Monday, November 26, 2001
[ UH WARRIOR FOOTBALL ]
Lelie leaving? Not When asked about his accomplishments, Ashley Lelie answers politely and succinctly, then quickly moves on to lauding his teammates.
without a few
kind words
Hawaii's deep threat plans on
returning next year, but has to
get some advice firstASK THE COACH
UH STATISTICSBy Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.com
Even on his greatest night as a football player, it didn't take the soft-spoken Hawaii wide receiver long to deflect praise.
In the postgame locker room Saturday, Lelie tossed the usual verbal bouquets to the line, the quarterback, the other receivers, the coaches. But then he quickly segued into how much respect he had for the Air Force team he and his Warrior teammates had just destroyed 52-30.
Respect? For a defense that he and quarterback Nick Rolovich had just turned into mush? A team with a secondary he'd sped past for three long touchdown catches and a school-record 285 receiving yards?
This was about a different kind of respect, the kind that goes beyond the football field.
UH football is among the NCAA leaders in several statistical categories BY THE NUMBERS
Team passing offense
2nd, 366.6 yards per gameTeam scoring offense
8th, 37.4 points per gameTeam kickoff returns
1st, 28.2 yards per returnind. scoring, non-kickers
10th, Ashley Lelie, 9.27 ppgInd. scoring, kickers
4th, Justin Ayat, 9.00 ppgIndividual receiving
7th, Lelie, 6.9 rec. per game
3rd, Lelie, 131.91 yds. per game
"My props to them, their whole team," Lelie said. "Everything they have to go through at the academy, all the discipline. Getting up early, all that stuff."
But don't the Warriors rise with the sun, too, for practice?
"Yeah, but that's different," he said. "They have to get up early to see the drill sergeant. I know about that kind of stuff, growing up in a military family."
Lelie appreciates the concept of commitment. It took a lot for him to climb from raw talent to established star in less than three years.
The history major made quite a bit of his own Saturday by also breaking the career reception and yardage marks of Walter Murray and the season yardage mark previously held by Dwight Carter.
Lelie will have a decision to make soon. With his statistics, stature and speed, Lelie has the makings of an NFL receiver, as Hawaii coach June Jones has said all along. His hands have improved enough to make Lelie a legitimate prospect for next spring's NFL Draft.
Since his emergence on the national scene with three touchdown catches, including the game-winner with 13 seconds left, against Fresno State last month, Lelie has said he will likely return to Hawaii for his senior season. But he has left the door open. Saturday Lelie said he plans to talk with his father, Rene, and Jones for advice.
Jones has said he won't try to influence Lelie one way or the other.
"That's the kind of situation that is a good sign for your program," Jones said. "Obviously we would miss him, but we want him to do what's best for him."
With six TDs and 496 yards receiving in the past two games, Lelie has climbed the NCAA charts. He is third in receiving yards per game at 131.91 and 10th in scoring among non-kickers with 17 touchdowns.
Lelie is a virtual lock for the All-Western Athletic Conference team which will be released next week. He was chosen third-team All-American by Football News last week. If Lelie plays well Dec. 8 against Brigham Young on national television, he could make the Associated Press team, the most prestigious All-America team.
Kicker Jason Elam is the last UH player to be honored by AP, as a third-teamer in 1992. Defensive lineman Al Noga is the school's only AP first-team All-American, selected in 1986. Murray made the third team in 1985 and Larry Khan-Smith was chosen a second-team return specialist in 1988.
Hawaii No. 1: Boosted by Chad Owens' 100-yard touchdown runback, UH tops the NCAA statistics in kickoff return yardage. The Warriors average 28.2 yards per return. Oklahoma is second at 26.9.
Kickoff returns from the end zone are all measured from the goal line now. In 1935, before that rule was in effect, Hawaii's Thomas Kaulukukui returned a UCLA kickoff 103 yards for a touchdown.
Owens began his return from 2 yards deep in the end zone. Regardless, it is the second longest in UH history.
Rolo watch: Quarterback Nick Rolovich is also attacking the record book with fervor. By passing for 1,005 yards in the past two games, he eclipsed Dan Robinson's consecutive-games record of 798 set in 1998.
Also, Rolovich and Lelie have now combined for 13 touchdowns. The old record of nine was held by Robinson-Carter, Warren Jones-Chris Roscoe and Garrett Gabriel-Roscoe.
The other side: Air Force's 545 rushing yards broke the Hawaii opponent record of 499 set by Wisconsin in 1996.
The record for most total yards against UH in one game is 775, set by Nevada in 1948.
10 questions with University of Hawaii Coach June Jones ASK THE COACH
This team better than ’99 edition
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 52-30 victory over Air Force at Aloha Stadium on Saturday.Star-Bulletin: Is this Hawaii team as good as the 1999 team?June Jones: I think we're better. Some of these guys have been here for years and they really understand what we want to get done. I told the offense before the season that I thought they were physically better than some of the USFL teams I coached. They've played like it the past five or six games. Hopefully they will for one more game.
SB: What stood out to you most about Nick Rolovich's performance on Saturday?
JJ: I just felt like for the first time he really, from the first play, had a feel for what they were doing on defense and played very well through the whole game.
SB: After the game, Ashley Lelie said he will ask you what you think he should do about turning pro. What do you think you might tell him?
JJ: What he and I talk about is between us. Hopefully he does have some options. We want him to do what is best for him.
SB: How important was the threat of the other three receivers in Lelie being able to get open against Air Force?
JJ: Ashley was doubled the whole game. He did what he had to do. We kind of geared up some stuff to get it done.
SB: Once again, special teams were big. Air Force coach Fisher DeBerry said Chad Owens' touchdown return was the knockout blow. How important was it to beat Air Force in an aspect of the game of which it is very proud?
JJ: We pride ourselves on special teams, too. We won that battle. I can't say enough about the job the coaches and players have done. We lost a very good coach in Dennis McKnight, but the staff picked up the slack and got it done.
SB: Some people will point toward 600-plus yards given up by the defense, two games in a row. But DeBerry talked about his team's turnovers as big keys. Have you come to expect your defense to come up with big plays at important times?
JJ: We knew Air Force would move the ball. We told the team we had to take care of the ball, that turnovers could be the difference. In most games they are, and they were in that game.
SB: You've got some very tough guys on defense, as far as playing through pain. How tough are they by football player standards?
JJ: The difference is what our coaching staff has created for them. They're the same guys as before, but some of them wouldn't play hurt. The bottom line is if you want to win you've got to try to go back in there, not only for yourself but for the rest of the team.
SB: Would you rather play Brigham Young right now considering the offense is on such a roll, or are you happy to have the time to heal up some guys?
JJ: We're glad to have some time off to get healthy. BYU will be our bowl game.
SB: What's the schedule like for this week?
JJ: We'll practice Monday through Wednesday and take off until next Monday.
SB: Will you get a chance to play some golf?
JJ: I'm gonna try. It will be good for all of us to get away for a little while and come back focused.
Dave Reardon, Star-Bulletin
[UH STATISTICS]
TEAM STATISTICS
HAWAII OPP FIRST DOWN 255 255 Rushing 63 120 Passing 170 117 Penalty 22 18 RUSHING YARDAGE 873 2,106 Yards gained rushing 1178 2,427 Yards lost rushing 305 321 Rushing attempts 264 339 Average per rush 3.3 4.2 Average per game 79.4 191.5 Touchdowns rushing 13 14 PASSING YARDAGE 4,033 2,482 Att-Comp-Int 518-298-15 382-204-13 Average per pass 7.8 6.5 Average per catch 13.5 12.4 Average per game 366.6 225.6 Touchdowns passing 33 17 TOTAL OFFENSE 4,906 4,588 Total plays 782 886 Average per play 6.3 5.2 Average per game 446.0 417.1 KICKRETURNS: No-Yds 33-931 51-1074 PUNTRETURNS: No-Yds 31-302 18-141 INT. RETURNS: No-Yds 13-357 15-422 FUMBLES-LOST 19-6 24-15 PENALTIES-YARDS 80-677 99-809 PUNTS-AVG 40-38.3 61-30.3 TIME OFPOSSESSION/GAME 26:50 33:10 3RD-DOWN CONVERSIONS 56/143 75/185 4TH-DOWN CONVERSIONS 5/15 13/18
Rushing
G Att Net Avg TD Long Bass 11 106 582 5.2 3 34 Mitchell 11 64 332 4.8 9 24 Owens 9 3 51 17.0 1 33 Stutzmann 11 5 26 5.2 0 11 Withy-Allen 3 2 7 3.5 0 4 Herbert 5 1 7 7.0 0 7 Ala 7 6 6 1.0 0 6 Kauka 11 3 5 1.7 0 5 Galeai 3 3 5 1.7 0 5 Harris 11 1 0 0.0 0 0 Colbert 11 1 -1 -1.0 0 0 Kapanui 8 1 -4 -4.0 0 0 McBriar 11 1 -9 -9.0 0 0 Team 10 4 -9 -2.2 0 0 Rolovich 9 45 -11 -0.2 0 18 Flint 9 7 -18 -2.6 0 3 Chang 3 9 -51 -5.7 0 0 Total 11 264 873 3.3 13 34
Passing
G Att Comp Int Yds TD Long Rolovich 9 366 204 8 2,818 26 78 Chang 3 140 83 6 1,100 6 52 Flint 9 23 10 1 112 0 45 Kapanui 8 1 1 0 3 1 3 Bass 11 1 0 0 0 0 0 Team 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 11 518 298 15 4,033 33 78
Receiving
G Rec Yds Avg TD Long Lelie 11 76 1451 19.1 17 78 Harris 11 58 651 11.2 5 35 Colbert 11 54 784 14.5 3 52 Stutzmann 11 50 578 11.6 4 30 Bass 11 29 220 7.6 1 27 Mitchell 11 12 117 9.8 0 22 Uso 6 9 125 13.9 2 45 Owens 9 5 57 11.4 1 17 Gossett 7 2 56 28.0 0 45 Welch 4 1 9 9.0 0 9 Rolovich 9 1 1 1.0 0 1 Flint 9 1 -16 -16.0 0 0 Total 11 298 4,033 13.5 33 78
Total Offense
G Plays Rush Pass Tot Avg Rolovich 9 398 -11 2,818 2,807 311.9 Chang 3 149 -51 1,100 1,049 349.7 Bass 11 107 549 0 549 49.9 Mitchell 11 64 309 0 309 28.1 Flint 9 30 -18 112 94 10.4 Owens 9 3 51 0 51 5.7 Stutzmann 11 5 26 0 26 2.4 Misipeka 4 2 11 0 11 2.8 Withy-Allen 3 2 7 0 7 2.3 Herbert 5 1 7 0 7 1.4 Ala, T. 7 6 6 0 6 0.9 Galeai 3 3 5 0 5 1.7 Kauka 11 3 5 0 5 0.5 Kapanui 8 2 -4 3 -1 -0.1 Colbert 11 1 -1 0 -1 -0.1 Team 10 4 -9 0 -9 -0.1 McBriar 11 1 -9 0 -9 -0.1 Total 11 782 873 4,033 4,906 446.0
Scoring
TD FG 1XP 2XP Safe Tot Lelie 17 0-0 0-0 0 0 102 Ayat 0 18-27 45-47 0 0 99 Mitchell 9 0-0 0-0 1 0 56 Harris 5 0-0 0-0 0 0 30 Stutzmann 4 0-0 0-0 1 0 26 Bass 4 0-0 0-0 0 0 24 Colbert 3 0-0 0-0 0 0 18 Owens 3 0-0 0-0 0 0 18 Uso 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 12 Bhonapha 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 6 Wright 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 6 Grant 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 6 Millhouse 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 6 Team 0 0-0 0-0 0 1 2 Total 51 18-27 45-47 2 1 411
Punting
No. Yds Avg Long McBriar 39 1,674 42.9 69 Team 1 0 0.0 0 Total 40 1,674 41.8 69
Punt Returns
No. Yds Avg TD Long Owens 14 123 8.8 0 59 Herbert 12 106 8.8 0 28 Jackson 3 16 5.3 0 8 Grant 2 19 9.5 0 0 Bhonapha 0 38 0.0 1 38 Total 31 302 9.7 1 59
Kick Returns
No. Yds Avg TD Long Owens 18 558 31.0 1 100 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 33 931 28.2 1 100
Interceptions
No. Yds Avg Td Long Millhouse 5 111 22.2 1 68 Grant 2 53 26.5 1 27 Correa 1 46 46.0 0 46 Iosua 1 15 15.0 0 15 Espiau 1 0 0.0 0 0 Butts 1 31 31.0 0 31 Elimimian 1 11 11.0 0 11 Wright 1 90 90.0 1 90 Total 13 357 27.5 3 90
TACKLES
G UT AT Tot Brown 11 76 36 112 Espiau 11 71 35 106 N.Jackson 11 68 26 94 Tinoisamoa 8 61 15 76 Peters 9 47 14 61 Grant 11 34 24 58 Wright 10 29 22 51 Laboy 8 31 18 49 Correa 11 32 15 47 Samuseva 11 25 13 38 Iosua 10 22 15 37 Millhouse 11 25 10 35 Alapa 9 20 15 35 Correia 10 19 11 30 Elimimian 10 26 3 29 Hoohuli 11 21 8 29 H. Ala 11 21 5 26 Butts 11 20 4 24 K. Jackson 11 15 8 23 Bhonapha 9 7 4 11 Clowers 11 5 6 11 P.L. Harley 4 5 5 10 Hunter 10 5 4 9 Morgan 9 6 2 8 Cravalho 9 7 1 8 Kapanui 8 8 0 8 Liana 7 4 2 6 Riccardi 7 4 0 4 Williams 8 1 3 4 Ayat 11 3 0 3 Wills 3 3 0 3 Tafuna 5 1 2 3 Mitchell 11 3 0 3 Stutzmann 11 2 0 2 Manuma 2 2 0 2 Faaliliu 8 2 0 2 Noa 7 1 1 2 P. Harley 1 2 0 2 Kauka 11 2 0 2 Berryman 2 1 0 1 Moenoa 9 1 0 1 Gilmore 6 0 1 1 Fuata 9 1 0 1 Wright 5 1 0 1 Harris 11 1 0 1 T. Ala 7 1 0 1 Withy-Allen 3 1 0 1 Misipeka 11 0 1 1 Lelie 11 1 0 1 McBriar 11 1 0 1 Chang 3 1 0 1 Rolovich 11 1 0 1 Andrews 4 0 0 0 Total 11 747 329 1076
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii