Tuesday, December 11, 2001
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Warriors want Moments after Saturday's monumental 72-45 blowout of Brigham Young, Hawaii's Travis Laboy surveyed the chaos at Aloha Stadium and tried to put the game and the Warriors' 9-3 season in perspective.
to keep playing
Moments after taking apart
BYU, Hawaii was already
thinking about another gameBy Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.comAfter a bit of reflection, the son of former UH star Cliff Laboy declined to guess on where the victory ranks among Hawaii's big wins of the past. And just how good was this team anyway?
"I don't know the history of it, so I don't really know how it stacks up," the sophomore defensive end said. "But I know one thing. This will carry over to next year in a big way."
UH loses some key players, including safeties Nate Jackson, Jacob Espiau and Robert Grant, defensive linemen Joe Correia and Mike Iosua, offensive linemen Manly Kanoa and Brian Smith, slotbacks Channon Harris and Craig Stutzmann, wide receiver Tafiti Uso, and quarterback Nick Rolovich.
But Hawaii returns 19 who started games (18 if junior receiver Ashley Lelie opts for the NFL), plus kicker Justin Ayat and punter Mat McBriar.
The Warriors' disappointment at being snubbed for a bowl game was probably washed away by the rout of their rival and the program's hopes for the future.
But UH president Evan Dobelle said the university is petitioning the NCAA for certification for a game on Christmas Day. He said ESPN is "receptive" to televising the proposed game.
Possible opponents are Southern Mississippi and Wake Forest, Dobelle said. He said one of many roadblocks is that most schools that aren't scheduled for bowl games have released their athletes and some have dealt with agents since the end of the season.
Dobelle said WAC commissioner Karl Benson and UH athletic director Hugh Yoshida are working on the proposed game. He said Benson is presenting UH's case to the NCAA today.
"The potential is exciting, but it's the longest of shots," Dobelle said. "The players did their job and the coaches did theirs, so I want to make sure we do everything we possibly can."
Hawaii, which went 5-3 in the Western Athletic Conference, won eight of its last nine games and finished the season as one of the nation's hottest teams. After the bowl games are over, the Warriors could end up in the Top 25.
Hawaii won its season-opener on Maui against Montana 30-12, but then fell on the road in its WAC opener at Nevada 28-20.
UH was a team seemingly on the brink of disaster three games into the season. The Warriors were 1-2 and 0-2 in the conference after a second-half meltdown resulting in a 27-24 loss to Rice at home. The game ended with starting quarterback Tim Chang being attended to by medical personnel for an injury to his throwing wrist.
Chang's injury forced backup Rolovich into action, and the Warriors turned the season around the following Saturday at Southern Methodist.
UH trailed 17-3 at halftime, but came back to win 38-31 in overtime. The Warriors received key contributions in all phases of the game after intermission.
There was a blocked punt by Robert Grant and a touchdown return by Keith Bhonapha. Thero Mitchell rushed for 116 yards and two touchdowns. Laboy emerged on defense with three tackles for loss and UH forced five turnovers.
Rolovich, who hadn't started in more than a year, completed 31 of 51 passes for 325 yards and two touchdowns to Uso, including the game-winner.
Hawaii coach June Jones agreed that things might have ended up much differently if the Warriors didn't come up with just enough to win on that sunny October day in Dallas.
"Most definitely it was the turning point," Jones said. "To win a game out on the road in overtime. That kind of game builds a lot of character."
And Rolovich was just getting started.
With each succeeding game, he became more confident in triggering the run-and-shoot offense, and the defense and special teams did their part. The Warriors dominated against Texas-El Paso, 66-7, and at Tulsa, 36-15, setting up a showdown at home against nationally ranked Fresno State.
The 38-34 upset of the Bulldogs was Lelie's national breakout game. Rolovich hit the College Football News third-team All-American for three touchdown passes, the last coming with 13 seconds left. The final drive was set up when Jackson -- playing despite a leg injury from a motorcycle accident five days earlier -- sacked Fresno State quarterback David Carr and forced him to fumble.
Following a 34-10 victory over San Jose State the next week, Boise State came to town and knocked the Warriors out of the WAC championship race with a 28-21 victory.
But Hawaii gained a measure of respect for the WAC, as well as its own program, with three record-breaking wins over nonconference foes to close the season. Rolovich passed for 1,548 yards and 20 TDs in the last three games -- 52-50 over Miami (Ohio) and 52-30 against Air Force were just warm-ups for BYU; Rolovich passed for eight touchdowns as UH achieved a school-record for points. Lelie put on a show, too, with more than 200 yards receiving in each of the last three games to go with eight TD catches.
UH's offensive line of Lui Fuata, Kanoa, Smith, Vince Manuwai and Uriah Moenoa (with help from Mitchell) was tremendous in the last three games, allowing only one sack in each.
It was freshman kick returner Chad Owens, however, who jump-started the victory over the Cougars. He ran back a punt and a kickoff for touchdowns in the first quarter on his way to breaking two NCAA records.
Owens' 64-yard return of the opening kickoff set the tone for UH's second victory over a ranked opponent for the season.
The unheralded walk-on from Roosevelt High School became a fan favorite and one of the team's most exciting players midway through the season. He celebrated his first touchdown with a dive into the end zone that cost UH 15 yards for excessive celebration.
That was the Warriors' style this season, to party after almost every touchdown like there was no tomorrow -- and that's what happened when Stutzmann was ejected from his final game for punctuating his touchdown catch in the BYU rout by punting the ball into the stands and then leaping into the first row with teammates for a double-personal foul.
(But Stutzmann gets one more chance to play in front of the home-state fans. He will be joined by Jackson, Espiau, Rolovich and Correia in the Hula Bowl. Kanoa will play in the East-West Shrine game.)
In all, the Warriors were called for a record five celebration penalties against BYU, but they made many more positive marks throughout the season.
Just to name a few: UH broke the school record for passing yards with 4,576 and touchdowns with 41. Lelie finished the season as Hawaii's most prolific receiver ever with 3,341 career yards on 194 receptions, including 32 touchdowns. Rolovich now owns the record for TD passes in a season with 34 and for a game with eight.
The season was rewarding on many fronts for Jones, whose name continues to come up as a possibility to fill other openings (today the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported him as a candidate for the Georgia Tech job).
Jones, whose contract is being renegotiated, said he plans to remain in Hawaii.
The 1999 national coach of the year nearly died in a one-car wreck last February. He agreed that the accident helped the team bond.
"Obviously, that's a part of it," Jones said. "I do what I do for them, too. I feel like I'm one of them and they feel like we're in this together. Every coach is that way."
Mostly, the Warriors learned to play for each other. Early in the hot streak, the defense outperformed the offense; later, due to injuries, it was the other way around. But there was never a hint of divisiveness on this team, even after Chang's wrist was healed and Rolovich hung on to the starting job, causing the dreaded quarterback controversy among fans, but not the team.
"It's important that everybody knows their role," Jones said. "More than anything, that's the reason we're 9-3. Everybody accepted what their role was."
Hawaii's defense and special teams are often overshadowed by the high-flying run-and-shoot. But contributions from players like steady and sometimes spectacular linebackers Chris Brown, Pisa Tinoisamoa and Matt Wright, emerging cornerbacks Abraham Elimimian and Kelvin Millhouse, and special teams dynamo Sean Butts didn't go unnoticed.
They are all back next year, along with Chang (the WAC Freshman of the Year in 2000) and more than two dozen other lettermen. Hawaii also has a good start on recruiting, with five offensive linemen already making verbal commitments.
The seniors -- many of whom went through a roller-coaster ride of 0-12, 9-4, 3-9 and 9-3 seasons -- will be missed, of course.
"A lot of these guys went beyond what we asked of them," Jones said. "They played through adversity, injuries. They sucked it up and kept going."
Jones is not one to easily express regrets -- and this season, in the end he had no reasons for misgivings, anyway.
Who needs a bowl game when you finish by whipping BYU? "I liked everything, I'm not disappointed in anything," Jones said.
Next year, the schedule will be tough, with road games at Fresno, BYU, Boise State and Rice. But with so many experienced players returning, Jones may find even more to like in 2002.
UH Athletics