WARRIOR FOOTBALL

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JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii quarterback Tyler Graunke muscled his way into the end zone for a touchdown.

Stakes rise for Hawaii

UH hopes for another September to Remember

STORY SUMMARY »

With its 66-10 win over Charleston Southern on Saturday, Hawaii improved to 4-0 -- matching its best opening act since 1988, when freshman kicker Jason Elam got the Rainbows off to a good start with a game-winning field goal against Iowa.

But college football has changed a lot in the past 19 years, and the stakes are high for the 19th-ranked Warriors. If they can continue to pile up wins and climb in the polls, Hawaii could end up in a BCS bowl game with a big payout -- in dollars and national esteem.

The first step, though, is Saturday's game at Idaho, where UH will try to extend its road winning streak to six games.

So far, UH has shown it can win on the road, and without its best player. The defense and special teams appear much improved. But coach June Jones knows that improvement must continue as the schedule gets tougher.

STAR-BULLETIN


FULL STORY »

By Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.com

It was dubbed the September to Remember in 1988, when Hawaii last started the season with four consecutive football wins, including an upset of top-five Iowa on a field goal by freshman Jason Elam in the Aloha Stadium opener.

Big Beginning

Hawaii's best starts since playing its first all-college schedule in 1966

Year Start Finish
1988 4-0 9-3
1981 7-0 9-2
1974 4-0 6-5
1973 8-0 9-2
1972 5-0 8-3
1970 4-0 9-2

Colorado State, San Jose State and Utah all fell to the Rainbows in quick order and UH finished at 9-3 -- and with no bowl game.

The stakes are much higher now for UH, with talk of running the table, culminating with a possible BCS bowl game. Even folks from off the island are starting to make big plans for the Warriors. Ted Lewis, college football writer at the New Orleans Times-Picayune, called the other day asking how many people from Hawaii might attend a Sugar Bowl with Georgia or Florida as the opponent.

It was UTEP that ended Hawaii's hopes of an undefeated season in 1988; the current Warriors try to make it Hawaii 5-0 at Idaho on Saturday.

Because of the oddities of the calendar, today's UH players -- some of whom were born the year Elam made that game-winner in his debut -- have the opportunity to break the record for September perfection.

After Saturday's 66-10 domination of Charleston Southern, coach June Jones said he was relieved to have come this far with an unscathed ledger.

"Glad to get out of there with a win," he said. "We scored 66 points and held them to 10, but it felt like a 21-20 game."

When the polls came out yesterday, Hawaii was 17th (coaches), 18th (Harris) and 19th (AP). Some would think a 56-point victory would mean a bigger jump, but the Warriors are paying the price for having played two Division I-AA teams. From the national perspective, the score could've been 100-0 and the jury would still be out with wins against Northern Colorado, LaTech, UNLV and now Charleston Southern.

But for the Warriors themselves, some important questions were answered in the first four games: They know they can win a close game (overtime against Louisiana Tech), on the road (at LaTech and at UNLV), and without their best player (quarterback Colt Brennan did not test his ankle on Saturday).

Jones made a strategic decision to hold out Brennan rather than making his ankle a target against an opponent that backup Tyler Graunke could handle ... with some help from his friends on defense and special teams.

The Buccaneers stuck around in the first half, trailing just 21-10 as Graunke struggled. But he played much better after halftime, completing 10 of 11 passes.

A gamble that wasn't really a gamble paid off.

"If you have a real good understanding of football, you understand why leaving Tyler in there is a great idea," Brennan said "We had trust in Tyler all the way."

Unfortunately, a lot of the fans didn't, chanting for Brennan and booing as the teams left the field at halftime.

"I was disappointed in the fans cheering for Colt to come into the game," linebacker Adam Leonard said. "This was experience Tyler needed to get because he might be called on to lead the team again at any time."

Now Graunke has some confidence, and Brennan doesn't have to spend today and tomorrow and maybe all week rehabbing the ankle again.

Ryan Mouton (90-yard kickoff return) and Leonard (36-yard interception return) broke it open at the start of the second half. The defense and special teams have scored five touchdowns, and are doing their best to chase away the image of Hawaii being a one-dimensional team. It's kind of like when Happy Gilmore learned how to putt.

Receiver C.J. Hawthorne (five catches, 91 yards, two touchdowns) joined Mouton and Leonard as nominees for WAC Players of the Week. Also, Mouton said a dinged knee wasn't bothering him after the game and he didn't expect to miss practice time.

Hawaii -- always near the top in the offensive stats -- is now 28th in the nation in points allowed, third in kickoff returns and 12th in punt returns. Circumstances have helped the Warriors move toward becoming a complete team, but Jones was far from satisfied late Saturday night.

"It was an ugly win for me," he said. "That's because our expectations are much higher than they have ever been."

Warriors Replay

Five big plays from Hawaii's 66-10 win over Charleston Southern

Chosen* and described by the Star-Bulletin's Dave Reardon

1. Third read

The Setup: Charleston Southern 0, Hawaii 0, around 10:00 remaining, first quarter, Hawaii ball, third and 1 at Charleston Southern 28.
The Play: QB Tyler Graunke looks left, then right, then finds C.J. Hawthorne behind the safeties.
The Impact: Graunke was intercepted on his first pass of the game, but came back to lead an eight-play, 70-yard drive for the first score of the night. Graunke would have some rocky moments in the first half, including three turnovers and chants of "We want Colt," but manages to keep his composure.
Hawaii coach June Jones: "It was a little rough early, but I thought Tyler did a lot of good things."

2. Turned back

The Setup: Hawaii 14, Charleston Southern 7, around 11:00 remaining, second quarter, Charleston Southern ball, third and goal at Hawaii 12.
The Play: QB Eli Byrd throws a short pass to Tim Jones who tries to toss the ball to Michael Jefferson. Jefferson can't handle the pitch, and Hawaii S Jake Patek picks up the ball and runs it 9 yards to the Hawaii 20.
The Impact: Charleston Southern was on the verge of tying the game, with a first and goal at the 2. But David Veikune's second sack, a 5-yard penalty and an incomplete pass set up the botched trick play. Charleston Southern never got close to the Hawaii end zone again.
Charleston Southern coach Jay Mills: "It was self-destruction."

3. Untouched

The Setup: Hawaii 21, Charleston Southern 10, 15:00 remaining, third quarter, Charleston Southern kicking off from own 30.
The Play: KR Ryan Mouton gathers the ball at the 10, near the left sideline. He cuts toward the middle, follows a lane and scores untouched.
The Impact: Charleston Southern went into halftime trailing by just 11 and with hopes of pulling off a major upset. Hawaii's third special teams touchdown of the season put a major dent into those aspirations.
Mouton: "Colt (Brennan) told me at halftime, 'I thought you said you were going to run one back for me?' I had to live up to my word."

4. Six from the D

The Setup: Hawaii 28, Charleston Southern 10, 14:48 remaining, third quarter, Charleston Southern ball, third and 7 at own 26.
The Play: LB Adam Leonard intercepts Byrd's pass at the 36 and runs to the right. RG Matt Hoisington slips through the blockers and makes a diving attempt to stop Leonard at the 5. But Leonard keeps his balance to get the ball past the goal line before he goes to the ground.
The Impact: Hawaii scores a touchdown on an interception return for the second game in a row. Less than 2 minutes into the second half, Hawaii turns an 11-point lead into a 25-point margin.
Leonard: "We don't feel like our defense should take a backseat to anyone. We want to be known as a team with a great defense."

5. Acrobat

The Setup: Hawaii 35, Charleston Southern 10, around 8:30 remaining, third quarter, Hawaii ball, fourth and 1 at Charleston Southern 19.
The Play: Graunke finds Davone Bess on a short route. Bess spins away from a tackler and does a somersault as he enters the end zone.
The Impact: The third quarter is a confidence builder for Hawaii's No. 2 quarterback. Graunke completes 10 of 11 passes with two touchdowns. He finishes 22-for-36 for 285 yards with three TDs and two picks.
Graunke: "The second half I was more calm than I'd ever been. I wasn't even thinking twice about it."

* -- Play No. 3 is this week's bloggers' choice. Readers of UH Sports Extra, the Star-Bulletin's Warrior football blog, vote for the biggest play of each game. UH football beat writer Dave Reardon selects the other four.


UH FOOTBALL STATISTICS

Team Statistics


HAWAII OPP
FIRST DOWNS 107 73
Rushing 18 26
Passing 81 40
Penalty 8 7
RUSHING YARDAGE 325 488
Yards gained rushing 397 628
Yards lost rushing 72 140
Rushing attempts 85 153
Average per rush 3.8 3.2
Average per game 81.2 122.0
Touchdowns rushing 7 6
PASSING YARDAGE 1,847 764
Att-Comp-Int 204-145-5 150-82-5
Average per pass 9.1 5.1
Average per catch 12.7 9.3
Average per game 461.8 191.0
Touchdowns passing 19 4
TOTAL OFFENSE 2,172 1,252
Total plays 289 303
Average per play 7.5 4.1
Average per game 543.0 313.0
KICK RETURNS: No-Yds 14-453 31-635
PUNT RETURNS: No-Yds 10-168 2-7
INT. RETURNS: No-Yds 4-136 5-45
FUMBLES-LOST 10-3 11-3
PENALTIES-YARDS 31-272 29-236
PUNTS-AVG 8-42.8 27-41.7
TIME OF POSSESSION/GAME 28:23 32:01
3RD-DOWN CONVERSIONS 20/46 21/70
4TH-DOWN CONVERSIONS 6/10 4/11

Rushing

G Att Net Avg TD Long
Wright-Jackson 4 16 112 7.0 1 47
Pilares 4 21 107 5.1 1 16
Brennan 3 23 34 1.5 4 10
Funaki 3 5 29 5.8 0 14
Graunke 3 4 23 5.8 1 20
Laumoli 2 3 16 5.3 0 15
Cox 4 3 6 2.0 0 6
Chopp 2 3 3 1.0 0 5
Farmer 4 3 3 1.0 0 2
Thomas 4 1 -3 -3.0 0 0
TEAM 4 3 -5 -1.7 0 0
Total 4 85 325 3.8 7 47

Passing

G Att Comp Int Yds TD Long
Brennan 3 133 103 1 1,262 12 64
Graunke 3 58 32 4 449 4 81
Funaki 3 13 10 0 136 3 32
Total 4 204 145 5 1,847 19 81

Receiving


G Rec Yds Avg TD Long
Grice-Mullen 4 27 378 14.0 4 64
Rivers 4 27 357 13.2 3 47
Hawthorne 4 24 303 12.6 3 46
Bess 4 24 248 10.3 4 29
Pilares 4 12 130 10.8 1 41
Wright-Jackson 4 9 95 10.6 0 26
Lane 4 6 156 26.0 1 81
Bain 4 4 61 15.2 1 32
Salas 3 3 35 11.7 1 24
Washington 3 2 32 16.0 1 19
Chopp 2 2 21 10.5 0 13
Cox 4 2 15 7.5 0 10
Farmer 4 1 8 8.0 0 8
Medeiros 1 1 7 7.0 0 7
Graunke 1 1 1 1.0 0 1
Total 4 145 1,847 12.7 19 81

Scoring

TD FG 1XP 2XP Tot
Kelly 0 2 31 0 37
Brennan 4 0 0 0 24
Grice-Mullen 4 0 0 0 24
Bess 4 0 0 0 24
Hawthorne 3 0 0 0 18
Rivers 3 0 0 0 18
Lane 2 0 0 0 12
Pilares 2 0 0 0 12
Mouton 2 0 0 0 12
Washington 2 0 0 0 12
Salas 1 0 0 0 6
Graunke 1 0 0 0 6
Leonard, A. 1 0 0 0 6
Wright-Jackson 1 0 0 0 6
Bain 1 0 0 0 6
Total 31 2 31 0 223

Total Offense

G Plays Rush Pass Tot Avg
Brennan 3 156 34 1,262 1,296 432.0
Graunke 3 62 23 449 472 157.3
Funaki 3 18 29 136 165 55.0
Wright-Jackson4 16 112 0 112 28.0
Pilares 4 21 107 0 107 26.8
Laumoli 2 3 16 0 16 8.0
Cox 4 3 6 0 6 1.5
Farmer 4 3 3 0 3 0.8
Chopp 2 3 3 0 3 1.5
Thomas 4 1 -3 0 -3 -0.8
TEAM 4 3 -5 0 -5 -1.2
Total 4 289 325 1,847 2,172 543.0

Punting

No. Yds Avg Long
Grasso 8 342 42.8 51
Total 8 342 42.8 51

Punt Returns

No. Yds Avg TD Long
Bess 6 66 11.0 0 17
Washington 4 102 25.5 1 80
Total 10 168 16.8 1 80

Kick Returns

No. Yds Avg TD Long
Mouton 10 313 31.3 1 90
Lane 2 120 60.0 1 94
Satele 2 20 10.0 0 11
Total 14 453 32.4 2 94

Tackles

G UT AT Tot
Elimimian 4 23 18 41
Leonard, A. 4 13 16 29
Patek 4 14 12 26
Kalilimoku 4 16 5 21
Noa 4 9 10 19
Lewis 4 11 5 16
Newberry 4 7 8 15
Thomas 4 11 3 14
Veikune 4 8 3 11
Lafaele 4 5 6 11
Paepule 4 9 0 9
Maka 4 7 1 8
Galdeira 4 6 2 8
Monteilh 4 3 3 6
Laeli 4 2 4 6
Lau 4 6 0 6
Mouton 4 3 3 6
Leonard, J. 4 4 1 5
Saole 4 4 1 5
Purcell 4 2 3 5
Fonoti 2 3 2 5
Satele 4 3 1 4
Allen-Jones 3 4 0 4
Kiesel-Kauhane 4 3 1 4
Kelly 4 3 1 4
Porlas 4 2 2 4
Davis 3 3 0 3
Laumoli 2 2 0 2
Seti 4 0 2 2
Watson 4 1 1 2
Jones 3 2 0 2
Ingram 4 0 1 1
Savaiigaea 4 1 0 1
Roberts 2 1 0 1
Brennan 3 1 0 1
Hawthorne 4 1 0 1
Grice-Mullen 4 1 0 1
Washington 3 1 0 1
Nauahi 3 0 1 1
Keomaka 1 1 0 1
Total 4 196 116 312

Misc.
Sacks (No.-Yds.): Veikune 3-9, Leonard, J. 2-8, Noa 1.5-3, Leonard, A. 1-19, Lau 1-13, Purcell 1-4, Kalilimoku 0.5-2, Lafaele 0.5-4, Laeli 0.5-4. Total: 11-66.
Interceptions (No.-Yds.): Mouton 1-40, Leonard, A. 1-36, Lewis 1-33, Thomas 1-27. Total: 4-136.
Fumbles (Forced-Recovered): Patek 1-1, Monteilh 1-0, Lafaele 0-1, Lewis 0-1, Savaiigaea 1-0, Monteilh 1-0. Total: 3-3.
Blocked kicks: Jones.



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