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Moats runs into
UH’s heart
A Hawaii defense held together with athletic tape and sheer willpower held its ground long enough for the Warriors to escape Aloha Stadium with a 34-23 Western Athletic Conference win over Louisiana Tech last night.
The Warriors surrendered 228 yards to Louisiana Tech running back Ryan Moats and took their share of lumps throughout the game. But the patchwork crew of youngsters and hobbled veterans came up with enough stops to preserve the victory.
"It's a demanding thing," UH defensive coordinator George Lumpkin said of dealing with the myriad injuries that have hit his unit this season. "But it's kind of rewarding because the young guys are coming in and stepping up and doing the best they can. We're really proud of those guys playing hurt and doing what they have to do help us win a ballgame."
Defensive end Mel Purcell, who suffered a bruised sternum two weeks ago against San Jose State, came up with a sack and batted down a pass in the fourth quarter for the Warriors. He finished with six tackles, three for losses.
Safety Leonard Peters led UH with 12 total tackles and senior defensive tackle Matt Faga came up with a sack that got the Warriors and their fans jumping late in the game.
Two freshman outside linebackers also saw extensive playing time as Brad Kalilimoku made his first career start and C.J. Allen-Jones, who was playing high-school ball a year ago, had four tackles.
"I know sometimes the young guys feel left out, but it's a team situation," Purcell said. "When it comes to game time, we don't have young guys and old guys, we just have a defense, we just have a team."
The Warriors took a few more hits on the injury front as defensive end Tony Akpan aggravated a shoulder injury several times during the game and cornerback Abraham Elimimian hurt his hamstring.
Moats shredded the Warriors on LaTech's first possession of the game, carrying the ball five straight plays and rolling for 61 yards, sprinting for 28 on his first touch of the game and scoring on a 2-yard run.
The Warriors countered by going back to their base defense while mixing in different looks for the Bulldog offensive line to deal with.
"Everybody just kept their heads up and worried about the next series," Purcell said. "We changed it up a little. We went back to our old defense, went back to the regular base that we normally do and just went out there and played football."
Said Lumpkin: "We just tried to mix up what we do with the line so the blocking wasn't so basic, so they had to step a little different in order to make the block."
The defense provided the turning point late in the first quarter when Lamar Broadway and Watson Hoohuli jarred the ball out of Moats' grasp. Elimimian scooped up the loose ball and sprinted 21 yards for the touchdown to give UH its first lead at 13-7.
They protected the lead in the second quarter after a blocked punt gave LaTech the ball at the UH 24. They forced the Bulldogs to attempt a field goal that Danny Horwedel missed wide right.
After the UH offense stretched the lead to 11 in the fourth quarter, the Warriors prevented LaTech from creeping back into striking distance by holding off the Bulldogs with their backs to the goal line late in the fourth quarter.
"Bend but don't break," Lumpkin said. "Guys played hard and that's what you like to see."
