Sidelines
PERHAPS it was best summed up when Craig Stutzmann scored a third-quarter touchdown, the one to put Hawaii over 50 points, and punted the ball into the stands. ‘The Punt’ puts the hate on BYU
I always wondered why no one had ever thought to do that.
It was bedlam then. The crowd went nuts, of course, and then Stutzmann went nuts, too. He was ejected for leaping into the bleachers. Maybe he wanted the ball back for another shot at it.
"That's (the punt) something I planned ever since I was a little kid," he said.
And it was beautiful. Wonderful. Illegal, but perfect.
It all added up to two 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on Stutzmann, giving SportsCenter what should be its highlight of the year and ending his senior season with 3:57 left in the third quarter. And also bringing up the longest extra point in the history of mankind.
"Raiiiiiinn-bowwwws," the horde chanted gleefully, Raiiiiiinn-bowwwws."
Justin Ayat nailed it, of course. The crowd loved it. UH loved it. June Jones, you knew, was loving it.
Hawaii rolled. Wow, what a game, wow -- what a beating. So much for the rivalry, it's all even now. The Punt erased a lot of ghosts. BYU's Bowl Championship Series arguments were gently washed away by the intermittent Halawa showers, its previously unbeaten season popped by hit after hit, fumble after fumble, touchdown after touchdown.
Hawaii scored like it was pinball, 72 points in all, the most ever against the Cougars, and overcelebrated again and again and again. This videotape will be worn out in Provo, Utah, or thrown away, or burned. Surely, it is BYU that hates Hawaii now.
Who could blame the Cougars? How could they not after seeing Ashley Lelie motion for the BYU sideline to come get him, streaking by on his way to an 80-yard touchdown. (Poor Cougar cover man Jernaro Gilford could only stop helplessly in his tracks and watch.) And then after a late hit on the sidelines, UH defenders got into a brawl with the BYU cheerleaders.
This was a rivalry game for the ages, not as big as the 1989 or 1990 Hawaii routs that finally broke the string, not as historic, but perhaps more emphatic.
"Probably the biggest win in UH history," return man Chad Owens called it.
"They'll never forget it," Jones said.
It was over as soon as it began, it was one of those great or terrible days, depending on which side you were sitting on.
Owens broke loose for 64 yards on the opening kickoff, and then it hit you: These people might not sit down for the entire game. They did, in time, but before they could, Hawaii was on the board. On the first play from scrimmage it began to rain, rain through the bright sunny sky, and you know what that means.
Rainbows.
On the second play, Nick Rolovich hit Channon Harris, a perfect, wide-open, play-action score. The ball floated beautifully through the raindrops, in slow motion, time stopping, like in those old NFL films.
Then before you could blink it was Owens again, a 74-yard punt return for a touchdown. And then going the distance, a 100-yard kickoff return. When he is an old man, Owens will still be running in the broken field, cutting and chugging and taking it to the house against BYU. As the years pass he'll be forever young, making that move, crossing that goal line. All you'll have to do is close your eyes.
"It's the best feeling," he said.
The ball was bouncing everywhere all day, thanks to the UH defense, handcuffing BYU, keeping the Cougars at bay. Without All-American Luke Staley, BYU didn't look like a team that could crack the top 10. With every hint of a serious threat, Hawaii got the ball back again.
"We kept them down in the first half, and it just kinda crushed 'em," Hawaii safety Jacob Espiau said. Every Cougar point seemed three scores too late.
"We were always behind," said BYU coach Gary Crowton.
In one glorious free-for-all, BYU backup quarterback Charlie Peterson fumbled the ball, which was recovered by BYU's Ned Stearns, knocked loose again, then recovered by UH's Lance Samuseva all the way back at the BYU 18 to set up a Hawaii field goal. It was that kind of day for UH. That kind of day for BYU.
"During the game I was talking to a couple (BYU) guys and they just didn't have the heart anymore, you know?" said Espiau. "And that's what this team is special about -- this team has so much heart. And I love these guys for that."
After the game there were leis. Not just from the fans, but teammates scurrying into the locker room to grab plastic bags they had brought for each other. It was a special day. The last day. A perfect day. Hawaii had hammered BYU.
"We knew we were going to win," Owens said. "There was no doubt in our minds. We were ready. We were ready last week. There was no doubt. We knew we were going to win. And I knew, in my heart, it wasn't going to be a close game. I knew we were going to blow these guys out."
And in the late afternoon mist, a rainbow arced over Aloha Stadium.
After a 9-3 season and a rout of BYU, June Jones was almost surprised. "I thought next year would be the year," he said.
Maybe it is.
Kalani Simpson's column runs Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays.
He can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com