[ HULA BOWL MAUI ]
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Aina running back Fred Russell, of Iowa, tried to elude Kai linebacker Marchello Graddy, of Air Force, during yesterday's Hula Bowl at War Memorial Stadium. Russell was selected Aina MVP.
Aina runs wild
in Hula Bowl
victoryA pair of Big Ten backs
pounds the Kai in the
Maui all-star game
WAILUKU >> Jim Tressel stuck with what he knew and who he knew yesterday.
Tressel, the head coach at Ohio State, rode defense, efficient passing and the running game -- featuring rival Big Ten backs Fred Russell from Iowa and Jason Wright of Northwestern -- to a 26-7 Hula Bowl Maui victory for the appropriately named Aina team. Tressel's squad ate up ground and wouldn't give it up against the Kai, whose defense was liquid-like at times.
HULA BOWL
AINA 26 KAI 7
And Wright pounded the Kai front while Russell eluded it.
"Those are two pretty good backs. I saw them all year long. I was happy when I saw they were on our team," Tressel said.
Russell rushed for 101 yards on eight carries with two touchdowns, and Wright added 43 on 11 carries and two receptions for 17 as a crowd announced at 9,128 watched at sun-splashed War Memorial Stadium.
"I've been doing that all year playing in the Big Ten," Russell said after accepting the Aina and Offensive MVP trophies. "That's part of my game, speed and quickness. If the offensive line opens up holes for me, I'll make things happen, no doubt."
Russell was masterful at using his blockers. On a 35-yard touchdown run at 13:07 of the fourth quarter, he stutter-stepped to the line, waiting for a hole to open. Then he exploded through it.
He also scored on a 12-yard run in the first period that was another thing of beauty. Finding no running room to his right, Russell reversed his field and scooted in from the left and the Aina led 9-0 after one quarter.
Tressel's team also controlled the line of scrimmage on defense, limiting the Kai to 59 yards rushing and 208 passing. Defensive tackle D.J. Renteria of New Mexico led the way with two sacks. Joe Siofele of Waipahu and the University of Arizona said the defensive front also kept blockers off him and his fellow linebackers.
"They were great, they allowed us to scrape and make plays all day," said Siofele, who had three tackles.
A lack of mistakes on offense helped the Aina, too.
"We also had no turnovers or other stuff, and that helped a lot," Tressel said.
Kai coach Ralph Friedgen couldn't say the same. USC's Marcell Allmond and Gerald Jones of San Jose State intercepted passes by Louisiana Tech's Luke McCown, and the Aina took a 2-0 lead when Kai quarterback Jeff Smoker fell on a bad snap in his own end zone.
B.J. Sander's 40-yard punt to the Kai 5 set up the play.
Central Florida's Ryan Schneider of the Aina passed for all 206 of his yards in the first half, including an 86-yard play to Mark Jones of Tennessee. Jones gathered in a short toss from Schneider and sped past the Kai secondary for a 16-0 lead with 9:57 left in the first half.
The drive started at the Aina 8-yard line after Allmond's interception. Technically, Allmond should've dropped the ball, since it was a fourth-down play and if he had not caught it the Aina would have started at its 28 instead.
"I don't know, I don't know," Allmond said. "Coaches like interceptions, too. Make the play. It's all about making plays. They want to see what you can do in sticky situations. They were close and about to score, and I was just playing the quarterback's eyes at that point."
The Kai had trouble generating any offense early, making only one first down in the first quarter. Larry Croom of UNLV capped a 73-yard drive with a 1-yard run with 3:51 left in the first half, closing the gap to 16-7.
The drive featured a 31-yard pass from McCown to a wide-open Jeremiah Cockheran of Hawaii for 31 yards.
The Aina came back with a 19-yard field goal by Steve Azar from Northern Illinois with 18 seconds left in the first half. The interception by Jones, who had 14 interceptions in a two-year career for the Spartans, set up the score.
"We struggled. We had some opportunities but just didn't make the plays," Friedgen said. "Their tailback was very good and I thought their free safety was very good. He made a great play on our reverse and he saved the day on a couple of long passes."
The safety Friedgen was talking about is Washington State's Erik Coleman, who led the Aina with five tackles.
Any thoughts the Kai had of making a comeback were halted by a running-time game clock in the fourth quarter.
"That two-minute drill, that might be the toughest two-minute drill I've ever been in," Friedgen said. "Out of bounds, incomplete. It doesn't matter. You'd better get back on the line and go."
Friedgen and his players knew it was much more than the clock that beat them, though.
"We didn't execute and they made plays and they came up big," Kai defensive tackle Lance Samuseva of Hawaii said.
Kick returner and receiver Wes Welker of Texas Tech was voted the Kai MVP despite less-than-scintillating statistics, including one catch for 22 yards, three kickoff returns for 87 yards and two punt returns for 2 yards.
The Kai's Colby Bockwoldt from BYU won the Defensive MVP trophy with a team-high five tackles, including a sack.
Schneider played nearly the entire game because of a shoulder injury to Casey Bramlet of Wyoming.
"Ryan did an excellent job for us today," Tressel said. "He had to play virtually the whole game and made some great plays for us. He didn't have any turnovers, which was key to the game."
Aina 26, Kai 7
Aina--Safety, Smoker recovered ball in end zone, 11:56.
Kai (South) 0 7 0 0 -- 7 Aina (North) 9 10 0 7 -- 26
Aina--Russell 12 run (Azar kick), :29.
Aina--Jones 86 pass from Schneider (Azar kick), 9:57
Kai--Croom 1 run (Browne kick), 3:51
Aina--FG Azar 19, :18.
Aina--Russell 35 run (Azar kick), 13:07.
A--9,128.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Kai Aina Rushes-yards 26-59 25-147 Passing 208 212 Comp-Att-Int 14-32-2 13-30-0 Punts-Avg. 5-42 8-45
RUSHING -- Kai, Abron 2-23, Matthews 4-14, Croom 6-10, McCown 6-5, Smoker 3-4, Armstrong 5-3. Aina, Russell 8-101, Wright 11-43, Wilson 2-3, Moore 1-2, Namiki 1-0, Schneider 2-(minus 2).
PASSING -- Kai, McCown 6-18-2 155, Smoker 7-13-0 47, Verhalen 1-1-0 6. Aina, Schneider 12-27-0 206, Namiki 1-2-0-6 0, Elliott 0-1-0 0.
RECEIVING -- Kai, Dugan 2-48, Cockheran 2-35, Mann 2-15, Abron 2-4, Thurman 1-55, Welker 1-22, Hackett 1-14, Nitta 1-9, Matthews 1-6. Aina, Moore 3-8, Jones 2-96, Wright 2-17, Standeford 2-11, Hartsock 1-26, Ohtani 1-23, Elliott 1-21, Pittman 1-10.
