[ UH FOOTBALL ]
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii quarterback Jason Whieldon was 16-for-17 and passed for 178 yards and a touchdown off the bench last night against Army.
Whieldon, Miranda
get it right
The worst pass Hawaii backup quarterback Jason Whieldon threw during Hawaii's 59-28 win last night was his first. It was a high wobbler that was nearly picked off by Army's Dhyan Tarver and Curt Daniels, but luckily for him, it fell to the ground.
The senior from Orange, Calif., by way of Saddleback Community College completed his next four passes and guided the Warriors on a 74-yard scoring drive capped by Mike Bass' 6-yard run for a 31-0 lead midway through the second quarter.
It was typical stuff for Whieldon, who continues to prove he can be counted on when needed. After the TD, starter Tim Chang returned at quarterback, but Whieldon re-entered late in the third quarter and led the Warriors to their final three TDs, including one on a 32-yard shovel pass to John West. He finished an impressive 16-for-17 for 178 yards and also rushed five times for 42 yards.
"Good thing that first pass wasn't picked off," Whieldon said. "I was stoked I got in the game. All I needed to do was settle down."
Nolan Miranda, a Castle High School alumnus, looked at ease as Hawaii's place-kicker, subbing for struggling Justin Ayat. Miranda broke a scoreless tie 6:59 into the game with a 32-yard field goal, and then he kicked eight straight extra points.
"I was pretty nervous, because it had been awhile since I kicked in a game," Miranda said. "It took me the first three to get used to it, but I felt comfortable after that."
Ayat continued his kickoff duties and excelled, as usual, with five touchbacks.
Earlier in the week, Hawaii coach June Jones told Whieldon and Miranda to expect more playing time.
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii kicker Nolan Miranda, who made a field goal and eight extra points last night, ended Justin Ayat's two-year run.
Another bowl: Athletic director Herman Frazier made it official after the game. The Warriors are returning to the Hawaii Bowl.
"It's a reward for the team and their outstanding season," Frazier said. "Seven wins with two games to go is a strong statement."
The Conference USA opponent isn't determined yet, but Frazier informally threw out a few possibilities: Louisville, Memphis and Alabama-Birmingham.
"Three bowls in five years and the kids are having fun. Hopefully we'll finish it out (home games against Alabama and Boise State and the bowl) right here."
Neo-streaker: A Hawaii fan wearing a towel as a cape, sneakers and ultra-short briefs surprised the crowd with a length-of-the-field sprint during a timeout with 8:46 left in the third quarter. A policeman near the south end zone rushed toward the daring runner and tugged at his feet as he was climbing over a wall near the baseball dugout. The person was eventually apprehended, arrested and booked at Aloha Stadium.
So far, so close: Fifty-eight yards. Most players would take a punt return like that, a career long for senior Clifton Herbert. It eventually contributed to a UH touchdown. But Herbert, who broke into the open field in the fourth quarter only to fall short of the goal line, felt only disappointment after last night's game.
"Aw, man," he said. "That thing was wide open and I gassed it. I straight gassed it. I'm not even gonna lie."
Herbert had made a couple of nice moves and picked up a handful of nice blocks, and was sprinting for daylight with only Army punter Tom Dyrenforth between him and six points.
But Dyrenforth was able to keep Herbert in his sights, cut him off, and somehow tripped him up, forcing Herbert to stumble at the Army 27-yard-line.
"I think I made my move on the punter like 30 yards away," Herbert said. "Way too soon."
Instead of a celebration after such a big play, Herbert issued an apology.
"It was all my bad," he said. "They had great blocks. I let them down. One man had to do the job, and I messed up on my job. ... I let all my people down. I'll give them something that I owe them next week."
Go, young man West: The Hawaii running backs were without their big man, but some of the smaller ones came up large.
Starter West Keli'ikipi underwent arthroscopic knee surgery last week, and is out until at least the Hawaii Bowl.
John West more than picked up the slack, rushing for 46 tough yards on 12 carries, including two touchdown runs. He also scored on a 32-yard shovel pass. All three TDs were after halftime.
Michael Brewster added a team-high 60 yards on three carries and caught a 12-yard pass, and Bass got 30 yards on four rushes and 37 on three catches.
"Coach Jones told all the running backs we had to raise our level of play for this game," West said. "It's real bad that West (Keli'ikipi) is out, but we got to do what we can to represent for him. I'm real happy if he can come back for the bowl game."
And the Keli'ikipi nickname search seems to have finally come to an end.
"They call me J-Dub and they call him Big-Dub," John West said.
Resnick in the house: Junior Mikel Resnick, a former Hawaii resident who attended Pearl City Elementary School, did see some action in yesterday's game. The inside linebacker was in on two solo tackles for the Black Knights. Aside from the loss, it was a pleasant trip back to the islands.
"Everybody I grew up with was here. My head coach who I used to play for was here," Resnick said. "It was good for me. I got to see my old house when we were driving down H-2.
"(But) it's tough. Every day we pour our hearts out. For whatever reason, we can't put everything together at one time."
Three stars: In attendance for Army last night was Lt. Gen. William J. Lennox Jr., the superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy. Lennox serves a role similar to other university presidents. He was probably the highest-ranking officer on the island, according to an Army spokesperson.
Early show: The spectacle started even before the game began. Parachuting in and landing on the football field were the Black Knights parachute team. Four of the five successfully landed on the 'H' at Aloha Stadium to kick off the game festivities.
Demonstrating Army's connection to Schofield Barracks was the Black Knights' Wesley Willard. The holder ran onto the field with the flag of the 25th Infantry Division. Traditionally, Army enters the field with the American flag and the school flag.
Short yardage: Hawaii is 7-11-1 against service academy teams. UH is 1-0 against Navy and 6-11-1 vs. Air Force, which used to play in the Western Athletic Conference.
