ASSOCIATED PRESS
Hawaii's Chad Owens, who had 14 catches last night, has 26 receptions in the Warriors' past two games.
Every play is
a kick return
Chad Owens' days as a high-voltage kick returner weren't that long ago, but pretty soon he may make Hawaii fans forget all about them.
Owens' daring, high-flying act as a record-breaking wide receiver is what the junior is all about now.
The 5-foot-9, 174-pounder caught a school-record 14 passes for 168 yards and a touchdown last night in the Warriors' 59-28 victory over Army at Aloha Stadium.
The 14 receptions broke the former record of 12, which Owens shared with Walter Murray and Craig Stutzmann. Owens had 12 receptions in a loss to Nevada last week and last season against Boise State.
The Roosevelt High School alumnus has caught at least one pass in his last 19 games, but he didn't know he broke the receptions record until he was interviewed by reporters after the game.
"Now I'm aware of the record," Owens said. "But I don't play these games to make records. Records just come. This win was a big-time confidence boost for us. We want to take it into next week's game against Alabama and finish the last two games of the season right."
Owens' specialty -- as it was as a freshman All-American kick returner -- is quickness in finding holes, tiny as they may be. He darts, he stutter-steps, he flat-out makes people miss.
"Our offense finally got rolling," Owens said. "The O-line did a great job and Timmy (Chang) got the ball to us receivers. I was able to do what I do best -- run after the catch."
Owens' 2-yard touchdown catch came with 8:46 left in the third quarter and it was a prime example of how to stick with a route. He did a quick out to the left at the goal line and continued sprinting down the line and waited until Chang could see his upraised arm above defender Dhyan Tarver.
"He (Chang) put some real good touch on the ball -- so only I could get it," said Owens of the TD. "It was just like we do in practice."
Owens, who was suspended for two games earlier this year, also showed his resilience last night. He bounced right back to return to the game one play after getting the wind knocked out of him when an Army player landed an elbow to his midsection.
"You'd have to kill me before I stop playing," he said. "He kind of came down on me like a wrestler off the top of the ropes. I got a little upset, but I was right back out there playing."
Owens caught the attention of Hawaii fans two seasons ago when he returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown against Air Force. He then returned a kickoff and a punt for TDs in a blowout victory in the season finale against Brigham Young.
This year, including last night's totals, he has 76 catches for 1,017 yards and eight TDs. Going into last night, he was the Western Athletic Conference leader and second nationally in receptions per game (7.75) as well as the WAC leader and third nationally in receiving yards per game (106.1).
"He's a gamer," coach June Jones said. "He has unbelievable quickness and makes some tough catches. He's that way (a guy who would die before quitting). He walked on with us and, like Ashley Lelie, he might walk his way right into the NFL."
