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Komine catches on quick
Britton Komine didn't let his second chance slip away.
The normally sure-handed Hawaii receiver was feeling a bit low after letting a pass bounce off his hands and onto the Aloha Stadium turf late in the second quarter of last night's Western Athletic Conference game with San Jose State.
But he wouldn't have to live with the disappointment very long.
On Hawaii's next play, Komine made up for the drop by getting behind the Spartans secondary to pull in a 46-yard touchdown pass from Tim Chang. The score gave UH its first lead of the game and the Warriors went on to roll to a 46-28 win on homecoming night.
"Coach always says the next play is the biggest play and that's something we all believe in," Komine said. "So I got that one out of my mind and got the next one."
Komine was Chang's go-to guy last night, catching five passes for 109 yards in the first half. He finished with a season-high nine catches for 159 yards and two touchdowns.
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All but one of his receptions resulted in first downs or touchdowns. His 13-yard catch in the back of the end zone with 6:24 left in the game padded the UH lead.
"When it's third down I'm hoping the ball comes to me," Komine said. "I want to be that possession-type receiver."
In his last two home games, Komine has 15 receptions for 306 yards.
"He's been one of our most consistent performers the last three or four years," UH head coach June Jones said. "He made some big catches and took some big licks and got up. That says a lot about his character."
Komine caught three passes on Hawaii's first scoring drive. On the third, he found himself alone along the right sideline and hauled in a 25-yard completion to set up Michael Brewster's 7-yard touchdown run.
After his drop in the second quarter, Komine blew past his defender on a play called "90-streak" and Chang hit him in stride for the go-ahead score.
"I was thinking about it all this week, all last night," Komine said of scoring his first touchdown. "I just wanted the opportunity. When it came, Timmy threw a great ball.
"(The Spartans) were sitting on everything and you have to make that choice, whether he's playing too far off and you sit down or you go right past him."
Komine credited Jones' game plan against the Spartans for the biggest night of his senior season so far.
"(SJSU) had a lot of different looks and Coach Jones picked up on their scheme," Komine said. "He pretty much knew exactly what they were going to do and we practiced it all week. It's more power to him because they did exactly the things we expected them to do."
