WARRIOR FOOTBALL
Warriors await news on Purcell’s knee injury
The Hawaii defensive lineman will have an MRI to determine the amount of damage
One of the Hawaii football team's most experienced defensive players could be out of the Warriors lineup for a while.
Defensive end/tackle Mel Purcell was to undergo an MRI to determine how much damage his knee took during a play late in the first quarter of UH's 46-14 loss at Louisiana Tech on Saturday.
"I anticipate he won't be available," coach June Jones said yesterday, referring to Saturday's game against New Mexico State at Aloha Stadium.
Purcell went into Saturday's game with 12 tackles and a fumble recovery for the season. He was credited with one solo tackle against the Bulldogs before the injury.
Purcell, who has played in 29 games since 2003, was named honorable mention All-Western Athletic Conference last season, when he made 74 tackles, including 15 1/2 tackles for loss and six sacks, in a 4-3 defense that gave him more opportunities to make plays.
"Any time you lose a player like that it's gonna hurt. But the next guy has to go in there and do it," Jones said.
Sophomore Karl Noa was Purcell's replacement Saturday. He was credited with two assisted tackles.
If Purcell is out, he is the second UH defensive starter to succumb to a knee injury this season. Safety Leonard Peters, the team's leading tackler from 2003, suffered a torn ligament that did not require surgery. Peters could return to action later in the season.
No controversy: Warriors starting quarterback Colt Brennan doesn't have to look over his shoulder. Jones said yesterday Brennan remains a solid No. 1 on the depth chart. There are no plans to re-open the competition between Brennan and Tyler Graunke that lasted until the second game of the season.
"Why would we do that?" Jones said.
Brennan passed for 236 yards with 23 completions in 33 attempts Saturday. He passed for one touchdown and one interception.
"He's still young. A couple of errors are correctable. The throwaway sack hurt us. He's got to learn not to do that," Jones said Saturday. But he does a lot of good things, too. So we'll keep growing and keep getting better."
Brennan started the game well, completing nine consecutive passes in the first quarter. But the UH offense couldn't keep up with LaTech's after halftime and the Bulldogs built an insurmountable 43-14 lead with 20 unanswered third-quarter points.
"Once you get in that mind-set it's hard to get out of it. You feel the same, but you end up not playing the same," Brennan said. "It's frustrating. I won't really know until I see the tape why we sputtered in the second half. I think it was mostly just momentum."
Graunke, who started the season-opening game against USC, completed three of four passes for 33 yards Saturday.
Wake-up call: At least one Warrior isn't looking at 0-6 New Mexico State as an automatic win.
"We have to bust our (butt) in practice," nose tackle Mike Lafaele said. "We can't go through the motions. We have to work hard."
Hawaii statistics
TEAM STATISTICS
|
|
HAWAII |
OPP
|
| FIRST DOWN |
108 |
107
|
| Rushing |
21 |
53
|
| Passing |
75 |
48
|
| Penalty |
12 |
6
|
| RUSHING YARDAGE |
349 |
966
|
| Yards gained rushing |
470 |
1093
|
| Yards lost rushing |
121 |
127
|
| Rushing attempts |
111 |
197
|
| Average per rush |
3.1 |
4.9
|
| Average per game |
69.8 |
193.2
|
| Touchdowns rushing |
2 |
10
|
| PASSING YARDAGE |
1688 |
1110
|
| Att-Comp-Int |
231-150-5 |
133-81-3
|
| Average per pass |
7.3 |
8.3
|
| Average per catch |
11.3 |
13.7
|
| Average per game |
337.6 |
222.0
|
| Touchdowns passing |
12 |
12
|
| TOTAL OFFENSE |
2037 |
2076
|
| Total plays |
342 |
330
|
| Average per play |
6.0 |
6.3
|
| Average per game |
407.4 |
415.2
|
| KICK RETURNS: No-Yds |
26-536 |
19-387
|
| PUNT RETURNS: No-Yds |
4-32 |
10-185
|
| INT. RETURNS: No-Yds |
3-6 |
5-128
|
| FUMBLES-LOST |
8-3 |
12-3
|
| PENALTIES-YARDS |
45-338 |
37-362
|
| PUNTS-AVG |
21-37.5 |
18-41.1
|
| TIME OF POSSESSION/GAME |
30:54 |
29:06
|
| 3RD-DOWN CONVERSIONS |
27/65 |
31/64
|
| 4TH-DOWN CONVERSIONS |
2/9 |
6/8 |
Rushing
|
|
G |
Att |
Net |
Avg |
TD |
Long
|
| Ilaoa |
5 |
26 |
179 |
6.9 |
2 |
41
|
| Brennan |
5 |
37 |
54 |
1.5 |
0 |
19
|
| Graunke |
5 |
15 |
41 |
2.7 |
0 |
12
|
| Maneafaiga |
2 |
12 |
30 |
2.5 |
0 |
10
|
| Farmer |
4 |
8 |
28 |
3.5 |
0 |
10
|
| Latuselu |
3 |
7 |
11 |
1.6 |
0 |
5
|
| Cox |
1 |
3 |
7 |
2.3 |
0 |
8
|
| Malala |
5 |
1 |
2 |
2.0 |
0 |
2
|
| TEAM |
4 |
2 |
-3 |
-1.5 |
0 |
-1
|
| Total |
5 |
111 |
349 |
3.1 |
2 |
41 |
Passing
|
|
G |
Att |
Comp |
Int |
Yds |
TD |
Long
|
| Brennan |
5 |
191 |
130 |
4 |
1478 |
11 |
73
|
| Graunke |
5 |
38 |
20 |
0 |
210 |
1 |
36
|
| TEAM |
4 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
| Milne |
5 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
| Total |
5 |
231 |
150 |
5 |
1688 |
12 |
73 |
Receiving
|
|
G |
Rec |
Yds |
Avg |
TD |
Long
|
| Bess |
5 |
34 |
379 |
11.1 |
5 |
33
|
| Grice-Mullen |
5 |
30 |
426 |
14.2 |
3 |
73
|
| Dickerson |
5 |
20 |
267 |
13.4 |
1 |
43
|
| Washington |
4 |
13 |
86 |
6.6 |
0 |
10
|
| Sample |
3 |
12 |
172 |
14.3 |
1 |
27
|
| Ilaoa |
5 |
12 |
78 |
6.5 |
0 |
20
|
| Maneafaiga |
2 |
8 |
75 |
9.4 |
1 |
27
|
| Mock |
1 |
4 |
60 |
15.0 |
0 |
25
|
| Latuselu |
3 |
4 |
7 |
1.8 |
0 |
4
|
| Taylor |
5 |
3 |
47 |
15.7 |
0 |
32
|
| Linkner |
2 |
3 |
29 |
9.7 |
0 |
22
|
| Farmer |
4 |
3 |
17 |
5.7 |
1 |
7
|
| Slye |
1 |
2 |
29 |
14.5 |
0 |
18
|
| Mahala |
5 |
1 |
10 |
10.0 |
0 |
10
|
| Ferguson |
1 |
1 |
6 |
6.0 |
0 |
6
|
| Total |
5 |
150 |
1688 |
11.3 |
12 |
73 |
Total Offense
|
|
G |
Plays |
Rush |
Pass |
Tot |
Avg
|
| Brennan |
5 |
228 |
54 |
1478 |
1532 |
306.4
|
| Graunke |
5 |
53 |
41 |
210 |
251 |
50.2
|
| Ilaoa |
5 |
26 |
179 |
0 |
179 |
35.8
|
| Maneafaiga |
2 |
12 |
30 |
0 |
30 |
15.0
|
| Farmer |
4 |
8 |
28 |
0 |
28 |
7.0
|
| Latuselu |
3 |
7 |
11 |
0 |
11 |
3.7
|
| Cox |
1 |
3 |
7 |
0 |
7 |
7.0
|
| Mahala |
5 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
0.4
|
| Total |
5 |
342 |
349 |
1688 |
2037 |
407.4 |
Scoring
|
|
TD |
FG |
1XP |
2XP |
Tot
|
| Bess |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
30
|
| Kelly |
0 |
4 |
10 |
0 |
22
|
| Grice-Mullen |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
18
|
| Ilaoa |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
12
|
| Maneafaiga |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6
|
| Dickerson |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6
|
| Farmer |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6
|
| Sample |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6
|
| Slye |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2
|
| Graunke |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2
|
| Total |
14 |
4 |
10 |
2 |
110 |
Punting
|
|
No. |
Yds |
Avg |
Long
|
| Milne |
21 |
787 |
37.5 |
52
|
| Total |
21 |
787 |
37.5 |
52 |
Punt Returns
|
|
No. |
Yds |
Avg |
TD |
Long
|
| Taylor |
3 |
34 |
11.3 |
0 |
22
|
| Bess |
1 |
-2 |
-2.0 |
0 |
0
|
| Total |
4 |
32 |
8.0 |
0 |
22 |
Kick Returns
|
|
No. |
Yds |
Avg |
TD |
Long
|
| Taylor |
20 |
429 |
21.5 |
0 |
40
|
| Kafentzis, T. |
5 |
88 |
17.6 |
0 |
24
|
| Ferguson |
1 |
19 |
19.0 |
0 |
19
|
| Total |
18 |
388 |
21.6 |
0 |
40 |
Tackles
|
|
G |
UT |
AT |
Tot
|
| Moe |
5 |
24 |
14 |
38
|
| Elimimian |
5 |
20 |
11 |
31
|
| Kamakawiwo'ole |
5 |
18 |
12 |
30
|
| Patton |
5 |
21 |
9 |
30
|
| Manners |
5 |
15 |
12 |
27
|
| Kalilimoku |
5 |
14 |
12 |
26
|
| Alama-Francis |
5 |
11 |
13 |
24
|
| Broadway |
5 |
6 |
8 |
14
|
| Purcell |
5 |
7 |
6 |
13
|
| Kafentzis, L. |
4 |
8 |
5 |
13
|
| Keomaka |
4 |
8 |
0 |
8
|
| Monteilh |
4 |
5 |
3 |
8
|
| Kafentzis, T. |
5 |
5 |
2 |
7
|
| Saole |
4 |
5 |
1 |
6
|
| Porlas |
4 |
3 |
3 |
6
|
| Lafaele |
4 |
1 |
5 |
6
|
| Peters |
1 |
5 |
0 |
5
|
| Curnan |
5 |
3 |
2 |
5
|
| Watson |
3 |
0 |
4 |
4
|
| Fonoti |
3 |
2 |
1 |
3
|
| TEAM |
4 |
3 |
0 |
3
|
| Ingram |
3 |
1 |
2 |
3
|
| Grice-Mullen |
5 |
3 |
0 |
3
|
| Malala |
5 |
2 |
1 |
3
|
| Alexander |
3 |
0 |
3 |
3
|
| Milne |
5 |
2 |
0 |
2
|
| Noa |
4 |
0 |
2 |
2
|
| Tautofi |
4 |
1 |
1 |
2
|
| Akpan |
5 |
2 |
0 |
2
|
| Fergerstrom |
3 |
1 |
0 |
1
|
| Fruean |
4 |
0 |
1 |
1
|
| Kelly |
5 |
0 |
1 |
1
|
| Peoples |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1
|
| Leonard |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1
|
| Laeli |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1
|
| Mauia |
3 |
1 |
0 |
1
|
| LaCount |
4 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
| Paepule |
3 |
1 |
0 |
1
|
| Total |
5 |
201 |
135 |
336 |
Misc.
Sacks (No.-Yds.): Kamakawiwo'ole 4-27, Alama-Francis 3-17, Moe 2.5-9, Elimimian 2-10, Broadway 1-7, Kalilimoku 0.5-4. Total: 13-74.
Interceptions (No.-Yds.): Elimimian 1-6, Patton 1-0, Manners 1-0. Total: 3-6.
Fumbles (Total-Forced-Recovered): Manners 2-2-0, Patton 1-1-0, Alama-Francis 1-1-0, Kamakawiwo'ole 1-1-0, Paepule 1-1-0, Kalilimoku 1-0-1, Purcell 1-0-1, Curnan 1-0-1. Total: 9-6-3.
Blocked kicks: Akpan 1.
