average per game 80.6 156.1 Touchdowns rushing 12 10 PASSING YARDAGE 3,528 2,424 Att-Comp-Int 469-266-15 362-200-11 Average per pass 7.5 6.7 Average per catch 13.3 12.1 Average per game 352.8 242.4 Touchdowns passing 28 17 TOTAL OFFENSE 4,334 3,985 Total plays 718 788 Average per play 6.0 5.1 Average per game 433.4 398.5 KICKRETURNS: No-Yds 30-780 49-1,030 PUNTRETURNS: No-Yds 30-304 18-141 INT. RETURNS: No-Yds 11-258 15-422 FUMBLES-LOST 17-5 22-13 PENALTIES-YARDS 75-622 94-774 PUNTS-AVG 39-41.9 57-35.2 TIME OFPOSSESSION/GAME 27:18 32:41 3RD-DOWN CONVERSIONS 51/133 64/166 4TH-DOWN CONVERSIONS 5/13 11/16 RUSHING
G Att Net Avg TD Long Bass 10 99 505 5.1 2 34 Mitchell 10 61 303 4.6 9 23 Owens 8 3 51 17.0 1 33 Stutzmann 10 5 26 5.2 0 11 Withy-Allen 3 2 7 3.5 0 4 Herbert 5 1 7 7.0 0 7 Ala 6 5 6 1.2 0 6 Kauka 10 3 5 1.7 0 5 Harris 10 1 0 0.0 0 0 Team 9 3 -8 -2.7 0 0 Kapanui 7 1 -4 -4.0 0 -4 McBriar 10 1 -9 -9.0 0 -9 Flint 8 7 -18 -2.6 0 3 Rolovich 8 42 -6 -0.1 0 18 Chang 3 9 -51 -5.7 0 0 Total 10 249 806 3.2 12 34 PASSING
G Att Comp Int Yds TD Long Rolovich 8 307 174 8 2,313 21 78 Chang 3 140 83 6 1,100 6 52 Flint 8 20 8 1 112 0 45 Kapanui 7 1 1 0 3 1 3 Total 10 469 266 15 3,528 28 78 RECEIVING
G Rec Yds Avg TD Long Lelie 10 67 1,166 17.4 14 78 Colbert 10 51 733 14.4 3 52 Stutzmann 10 45 548 12.2 3 30 Harris 10 50 565 11.3 4 35 Bass 10 26 190 7.3 1 27 Mitchell 10 11 100 9.1 0 22 Uso 5 8 119 14.9 2 45 Owens 8 4 41 10.2 1 17 Gossett 6 2 56 28.0 0 45 Welch 3 1 9 9.0 0 9 Rolovich 8 1 1 1.0 0 1 Total 10 266 3,528 13.3 28 78 TOTAL OFFENSE
G Plays Rush Pass Tot Avg Rolovich 8 349 -6 2,313 2,307 288.4 Chang 3 149 -51 1,100 1,049 349.7 Bass 10 100 505 0 505 50.5 Mitchell 10 61 280 0 280 28.0 Flint 8 27 -18 112 94 11.8 Total 10 718 806 3,528 4,334 433.4 SCORING
TD FG 1XP 2XP Tot Ayat 0 17-26 40-41 0 91 Lelie 14 0-0 0-0 0 84 Mitchell 9 0-0 0-0 1 56 Harris 4 0-0 0-0 0 24 Bass 3 0-0 0-0 0 18 Stutzmann 3 0-0 0-0 0 18 Colbert 3 0-0 0-0 0 18 Uso 2 0-0 0-0 0 12 Owens 2 0-0 0-0 0 12 Millhouse 1 0-0 0-0 0 6 Bhonapha 1 0-0 0-0 0 6 Grant 1 0-0 0-0 0 6 Wright 1 0-0 0-0 0 6 Total 44 17-26 40-41 1 359 PUNTING
No. Yds Avg Long McBriar 38 1,634 43.0 69 TEAM 1 0 0 0 Total 39 1,634 43.0 69 PUNT RETURNS
No. Yds Avg TD Long Owens 13 125 9.6 0 59 Herbert 12 106 8.8 0 28 Grant 2 19 9.5 0 0 Jackson 3 16 5.3 0 8 Bhonapha 0 38 0.0 1 38 Total 30 304 10.1 1 59 KICK RETURNS
No. Yds Avg TD Long Owens 15 407 27.1 0 65 Tate 8 239 29.9 0 80 Colbert 3 86 28.7 0 40 Mitchell 2 33 16.5 0 17 Kauka 2 15 7.5 0 12 Total 30 780 26.0 0 80 INTERCEPTIONS
No. Yds Avg Td Long Millhouse 4 43 10.8 1 39 Grant 2 53 26.5 1 27 Correa 1 46 46.0 0 46 Wright 1 90 90.0 1 90 Iosua 1 15 15.0 0 15 Elimimian 1 11 11.0 0 11 Espiau 1 0 0.0 0 0 Total 11 258 23.5 3 90 TACKLES
G UT AT Tot Brown 10 64 30 94 Espiau 10 64 26 90 N.Jackson 10 56 23 79 Tinoisamoa 8 61 15 76 Peters 8 42 8 50 Laboy 7 30 18 48 Grant 10 26 22 48 Correa 10 30 13 43 Wright 9 28 20 48 Samuseva 10 26 13 39 Iosua 9 19 15 34 Millhouse 10 24 10 34 Alapa 8 19 14 33 Correia 9 17 11 28 Elimimian 9 22 3 25 Hoohuli 10 15 8 23 H. Ala 10 19 4 23 K. Jackson 10 12 8 20 Butts 10 16 3 19 Clowers 10 5 6 11 Hunter 9 5 5 10 Bhonapha 8 5 4 9 Morgan 8 6 2 8 Liana 7 4 2 6 Cravalho 8 5 1 6 Kapanui 7 6 0 6 Riccardi 7 4 0 4 Harley 3 3 1 4 Williams 8 1 3 4 Wills 2 3 0 3 Mitchell 10 3 0 3 Ayat 10 3 0 3 Tafuna 4 1 2 3 Noa 7 1 1 2 Stutzmann 10 2 0 2 Manuma 2 2 0 2 P.L. Harley 1 2 0 2 Faaliliu 7 2 0 2 Kauka 10 2 0 2 Wright 5 1 0 1 Berryman 2 1 0 1 T. Ala 6 1 0 1 Withy-Allen 3 1 0 1 Moenoa 8 1 0 1 Fuata 8 1 0 1 Harris 10 1 0 1 Rolovich 8 1 0 1 Chang 3 1 0 1 Lelie 10 1 0 1 Andrews 3 0 0 0 Total 10 666 292 958
UH Athletics
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