RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM Hawaii receiver Clifton Herbert was unable to pull in this pass between Tulsa's Sherman Steptoe and Max Kraus. The Warriors won 37-14.

HAWAII 37, TULSA 14

UH better than gold

Chang breaks UH’s career passing mark
and the defense plays well in a rout of Tulsa

Scoring drives
Notebook
Sidelines
Chang steps up performance
Rayburn made UH O-line work hard

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By Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.com

The earlier events in the Western Athletic Conference were not good omens for the Hawaii Warriors.

A team unbeaten in conference, San Jose State, lost in an upset to Nevada. So did Louisiana Tech, a preseason contender, to Southern Methodist. And lowly Texas-El Paso beat Rice.

Could Tulsa, a 32-point underdog and loser of 16 games in a row complete a whacky day in the WAC last night at Aloha Stadium?

Not even close.

Some said it was flat, but an efficient and at times exciting Hawaii team dominated 37-14, winning its seventh consecutive home game.

Tim Chang completed 34 of 49 passes for a season-high 403 yards and career-high four touchdowns while becoming the school's all-time passing yardage and total offense leader. Chang also went without an interception in a game for the first time in 17 contests.

"I don't want to put pressure on him, but if he stays healthy I think he has a great chance for the NCAA record," Hawaii coach June Jones said of the sophomore.

(Chang now has 6,267 passing yards. The Division I-A career mark is held by Brigham Young's Ty Detmer with 15,031. Chang also passed Garrett Gabriel to become UH's leader in total yardage with 6,216.)

DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM Hawaii's Clifton Herbert celebrated with teammates after scoring the Warriors' first touchdown last night against Tulsa. Herbert, who had eight catches for 57 yards, scored twice.

"He's an outstanding quarterback and an outstanding athlete and an outstanding leader," Tulsa coach Keith Burns said of Chang. "He's developed and matured. And there's no question June Jones is one of the best offensive minds I've coached against."

Clifton Herbert caught two of Chang's touchdown passes as the Warriors improved to 5-2 and 4-1 in the WAC. Tulsa is 0-7 and 0-2.

Which begs the question: If you play your best game of the season against the worst team in the country, does it count?

It does toward bowl-game eligibility.

Although the win probably won't help UH win the conference championship -- something really strange would have to happen for Boise State for that to be a possibility -- last night's win still brings Hawaii's magic number down to two. Two more victories, and UH attains one of its goals, a ConAgra Hawaii Bowl invitation.



Things get tougher, beginning Friday at Fresno State, but last night was all Warriors.

A crowd of around 25,000 (UH does not release accurate attendance figures) saw Hawaii excel consistently on both offense and defense for the first time this season.

UH's defense allowed only eight first half first downs and made six of their 10 tackles for loss before intermission. Tulsa finished with 331 yards, and that was against a Warriors defense that was without starting safety Hyrum Peters (stinger) for more than one half and starting defensive lineman Houston Ala (ankle) for the entire game. Defensive end Kevin Jackson had two of UH's four sacks, and tackle Isaac Sopoaga dominated the point and was in on seven tackles.

"We did some nice things in the first half," defensive coordinator Kevin Lempa said. "Our run defense was better. We knew we couldn't come out here and screw around, because they had some weapons. We wanted to set the tone in the first half, didn't want them to think they could play with us."

The Hawaii offense -- which ran just once in the first half and 11 throughout the game -- took nearly complete advantage, scoring steadily throughout the first two quarters. It wasn't as spectacular as the 42-point first quarter against Nevada last week, but it did the job.

"You can't do what we did last week every week," said Jones, whose team set the school record for total offense in last Saturday's win. "But we did what we had to do to win."

Chang and Shawn Withy-Allen completed passes to nine different receivers as UH racked up 579 yards. They were all but untouched as the Warrior offensive line produced another sackless game.

Britton Komine caught 9 passes for 140 yards and wideouts Justin Colbert and Jeremiah Cockheran went 7-for-103 and 6-for-73.

"It's starting to balance off now," receivers coach Ron Lee said. "We're getting what we need from the outside guys now and the inside guys have been steady."

Chang completed four of his first five passes, but Hawaii settled for a 25-yard field goal by Justin Ayat on its first drive.

Herbert scored on a 10-yard pass from Chang at 3:31 of the first quarter. The junior inside receiver got open on a delay pattern, capping a 9-play, 58-yard drive. A botched snap on the extra point kept the score 9-0.

Tulsa punted and the teams traded turnovers before Hawaii scored again, on a 22-yard pass from Chang to Cockheran. Cockheran's first career touchdown made it 16-0 at 11:38 of the second quarter.

The closest Tulsa came to scoring in the first half was when Brad DeVault tried a 42-yard field goal at 6:39 before the break. But his kick hit the left upright and fell away.

"Everybody played their assignments tonight," said UH defensive tackle Lance Samuseva, who contributed an 8-yard sack. "And we knew we could make big plays. Every time we stepped on the field we told ourselves we were going to create fumbles, interceptions, sacks, or at the very least a three-and-out."

With 4:19 left in the first half, Chang eluded a blitz with a shovel pass to Josh Galeai, who turned it into an 18-yard TD. Chang's 12-yard pass to Cockheran on the second play of the drive put Chang atop UH's alltime passing yardage list. He passed Dan Robinson, who finished his career in 1999 with 6,038 yards.

"I talk to Dan a lot on the phone," Chang said. "He's a great guy, he really helped me out when I was down. He told me to stick with it and good things would happen."

Chang's final scoring pass of the night was a 3-yarder for Herbert's third TD of the season, at 11:25 of the third quarter, giving UH a 30-0 lead.

James Kilian broke up the shutout with a 5-yard run at the 8:18 mark of the third quarter. The drive was helped by Kilian's 8-yard pass to center Anthony Taylor (the ball bounced off an official's back, making him eligible).

Shawn Withy-Allen hit a wide-open Nate Ilaoa for a 41-yard score with 12:18 left in the game, making it 37-7.

A 26-yard pass from Tyler Gooch to Caleb Blankenship set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Uril Parrish with 4:48 left for Tulsa's other score.

"We're the wishbone in reverse," Jones said of passing on every play except one in the first half. "What we do is what we do. Sometimes the wishbone doesn't throw a pass until the third quarter."

Burns said his team would have had a better chance without injuries to two Golden Hurricane cornerbacks.

"I wish I had my nickel package. I wish I had C.J. Scott (injured in practice on Tuesday) and I wish we didn't lose Jermaine Hope (injured during last night's game)," he said. "They have an outstanding offense and an outstanding ability to throw the ball.

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BACK TO TOP
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[ SCORING DRIVES ]

FIRST QUARTER

HAWAII

1-10-H-30: Incomplete pass.
2-10-H-30: Justin Colbert 16 pass from Tim Chang.
1-10-H-46: Jeremiah Cockheran 7 pass from Tim Chang.
2-3-T-47: Justin Colbert 15 pass from Tim Chang.
1-10-T-32: Clifton Herbert 7 pass from Tim Chang.
2-3-T-25: Incomplete pass.
3-3-T-25: Incomplete pass.
4-3-T-25: Britton Komine 10 pass from Tim Chang.
1-10-T-15: Britton Komine 7 pass from Tim Chang.
2-3-T-8: Incomplete pass.
3-3-T-8: Incomplete pass.
4-3-T-8: Justin Ayat 25 FG--GOOD

12 plays, 62 yards, 4:03

10:57 left in the first quarter.

Hawaii 3, Tulsa 0

Notes: Ayat now 7-for-11 in field goals this season ... UH attempted 11 passes and no running plays in the drive.

HAWAII
1-10-H-42: Thero Mitchell 5 pass from Tim Chang.
2-5-H-47: Clifton Herbert 9 pass from Tim Chang.
1-10-T-44: Incomplete pass.
2-10-T-44: Jeremiah Cockheran 9 pass from Tim Chang.
3-1-T-35: Shawn Withy-Allen 4 run.
1-10-T-31: Justin Colbert 10 pass from Tim Chang.
1-10-T-21: Jeremiah Cockheran 11 pass from Tim Chang.
1-G-T-10: Incomplete pass.
2-G-T-10: Clifton Herbert 10 pass from Tim Chang--TOUCHDOWN.

PAT: Shawn Withy-Allen run failed.

9 plays, 58 yards, 3:10

3:31 left in the first quarter.

Hawaii 9, Tulsa 0

Notes: Herbert's second touchdown reception of the season. Chang's ninth touchdown pass. ... Withy-Allen's 4-yard run was UH's first rushing attempt of the game, coming at the 4:49 mark of the first quarter. ... The failed PAT was UH's second of the season and its first since the second quarter of the Eastern Illinois game.

SECOND QUARTER

HAWAII
1-10-H-27: Incomplete pass.
2-10-H-27: Incomplete pass.
3-10-H-27: Justin Colbert 13 pass from Shawn Withy-Allen.
1-10-H-40: Incomplete pass.
1-10-H-40: Clifton Herbert 12 pass from Shawn Withy-Allen.
1-10-T-48: Incomplete pass.
2-10-T-48: Britton Komine 8 pass from Tim Chang.
3-2-T-40: Incomplete pass.
4-2-T-40: Britton Komine 18 pass from Tim Chang.
1-10-T-22: Jeremiah Cockheran 22 pass from Tim Chang--TOUCHDOWN.

PAT: Justin Ayat kick-GOOD.

10 plays, 73 yards, 2:22

11:38 left in the second quarter.

Hawaii 16, Tulsa 0

Notes: Cockheran's first touchdown reception of his career. ... Chang now 12 yards away from UH career passing yardage record.

HAWAII
1-10-H-24: Incomplete pass.
2-10-H-24: Jeremiah Cockheran 12 pass from Tim Chang.
1-10-H-36: Clifton Herbert 11 pass from Tim Chang.
1-10-H-47: Incomplete pass.
2-10-H-47: Britton Komine 22 pass from Tim Chang.
1-10-T-31: Thero Mitchell 13 pass from Tim Chang.
1-10-T-18: Josh Galeai 18 pass from Tim Chang--TOUCHDOWN.

PAT: Justin Ayat kick--GOOD.
7 plays, 76 yards, 2:20

4:19 left in the second quarter.

Hawaii 23, Tulsa 0

Notes: Chang tied the UH career passing yardage record with his completion to Cockheran and broke it with his pass to Herbert. ... Galeai's first career touchdown came on a shovel pass from Chang. ... UH scored on four of its five first-half possessions.

THIRD QUARTER

HAWAII
1-10-H-44: Penalty--false start, UH.
1-15-H-39: Incomplete pass.
2-15-H-39: Justin Colbert 10 pass from Tim Chang.
3-5-H-49: Britton Komine 8 pass from Tim Chang.
1-10-T-43: Justin Colbert 7 pass from Tim Chang.
2-3-T-36: Britton Komine 31 pass from Tim Chang.
1-G-T-5: Penalty--delay of game, UH.
1-G-T-10: Clifton Herbert 1 pass from Tim Chang.
2-G-T-9: Incomplete pass.
3-G-T-9: Thero Mitchell 7 pass from Tim Chang.
4-G-T-2: Clifton Herbert 2 pass from Tim Chang--TOUCHDOWN. Penalty--unsportsmanlike conduct, UH.

PAT--Justin Ayat kick, GOOD.

9 plays, 56 yards, 2:37

11:25 left in the third quarter.

Hawaii 30, Tulsa 0.

Notes: Chang's fourth touchdown pass of the game and Herbert's second. ... Chang was 7 of 9 for 74 yards on the drive. ... The 31-yard completion to Komine was Chang's longest of the game to this point.

TULSA
1-10-T-31: Incomplete pass.
2-10-T-31: Eric Richardson 6 run.
3-4-T-37: Montiese Culton 14 pass from Tyler Gooch.
1-10-H-49: Tyler Gooch 4 run. Penalty--deadball personal foul, UH.
1-10-H-30: Anthony Taylor 8 pass from James Kilian.
2-2-H-22: Eric Richardson 19 run.
1-G-H-3: Eric Richardson (-2) run.
2-G-H-5: James Killian 5 run--TOUCHDOWN.

PAT--Brad DeVault kick, GOOD.

8 plays, 69 yards, 3:07

8:18 left in the third quarter.

Hawaii 30, Tulsa 7

Notes: Killian's first touchdown of the season. ... Killian's only pass of the game bounced off umpire Steve Burks and was caught by Taylor, an offensive lineman, for an 8-yard gain.

FOURTH QUARTER

HAWAII
1-10-H-16: Neal Gossett 7 pass from Shawn Withy-Allen.
2-3-H-23: Incomplete pass.
3-3-H-23: Shawn Withy-Allen 15 run.
1-10-H-38: John West 4 pass from Shawn Withy-Allen.
2-6-H-42: Penalty--holding, UH.
2-16-H-32: Shawn Withy-Allen 15 run.
3-1-H-47: John West 12 run.
1-10-T-41: Nate Ilaoa 41 pass from Shawn Withy-Allen-TOUCHDOWN.

PAT: Penalty, false start, UH. Justin Ayat kick, GOOD.

7 plays, 84 yards, :42

12:18 left in the fourth quarter.

Hawaii 37, Tulsa 7

Notes: Withy-Allen's fourth touchdown pass of the season. Ilaoa's third scoring reception and his first since the UTEP game. ... The completion was Ilaoa's longest of the season.

TULSA
1-10-T-32: Incomplete pass. Penalty--deadball personal foul, UH.
1-10-T-47: Tyler Gooch sacked by Chad Kalilimoku (-8).
2-18-T-39: Romby Bryant 3 pass from Tyler Gooch.
3-15-T-42: Tyler Gooch 15 run.
1-10-H-43: Incomplete pass.
2-10-H-43: Montiese Culton 14 pass from Tyler Gooch.
1-10-H-29: Tyler Gooch 2 run.
2-8-H-27: Incomplete pass.
3-8-H-27: Caleb Blankenship 26 pass from Tyler Gooch.
1-G-H-1: Uril Parrish 1 run--TOUCHDOWN.

PAT--Brad DeVault kick, GOOD.

10 plays, 68 yards, 2:35

4:48 left in the fourth quarter.

Hawaii 37, Tulsa 14

Notes: Tulsa gained possession after UH's first punt of the game, a 60-yarder by Mat McBriar. ... The score was the 14th rushing touchdown surrendered by the Warriors.

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