RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM Hawaii defensive lineman Lui Fuga brought down Tulsa running back Uril Parrish in the first quarter at Aloha Stadium last night.

Warriors
get their ‘W’

QB Tim Chang turns
to Chad Owens to get
the Warriors’ first win

CORRECTION Monday, October 4, 2004 » Hawaii football coach June Jones was misquoted on Page B2 yesterday as saying, "Chad (Owens) must have had 10 drops." He actually said, "We must have had eight to 12 drops." The Honolulu Star-Bulletin strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call Editor Frank Bridgewater at 529-4791 or email him at corrections@starbulletin.com.

Four years ago, freshman Tim Chang led an 0-2 Hawaii football team into a game at Aloha Stadium against Tulsa.

The results were not very good.

Next up Hawaii plays WAC foe Nevada on Saturday at Aloha Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6:05 p.m. The Wolf Pack fell 48-13 to in-state rival UNLV yesterday. Stars of the Game Chad Owens, Hawaii The receiver caught eight passes for 182 yards and two touchdowns, and also returned a punt 66 yards for a score. Brad Devault, Tulsa The kicker hit three field goals -- from 32, 42 and 45 yards. Key Matchup UH receivers vs. Tulsa secondary: After a shaky start, including another multitude of dropped passes, UH got better production from its receivers than in the first two games. While the run-and-shoot offense often works best when stretching the defense with deep passes, a slippery slotback like Chad Owens can draw extra attention, too, opening up other possibilities. That's how Se'e Poumele, Jason Rivers and Britton Komine began to get open late in the game. Say What? "Last year we were able to control the clock and stay on the field. Tonight, it was like blood in the water with their pressure. And, when we were able to slow the blitz and get guys one-on-one on the outside, we couldn't make the play." James Kilian Tulsa quarterback, right

Last night, senior Tim Chang led an 0-2 Hawaii football team into a game at Aloha Stadium against Tulsa.

Much better for the UH faithful.

The Warriors took control against the Golden Hurricane in the third quarter and held on for a 44-16 victory in front of a crowd of around 35,000 (44,429 tickets issued).

"I think 0-2, the way we started. It hurt," Chang said. "But getting over the hump, proving to ourselves we can win, makes a big difference."

UH was off to its worst start since 2000, when it lost its third game 24-14 to Tulsa on the way to a 3-9 record. But the Warriors erased a lot of the sting of defeats to Florida Atlantic and Rice -- losses in which Hawaii led late but faltered at the end.

Hawaii also petered out in the second half in losing at Tulsa 27-16 last year, after leading 16-3 at intermission.

Last night, Chang passed for three touchdowns, including two to Chad Owens. Owens also turned in the play of the night, an electrifying 66-yard punt return for a third-quarter TD that was the game's turning point.

Hawaii coach June Jones, previously accused of hyping his players' ability, seems to have turned toward the understatement lately.

"Chad Owens makes you a little better on special teams," he said.

As great as a mature Chang, intense Owens and accurate Justin (three field goals) Ayat proved to be, UH's defense -- which was thoroughly abused two weeks ago by Rice's option -- keyed the victory. The Warriors were constantly in the face of Hurricane quarterback James Kilian. UH's linebackers were let loose, and Ikaika Curnan, Lincoln Manutai, Tanuvasa Moe and Watson Ho'ohuli all got to Kilian.

And Owens' return -- a thing of beauty in which he sidestepped two tacklers immediately after the catch -- was set up by a TU three-and-out to open the second half, featuring defensive end Mel Purcell's crushing tackle of Kilian.

Chang completed 22 of 43 passes for 378 yards. He now has eight touchdowns this year and still has not been intercepted, and UH still has not turned the ball over.

Jones gushed even more than usual about his quarterback.

"His confidence, his vision and his competitiveness," Jones said. "I'm really impressed with him this year."

He hit a wide open Se'e Poumele for a 29-yard score with 2:17 left in the third quarter, padding UH's lead to 27-13. Jason Rivers turned a short completion into an 18-yard play on third-and-18 at the Hawaii 16 to spur the drive.

DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM Hawaii's Jason Rivers went up to make a spectacular catch on a pass from Warriors quarterback Tim Chang last night at Aloha Stadium. The first-quarter reception was good for 34 yards and got the Warriors inside the 15-yard line, setting up a 28-yard field goal from Justin Ayat that gave UH an early 3-0 lead. Rivers also came up with a key 18-yard reception in the third quarter to keep alive a scoring drive.

Tulsa got one first down in the third quarter, with 2 minutes left when Kilian's 11-yard pass to Uril Parrish set up Brad DeVault's 45-yard field goal, his third of the game.

But that was all the offense the Hurricane would generate, and UH dominated the fourth quarter, with Ayat's 39-yard field goal, a 7-yard TD pass from Chang to Owens, and Michael Brewster's 27-yard run.

"We made far too many mistakes, especially in the first half," Tulsa coach Steve Kragthorpe said.

The first half wasn't one-sided, although Hawaii dominated both lines of scrimmage.

DeVault kicked a 42-yard field goal with 6 seconds left in the second quarter, tying the game at 13, after Hawaii had led for most of the first half.

Ayat kicked two in the half, including a school-record-tying 56-yard effort at 4:20 of the first quarter, staking UH to a 6-0 lead.

"Everyone was questioning why we went for it. Sometimes you've got to put him in that situation," Jones said.

Ayat matched the mark of Jason Elam, who kicked the same distance against Brigham Young in 1992.

Ayat also hit a 28-yarder when the Warriors' first drive stalled at the Tulsa 11.

Brewster finished with 81 yards on eight carries and Keli'ikipi 10 for 64. Hawaii rushed for 128 yards, the most since it got 134 last Nov. 29 against Alabama.

Keli'ikipi carried the ball for the first time since injuring his knee in a game against Nevada last year.

DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM Hawaii senior Michael Brewster earned 27 of his 81 rushing yards on this fourth-quarter touchdown last night.

"It feels good to be back," he said. "During those two weeks (since the loss at Rice) we gave 110 percent every play (at practice). About a thousand plays every day. I think with this win our morale will rise."

Tulsa later had a first down at the Hawaii 7, but had to settle for a 32-yard field goal by DeVault at 10:10 of the second quarter, and the Golden Hurricane closed to 6-3.

Owens caught a pass behind the line of scrimmage at his shoetops, and converted it into a 75-yard touchdown, UH's longest play of the season.

Jones said it might be a turning point for the Warriors, who dropped around 20 passes in the first two games and last night's first half.

"Chad must have had 10 drops. But when he made that catch an inch from the ground, that sort of broke the ice," he said.

After Owens' first TD, Kilian engineered a steady 80-yard drive, capping it with his own 1-yard score with 5:52 left before halftime. UH led 13-10.

Tulsa later drove to the Hawaii 35, but Kenny Patton caught an errant Kilian pass in the end zone for his first career interception.

Hawaii's offensive line was juggled, with Uriah Moenoa, the usual starter at right guard, at center. He made one bad snap, and the line allowed one sack.

"We said tonight we were just three plays away. We made the plays we need to make," Moenoa said. "We did what we had to do. We had a few breakdowns. Other than that it was fine."

Kilian completed 21 of 44 passes for 189 yards. Tulsa's tight ends, Caleb Blankenship and Garrett Mills, had six catches for 55 yards and four for 42, but -- like Hawaii last year -- TU didn't get big plays when it needed them.

"They made plays in the second half and we didn't," Kilian said.