RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM Hawaii's Leonard Peters, left, and Watson Ho'ohuli brought down Michigan State's Agim Shabaj in the first quarter last night.

UH’s defense never rests

It looked like another nationally televised torching was in store for the Hawaii defense early in last night's regular-season finale against Michigan State on ESPN2.

The Warriors fell behind 21-0 and gave up a whopping 403 yards in the first half against the Spartans, evoking memories of lopsided losses at Fresno State and Boise State on ESPN and ESPN2.

But as they had in victories the past two weeks, the Warriors grew more stingy after halftime.

The Warriors limited Michigan State to 127 yards in the third quarter, including just 49 on the ground, to set the stage for the offense to erase a 28-14 halftime deficit and pull out a 41-38 win at Aloha Stadium.

"We were just not playing football (in the first half), we were kind of nervous and scared," senior defensive back Abraham Elimimian said. "But the second half we realized these guys were good, but they weren't better than we were, especially at home."

UH ended up surrendering a total of 598 yards, 195 in the second half, as the Warriors clinched a berth in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl.

Senior linebacker Watson Ho'ohuli led the Warriors with 12 total tackles, including four for losses. Elimimian and safety Leonard Peters finished with 11 each. Senior tackle Lui Fuga made five stops behind the line of scrimmage.

Darrell Tautofi had one sack, stuffing MSU punter Dave Rayner on a fake punt in the fourth quarter.

"Everyone really pulled through today," Ho'ohuli said. "There were just a lot of missed assignments. We just had to go in at halftime and get our heads out of our butts and just play football."

Back in action: Center Derek Fa'avi and guard Uriah Moenoa returned from injuries to start last night's game on the offensive line.

Fa'avi was thought to be lost for the season after suffering a knee injury and missed the previous three games. He started the game in the middle of the line, but left in the first half and was replaced at center by Samson Satele. Senior Phil Kauffman went in at left guard for Satele.

Moenoa, a four-year starter, sat out the last two games with a sore hamstring before returning last night.

Sophomore tackle Jeremy Inferrera was ejected along with Michigan State defensive lineman Clifton Ryan for a second-quarter scuffle.

Not even close: Penalty yardage tends to even out over the course of a football game.

Not so last night. Michigan State was flagged for 16 infractions for 119 yards. In contrast, Hawaii was penalized five times for 35 yards.

A holding call that brought back what would have been DeAndra Cobb's 75-yard TD run with 6:40 left before halftime was one of the Spartans' more costly mistakes.

Another Michigan State holding penalty -- Cobb's kickoff return for a touchdown with just over 9 minutes left in the game that would have given the Spartans a lead -- was another stinger.

Hawaii didn't have any penalties in the first half.

Halftime bowling: Western Athletic Conference commissioner Karl Benson didn't have his black, green and white pom-poms out, but you could tell at halftime that he was pulling for Hawaii to ensure that a league team gets into the Hawaii Bowl.

About 25 seconds before the Warriors struck to cut the deficit to 28-21 early in the second-half, Benson said, "I certainly haven't counted them out."

» With Hawaii's victory, the league avoided a financial hit.

The teams in the Hawaii Bowl are guaranteed a $750,000 appearance fee. After expenses for the team representing the league, the money is split among all conference schools.

"Obviously, Hawaii in the bowl is the best financial outcome for us," Benson added.

WAC teams Boise State (Liberty), UTEP (Houston) and Fresno State (MPC Computer) are going to bowl games.

ASSOCIATED PRESS President Bush watched the coin toss with Navy quaterback Aaron Polanco prior to the start of the Army-Navy game.

President Bush presides
over annual rivalry game

PHILADELPHIA » President George W. Bush made a visit to each locker room before the annual Army-Navy game, but some of the players were too focused on this rivalry to notice.

With the teams warming up before the match, the president appeared on the edge of Lincoln Financial Field with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and posed for pictures with cheerleaders and everyone else who had a camera. As the teams left the playing field, he followed and spent a few minutes in each locker room. Shaking hands with the captains, the president gave the usual pep talk any commander in chief might deliver.

"It was a great honor to have him before the game, but the guys were anxious to get going," Navy running back Kyle Eckel said. "We were all thinking about the game, like foaming at the mouth. We just wanted to get out there and start."

The appearance was Bush's second at this game; he attended the 2001 matchup. President Bill Clinton was at the 1996 game.

Following his brief address to the teams, Bush performed the coin toss with a coin from Fallujah. He then watched the first half in the fading afternoon sunshine amid the Corps of Cadets and then walked across the field to join the Mids for the second half.

While many presidents have attended the Army-Navy game, Dwight Eisenhower was the only one to play in it, appearing for Army in 1912.

Navy gets trophy: Without a league, there can be an absence of acute competition. But the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy is valued more than a conference title for those in the service academies. The Mids took the trophy for the second straight year, marking only the second time since the inception of the award in 1972 that Navy has captured it back-to-back seasons. The Mids previously did it in 1978 and 1979.

"This sure looks good at Bancroft Hall," said Navy coach Paul Johnson, referring to the school's administrative building. "Winning the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy is one goal we set every year. By winning this again, it's a tribute to the seniors and their achievements. This group started at the lowest of the low and have now reached the highest of the high."

The three service academies battle for the award each fall, and Air Force has been the dominant team. Until Navy took the last two, the Falcons captured six straight and 13 of the previous 14. Only Army broke that streak when the Black Knights took the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy in 1996.

This and that: Navy's 29-point margin of victory was the fourth-largest in series history. The Mids' 42 points is the fourth-highest total in the series. ... Navy quarterback Aaron Polanco's 10-yard TD run in the second quarter was his 21st of the season, sixth most in Navy history and third among quarterbacks. ... Army linebacker Greg Washington, with 15 tackles against Navy, closed his career with double-digit tackles in 14 straight games. His 13.56 tackles per game leads the nation. "We won two games this season, and I see a bright future," Washington said. "I know we made great progress, and the program has a bright future." ... Army junior running back Carlton Jones closed out the season with 1,269 yards rushing, the second-highest ground yardage in school history. Jones now ranks fourth on the Black Knights' career rushing list. ... Navy's nine wins is the most since the Mids captured nine in 1963. A victory in the Emerald Bowl on Dec. 30 against New Mexico would give Navy 10 wins for only the second time in school history. The other time was a 10-1-1 mark in the 1905 season. ... The loss for Army coach Bobby Ross was his first in this series. He was humbled by his experience in this historic rivalry. "Give Navy credit," he said. "They're a very good football team. Right now, they are better than we are. We have to get better in areas of team speed, good quickness and athleticism. ... Philadelphia will host the next two games in this series and the 2007 contest moves to Baltimore. The game returns to Philadelphia for 2008 and 2009.