JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM The Warriors' Davone Bess looked for running room on this punt return during last night's 66-10 victory over Charleston Southern at Aloha Stadium.

Goin’ South

The Warriors flex their muscle in lopsided victory

Forget about that strategy of trying to keep the Hawaii offense off the field. It wasn't Colt Brennan or Tyler Graunke who finally broke open the game last night.

The Warriors special teams and defense started the second half with 14 points in less than 2 minutes as No. 19 UH came back from an uneven first half to pound Charleston Southern 66-10 at Aloha Stadium.

Hawaii improved to 4-0 and Division I-AA CSU fell to 1-3.

Ryan Mouton ran the second-half kickoff back 90 yards for his second touchdown in two games. He took the ball near the left sideline, cut toward the middle and broke away untouched.

Three plays later, UH linebacker Adam Leonard picked off an Eli Byrd pass at the CSU 36, rumbled toward the goal line and dived into the Buccaneers end zone after being hit.

UH had turned a 21-10 halftime score into a 25-point lead in 72 ticks of the game clock -- and without the nation's leading pass offense taking a snap.

The offense got into the act at 8:19 of the third, with Davone Bess taking a pass from Graunke for a 19-yard TD, pirouetting at the 5 and somersaulting into the end zone.

Coach June Jones said on Friday that Heisman candidate Brennan -- saddled with a sprained ankle -- would start at quarterback.

But he went with Graunke instead, the No. 2 QB who had taken the first-team reps all week in practice.

Charleston Southern hung tough in a first half in which both teams frittered away offensive opportunities with a combined five turnovers.

Hawaii, 1-0 in the Western Athletic Conference, travels to Idaho next weekend for a WAC game.

Graunke, who gave way to third-stringer Inoke Funaki after the first three quarters, completed 22 of 36 passes for 285 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.

JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM Kealoha Pilares soared through the air en route to a touchdown as Charleston Southern's Travis Jefferson, left, and Marco Ramirez looked on during first-half action of the Warriors' 66-10 rout of the Buccaneers at Aloha Stadium last night.

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The warm-ups are over for Hawaii, and the Warriors finished the early, soft third of their football schedule unscathed.

But you can look at it in one of two ways -- the Warriors needed more than a half to shake the dogged Buccaneers, or just 72 seconds to display their Top 25 might and turn it into the mockery that was expected.

Hawaii could even move up a notch or two in the national rankings. But maybe not if the voters saw the halftime score of 21-10 -- even taking into account that all-everything quarterback Colt Brennan didn't play because of a sore ankle.

"Tonight we showed we're a great team," Brennan said. "Not just a great offense, but a great team."

It took the special teams and defense to break this one open. They struck decisively at the outset of the second half, with two touchdowns before the Hawaii offense even got onto the field.

"Very big," coach June Jones said. "It's a team game. It felt like a 21-20 game."

Brennan's backup, Tyler Graunke, helped keep the Bucs in it with two first-half interceptions. But the burst at the start of the third quarter helped him relax.

"That was huge," said Graunke, who finished with three touchdown passes and another rushing. "I look at the scoreboard at halftime and I think we're in a game, and then it's 35-10 before I go in. They gave me so much confidence. I kept putting my helmet on and having to take it off again."

Ryan Mouton ran the second-half kickoff 90 yards for his second touchdown in two games (last week's was on an interception). He took the ball near the left sideline, cut toward the middle and broke away untouched.

"The blockers have done a great job all season, but we've been one man away from breaking it for a while now," Mouton said. "This time we got that man and I had a lane the whole way."

Three plays later, UH linebacker Adam Leonard picked off an Eli Byrd pass at the CSU 36, rumbled toward the goal line and dived into the Buccaneers end zone.

It was a tough catch to make, even for an offensive player.

"I've been working in ball drills with the receivers, and it paid off," Leonard said. "It felt like second nature."

CSU coach Jay Mills said it was "self-destruction."

"We just gave up too many big plays," Mills said. "The kickoff return and turning the ball over deep in our own end."

RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM Hawaii coach June Jones signaled to one of his players in last night's game against Charleston Southern.

Graunke, who played three quarters, finished with 285 yards on 22-for-36 passing.

Brennan said Jones told him yesterday morning he decided Graunke would play.

"I could've played, but I understand," said Brennan, who led the nation in passing yards per game headed into yesterday's games. "It's a great move and it's going to help Tyler and the team so much the next time he starts, whether it's this year or next."

Jones said he didn't want to risk re-injuring Brennan's ankle, but he did consider putting him in to play in the second half before the special teams and defense scored the two TDs.

"I was concerned if he had to run around and hurt it again," Jones said. "But I could tell he was ready to play."

C.J. Hawthorne caught five passes for 91 yards and two touchdowns.

UH went up 7-0 at 9:54 of the first quarter when Graunke, making a read late in the progression, found Hawthorne, who had split the safeties for a 26-yard touchdown pass.

CSU tied it on a 57-yard pass-and-run from Byrd to Dee Brown. Brown got ahead of Myron Newberry on a crossing pattern, gathered in a nice pass from Byrd in stride, and sped through the rest of the UH defense.

Kealoha Pilares used a block by Hercules Satele to get started, and then made a sweet move at the 5 to elude a tackler and score on a 16-yard run. Hawaii led 14-7.

On the next series, Byrd connected with Tim Jones on a 26-yard pass that put the ball on the UH 2. But CSU went into reverse. David Veikune's second sack of the game, a 5-yard penalty and Jake Patek's recovery of Michael Jefferson's fumble on a trick play gave the Warriors the ball back.

But UH couldn't capitalize, as Jason Rivers fumbled it back to CSU, with David Misher recovering.

On the next Hawaii series, fans briefly chanted, "We want Colt," right before Graunke completed a third-down pass to Rivers for a first down, but the drive ended with a punt.

Desmond Thomas' interception and 27-yard return to the Bucs 8 set up a 6-yard TD scramble by Graunke for a 21-7 lead with 3:41 left before halftime.

Misher intercepted a Graunke pass that led to Nick Ellis' 48-yard field goal with 16 seconds left in the half. Some fans booed as the teams headed to the lockers.

They had plenty to cheer about after the break with Mouton's and Leonard's scores.

Inoke Funaki mopped up in the fourth quarter with TD passes to Aaron Bain and Mike Washington. Gerard Lewis set up one of the scores with his first interception of the season.

Linebacker Solomon Elimimian led UH in tackles for the third game in a row, with eight.