Injuries force DB shuffle

Hawaii senior Ryan Mouton's first stint at free safety was cut short by a sprained left ankle.

Mouton limped off the field after returning a fumble in the first quarter and did not play again.

Mouton, who made the move from cornerback this week in practice, was the second starter in the secondary to leave the game early. Erik Robinson, who injured his hamstring in practice on Tuesday, started at strong safety but went out on Idaho's first possession.

The ensuing shuffle included seniors Desmond Thomas and Keao Monteilh seeing more action at the safety spots and freshman Richard Torres getting into the game at nickel back.

Thomas played a part in two first-half turnovers. He forced the fumble that was recovered by Mouton. His interception in the second quarter set up a UH touchdown.

Elimimian moves up the charts

Hawaii linebacker Solomon Elimimian was credited with 10 tackles in the first half last night, and finished with a season-high 13, moving into second place on the Western Athletic Conference's career list.

Elimimian, UH's all-time record holder, now has 404 stops and is only the second WAC player to break the 400-tackle mark. UTEP's Robert Rodriguez holds the record with 443 stops.

Elimimian also tipped a pass that ended up in Monteilh's hands for UH's third interception of the game.

Alexander goes INT-free again

Hawaii quarterback Greg Alexander extended his streak of pass attempts without an interception to 116 after a pick-free game last night.

His three touchdown passes were a career high and came in only three quarters of work. He finished 14-for-24 for 264 yards.

Sophomore Brent Rausch replaced him for the final 15 minutes and completed three of five for 22 yards.

Bailey goes off for Vandals

Throughout the first half, Hawaii showed respect for the talent of Damien product Kama Bailey, a dangerous kick returner for Idaho.

Of Dan Kelly's five first-half kickoffs, only one went to Bailey's side, and the freshman charged around the right side for 40 yards.

The next time Kelly kicked to Bailey early in the second half (from the Warriors 15 after a Hawaii unsportsmanlike conduct penalty), Bailey raced through a gaping hole up the middle for 39 yards. The only problem on the play for Bailey was that he ran right into the waiting arms of Kelly, who wrestled him down.

Bailey also had a 36-yard return and totaled 115 yards on three kick returns for the night. He is now the Vandals' all-time, single-season record holder for kickoff return yardage (955 on 41 returns).

“;I had it in my head that I wanted to take it to the house,”; Bailey said. “;That's the mentality I always have and it makes me run harder.”;