RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM Hawaii's Darrell Tautofi, right, and Abraham Elimimian sacked UAB's Darrell Hackney in the first half yesterday.

Kaimuki kids come through

Kila Kamakawiwo'ole emerged as a quality defensive end for the Hawaii football team this season and turned in one of the biggest plays of yesterday's Hawaii Bowl.

But he also impacted the Warriors defense with his work as a recruiter a few years ago.

With the UH coaching staff searching for defensive linemen, Kamakawiwo'ole gave them a tip on two of his Kaimuki High School teammates who were standouts at mainland junior colleges.

Matt Faga and Darrell Tautofi eventually found their way to Manoa and the Kaimuki combination helped spark the Warriors defense in UH's 59-40 win over UAB yesterday at Aloha Stadium.

Kamakawiwo'ole, a junior defensive end, forced the game's first turnover, while Tautofi had two sacks in his final game at UH.

Faga, a starter in all but one game this season, didn't register any stats but helped plug the middle of the line playing alongside fellow senior Lui Fuga.

"If it wasn't for Kila I don't think we would be here," Faga said. "We always kept in touch with Kila when we were up on the mainland and for that I really thank him. If it wasn't for him, me and Darrell wouldn't be here right now sharing in this victory."

In what became their trademark during their late-season run, the Warriors gave up yards and points in bunches early in yesterday's game but grew stingy after halftime.

After going into the break with a 28-26 lead, UH held UAB out of the end zone until the final minute of the third quarter. By then the Warriors had built a 45-26 cushion and cruised to their fourth straight win.

"We just see it as a totally different game coming out of halftime," Tautofi said. "We just try to pick it up, we try to push everybody to work harder."

Kamakawiwo'ole made the highlight reel by batting away a pitch from UAB quarterback Darrell Hackney on an option play in the third quarter. He had his mind on reaching the end zone when he scooped up the fumble, but was brought down after a 23-yard return.

"Kila is big-time now," UH defensive coordinator George Lumpkin said. "A lot of people don't realize how big-time he is. Kila makes so many plays, and he's so smart and so quick."

The bowl game capped a strong closing push for Tautofi in his only season with the Warriors. He earned his first career start against Michigan State on Dec. 4, and tracked down Hackney twice in yesterday's game.

"I don't know what happened to him; he had some kind of metamorphosis," Lumpkin said. "The last three games ... he played big. He played like the kind of player we thought he was. I guess it just took him awhile to understand what he's supposed to do."

Tautofi was an All-Conference pick at Dixie College and attended Hawaii Pacific University in 2002. He enrolled at UH last year, but didn't play football.

He admitted to becoming discouraged during his hiatus from the game and considered giving it up. But his teammates urged him to return for one more season.

"I thought of quitting and just trying to do the school thing," he said. "But a couple of the guys, kept trying to push me. They believed in me and look where I'm at."