UH slots hit the jackpot

Game night in Halawa looked a lot like any other morning in Manoa for the Hawaii slotbacks.

Making the first half of last night's home opener look like a casual day of pitch and catch, Davone Bess and Ryan Grice-Mullins sliced through the UNLV secondary to help the Warriors roll to a 42-13 victory over the Rebels at Aloha Stadium.

Bess led the Warriors with 10 catches for 124 yards, while Grice-Mullins grabbed seven throws for 111, all before the Warriors starters called it a night in the third quarter.

"It was just a matter of us coming out here and doing what we do every day in practice," Bess said after going more than 100 yards receiving for the eighth time in his UH career.

"That's all it was, just like practice, executing."

Last night's game was the first time the Warriors entered Aloha Stadium since last season's finale against San Diego State in December because they didn't practice in Halawa prior to the game. But once they got back on the FieldTurf, it didn't take long for them to get comfortable.

"It was kind of funny," Grice-Mullins said. "I had to bring two pairs of cleats, I didn't know which one to use."

Grice-Mullins led the Warriors in receiving yards last season with 1,228 and began the season by catching eight passes for 109 yards and a touchdown against Alabama.

Last night, the slotbacks were Colt Brennan's main targets on Hawaii's first two tone-setting drives of the game.

Brennan completed his first nine passes in leading the Warriors to touchdowns on their first two possessions. Seven of those throws went to either Bess or Grice-Mullins, with both catching 7-yard touchdown passes.

Grice-Mullins ended the first drive with a 7-yard grab and set up the second score by taking a pass across the middle and racing 32 yards down to the UNLV 7.

The binge continued in the second quarter with Brennan hitting Bess deep down the middle for a 23-yard gain to start another scoring drive. A 28-yard completion to Grice-Mullins extended the drive, which ended in Brennan scoring on a 1-yard run.

"The way (the Rebels) were playing it, they really did a good job of locking the outside guys up, so we just dumped it off to the inside guys and they found holes," Brennan said. "That's how it worked out tonight."

Said Grice-Mullins: "It was kind of surprising because they played us a lot of man. They mixed in zone here and there, but overall they played man and we took advantage of that. They kind of played into our scheme. ... It was just a fun night playing ball."

The normally sure-handed Bess struggled early against Alabama, dropping a couple of passes in the first half. He still had a team-high eight grabs in that game and said the Warriors' work on the field and in the classroom set the table for last night's explosion.

"We watched film on them constantly all this week and when we came out the first drive they were basically lining up in what Coach (June Jones) put out there with the scout team," Bess said.

Although their receiving numbers catch the eye, the slots also earned praise for their largely unseen efforts blocking downfield.

"They do a great a job," running back Nate Ilaoa said. "I like to watch how these guys get out there and hustle if they don't have the ball."