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Warriors 2008: A look back

POSTED: Sunday, December 28, 2008

Aug. 30: No. 5 Florida 56, Hawaii 10

At Gainesville, Fla. » The Gators' run to the BCS Championship game began with a blowout win in Greg McMackin's debut as head coach. Hawaii stayed with Florida in a scoreless first quarter, but six turnovers—including two interceptions returned for touchdowns—fueled the rout at The Swamp. Reigning Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow passed for 137 yards, with the supporting cast inflicting most of the damage.

FIVE KEY PLAYS OF 2008

As selected by Star-Bulletin columnist Dave Reardon:

1. TOO HIGH
The Setup: Aug. 30, at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Fla.; Hawaii 0, Florida 0, 1:48 remaining, first quarter, Hawaii ball, second and 10 at Florida 27
The Play: SB Aaron Bain is open near the goal line, but QB Greg Alexander's pass sails high and S Ahmad Black makes a diving interception in the end zone.
The Impact: This was the biggest play of the game, a huge momentum-changer after Hawaii, a five-touchdown underdog, had played Florida even for nearly the entire first quarter and was threatening to score first. Florida went on to win 56-10.
Alexander: “;That can't happen, especially in the red zone against a team like Florida. He was there, I just missed him.”;

2. FLYIN' RYAN
The Setup: Oct. 4, at Bulldog Stadium, Fresno, Calif.; Fresno State 3, Hawaii 0, 8:19 remaining, first quarter, Fresno State kicking off from Fresno State 30
The Play: After Fresno State scores first on a field goal, Hawaii KR Ryan Mouton gathers the ball at the 10, breaks through a cluster of defenders at the 20 and into the open field. He covers the last 50 yards to the end zone untouched.
The Impact: Hawaii misses the extra point, but another Fresno State special teams breakdown—a fumble by A.J. Jefferson forced by Tyson Kafentzis and recovered by Jayson Rego—sets up a Hawaii field goal for an early 9-3 lead. After several more dramatic twists and turns, Hawaii gets its first road win against a nationally ranked opponent, 32-29.
Mouton: “;The wedge hit it and opened it up and I just had to run. And I don't have a problem running.”;

3. STOPPED AGAIN
The Setup: Nov. 1, at Romney Stadium, Logan, Utah; Utah State 20, Hawaii 7, 11:05 remaining, fourth quarter, Hawaii ball, fourth and goal at Utah State 12
The Play: QB Inoke Funaki throws incomplete for WR Greg Salas in the end zone. Salas tangles with a Utah State defender, but it is not ruled to be interference.
The Impact: Another costly red-zone failure for Hawaii, as it comes up empty on a 13-play, 5-minute, 18-second drive starting from its own 20. Hawaii has first and goal at the 8, but a false-start penalty pushes it back to the 13, and Utah State allows just 1 yard on four plays. Hawaii is upset 30-14 and at 4-5 is in danger of its first losing season since 2005.
Hawaii coach Greg McMackin: “;We left too many points on the field.”;

4. GETTING IT BACK
The Setup: Nov. 29, at Aloha Stadium; Hawaii 24, Washington State 10, 6:43 remaining, fourth quarter, Hawaii ball, fourth and 17 at Washington State 31
The Play: Matt Eichelberger blocks Dan Kelly's 47-yard field-goal attempt. Washington State's Devin Giles recovers, and, as he is being tackled, tries to pitch to Chima Nwachukwu. Nwachukwu doesn't catch the high toss, and UH's Clarence Tuioti-Mariner recovers at the WSU 23.
The Impact: Instead of taking over with enough time to conceivably score twice, Washington State fritters away a big play. Hawaii fails to score, but takes 3:04 off the clock, severely crippling possibilities of a comeback. Hawaii wins its third straight game, 24-10, and clinches its third consecutive bowl game berth.
Washington State coach Paul Wulff: “;We teach that, you know. No. That was a microcosm of our whole deal this year.”;

5. UNDERWOOD'S PICK
The Setup: Dec. 6, at Aloha Stadium; Hawaii 24, Cincinnati 10, 10:27 remaining, fourth quarter, Hawaii ball, second and 5 at Hawaii 18
The Play: DB Brandon Underwood intercepts a tipped Alexander pass and returns it 20 yards for a touchdown.
The Impact: After sleeping through the third quarter and giving up 24 straight points, Cincinnati is revived and gradually takes control of the game and wins 29-24.
Underwood: “;It was all odds against us and after (the interception), I felt a whole shift in the momentum for the whole game.”;

Sept. 6: Hawaii 36, Weber State 17

With Hawaii trailing 17-7 at halftime, quarterback Tyler Graunke, who had recently rejoined the team after missing fall camp, passed for 218 yards and three scores in the second half to spark the Warriors' comeback. Graunke's 42-yard touchdown pass to Malcolm Lane ignited the rally and the defense shut out the Wildcats in the second half.

Sept. 13: Oregon State 45, Hawaii 7

At Corvallis, Ore. » The afternoon started promisingly enough for the Warriors as Kealoha Pilares capped UH's opening possession with a 16-yard touchdown run. Little else went right for the Warriors the rest of the day, as the Beavers ran away to a blowout win. Freshman Jacquizz Rodgers, who later sparked OSU's upset of USC, rushed for 110 yards and two touchdowns.

Sept. 27: San Jose State 20, Hawaii 17

Turnovers again plagued the Warriors as they opened defense of their Western Athletic Conference title with a home loss to drop to 1-3. Hawaii quarterbacks combined for four interceptions as the Spartans shut out the Warriors in the second half to rally from a 17-7 halftime deficit, taking the lead on a Jared Strubeck field goal with 1:49 left.

Oct. 4: Hawaii 32, No. 22 Fresno State 29 (OT)

At Fresno, Calif. » Ryan Mouton's 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown set the tone for Hawaii's first road win over a ranked opponent. Quarterback Inoke Funaki managed the offense on the ground (79 rushing yards) and through the air (170 yards with no interceptions). Fresno State committed six turnovers and Tua Mahaley blocked a field goal with 51 seconds left to force overtime. After Fresno State kicker Kevin Goessling missed two attempts in overtime, Dan Kelly nailed a 33-yarder to give UH the win.

Oct. 11: Hawaii 24, Louisiana Tech 14

Funaki passed for two touchdowns and ran for another as the Warriors paired wins for the first time this season. The Hawaii defense forced four turnovers, including a fumble just short of the goal line, and held the Bulldogs to 52 yards in the second half as the Warriors evened their record at 3-3.

Oct. 17: No. 15 Boise State 27, Hawaii 7

At Boise, Idaho » The Broncos snuffed the Warriors' lingering hopes of retaining the WAC championship with a nationally televised win. UH trailed 10-7 at halftime, but Funaki's five interceptions—tying a school record—helped Boise State pull away from the Warriors on their way to an undefeated regular season and the WAC title.

Oct. 25: Hawaii 38, Nevada 31

Greg Alexander, seeing significant playing time for the first time since Florida, sparked the Warriors in the second half and connected with Malcolm Lane on a 24-yard game-winning touchdown pass with 20 seconds left. Alexander's performance overshadowed Nevada's 308 rushing yards led by running back Vai Taua (160) and quarterback Colin Kaepernick (139).

Nov. 1: Utah State 30, Hawaii 14

At Logan, Utah » The Warriors moved the ball effectively against the Aggies, but red-zone miscues and big plays by Utah State quarterback Diondre Borel sent Hawaii to a stunning loss to open a two-game road trip. UH lost two fumbles and had two field goals blocked as its bowl hopes were put into jeopardy.

Nov. 8: Hawaii 42, NMSU 30

At Las Cruces, NM » The Warriors regrouped during their week-long stay in El Paso and overcame NMSU's big-play passing game to win a shootout. Alexander passed for 288 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a score. Mouton's 91-yard interception return highlighted UH's 35-point first-half outburst.

Nov. 22: Hawaii 49, Idaho 17

Both sides of the ball contributed to the Warriors' most lopsided win of the season. Alexander continued his hot streak with 264 yards and three touchdowns, including an 82-yarder to Lane. Interceptions by Jameel Dowling and Desmond Thomas set up two more scores.

Nov. 29: Hawaii 24, WSU 10

The Warriors secured their seventh win and the program's third straight bowl appearance by beating the struggling Cougars. Hawaii took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and Alexander's 44-yard touchdown pass to Mike Washington in the third quarter thwarted Washington State's comeback bid. McMackin and the Warriors accepted the Hawaii Bowl invitation after the game.

Dec. 6: No. 13 Cincinnati 29, Hawaii 24

The Orange Bowl-bound Bearcats rallied from a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter to spoil senior night for the Warriors. Hawaii trailed 10-0 early, then scored 24 unanswered points, capped by Alexander's 16-yard touchdown to Jon Medeiros. But Brandon Underwood's interception return for a touchdown off a tipped pass shifted the momentum and sent the Bearcats on a 19-point run. A 69-yard catch-and-run by Mardy Gilyard gave Cincinnati the lead for good.

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl Dec. 24: Notre Dame 49, Hawaii 21

Hawaii suffered through a second straight bowl game blowout as the Fighting Irish snapped a nine-game bowl losing streak dating to 1994. Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen was close to perfect in a 22-for-26 performance with five touchdowns. Receiver Golden Tate caught three of those scoring throws and finished with 177 yards. Senior slotback Aaron Bain was among the few bright spots for the Warriors with 109 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

Hawaii ends the season at 7-7, 5-3 in the WAC.

FINAL STATISTICS

Team Statistics

	Hawaii	OPP
Scoring	345	404
FIRST DOWNS	262	263
Rushing	85	107
Passing	155	126
Penalty	22	30
RUSHING YARDAGE	1,323	1,989
Rushing attempts	412	515
Average per rush	3.2	3.9
Average per game	94.5	142.1
Touchdowns rushing	18	18
PASSING YARDAGE	3,518	3,063
Att-Comp-Int	490-290-22	409-240-15
Average per pass	7.2	7.5
Average per catch	12.1	12.8
Average per game	251.3	218.8
Touchdowns passing	24	27
TOTAL OFFENSE	4,841	5,052
Total plays	902	924
Average per play	5.4	5.5
Average per game	345.8	360.9
KICK RETURNS: No-Yds	67-1,370	54-1,317
Average	20.4	24.4
PUNT RETURNS: No-Yds	31-62	27-268
Average	2.0	9.9
INT. RETURNS: No-Yds	15-252	22-248
FUMBLES-LOST	30-15	30-15
PENALTIES-YARDS	122-1,097	86-739
PUNTS-Yards	70-2,768	62-2,779
Average	39.5	44.8
Net punt average	34.0	41.2
TIME OF POSSESSION/GAME	30:34	29:26
3RD-DOWN CONVERSIONS	63/181	67/198
4TH-DOWN CONVERSIONS	6/13	16/27
SACKS BY-Yards	36-234	57-348
FIELD GOALS-ATTEMPTS	10-21	18-30
RED-ZONE SCORES	38-52	39-50
RED-ZONE TOUCHDOWNS	30-52	27-50
PATs-ATTEMPTS	41-43	48-48

Individual Offensive Statistics

RUSHING
	G	Att	Yds	Avg	TD	Long
Libre	13	99	443	4.5	6	48
Pilares	10	56	300	5.4	5	34
Funaki	11	74	215	2.9	1	33
Alexander	9	90	139	1.5	3	22
Wright-Jackson	10	28	102	3.6	1	16
Rego	14	21	91	4.3	0	19
Farmer	11	18	59	3.3	2	9
Washington	14	2	9	4.5	0	12
Chopp	1	2	7	3.5	0	6
Rausch	3	2	0	0.0	0	4
Santos	1	1	0	0.0	0	0
Mouton	13	2	0	0.0	0	0
Peoples	9	4	-9	-2.2	0	2
TEAM	14	8	-13	-1.6	0	0
Graunke	4	5	-20	-4.0	0	2
Total	14	412	1,323	3.2	18	48

PASSING
	G	Att	Comp	Int	Yds	TD	Long
Alexander	9	245	154	5	1,895	14	82
Funaki	11	173	100	12	1,184	7	53
Graunke	4	58	30	4	388	3	42
Rausch	3	14	6	1	51	0	15
Total	14	490	290	22	3,518	24	82

RECEIVING
	G	Rec	Yds	Avg	TD	Long
Washington	14	62	789	12.7	6	44
Salas	14	57	831	14.6	3	48
Bain	14	52	557	10.7	6	33
Lane	14	35	613	17.5	6	82
Pilares	10	29	246	8.5	2	23
Libre	13	15	86	5.7	0	16
Wright-Jackson	10	10	70	7.0	0	20
Medeiros	10	9	98	10.9	1	24
Mouton	13	8	71	8.9	0	18
Farmer	11	6	41	6.8	0	14
Pollard	8	4	71	17.8	0	29
Taylor	3	2	38	19	0	26
Nasca	7	1	7	7.0	0	7
Total	14	290	3,518	12.1	24	82

TOTAL OFFENSE
	G	Plays	Rush	Pass	Tot	Avg
Alexander	9	335	139	1,895	2,034	226.0
Funaki	11	247	215	1,184	1,399	127.2
Libre	13	99	443	0	443	34.1
Graunke	4	63	-20	388	368	92.0
Pilares	10	56	300	0	300	30.0
Wright-Jackson	10	28	102	0	102	10.2
Rego	14	21	91	0	91	6.5
Farmer	11	18	59	0	59	5.4
Rausch	3	16	0	51	51	17.0
Washington	14	2	9	0	9	0.6
Chopp	1	2	7	0	7	7.0
Peoples	9	4	-9	0	-9	-1.0
TEAM	10	8	-13	0	-13	-1.3
Total	14	902	1,323	3,518	4,841	345.8

ALL-PURPOSE YARDS
	G	Rush	Rec	PR	KR	Int	Total	Avg
Lane	14	0	613	0	635	0	1,248	89.1
Salas	14	0	831	0	0	0	831	59.4
Washington	14	9	789	17	0	0	815	58.2
Mouton	13	0	71	0	514	91	676	52.0
Bain	14	0	557	41	0	0	598	42.7
Pilares	10	300	246	3	0	0	549	54.9
Libre	13	443	86	0	0	0	529	40.7
Funaki	11	215	0	0	0	0	215	19.5
Taylor	3	0	38	0	134	0	172	57.3
Wright-Jackson	10	102	70	0	0	0	172	17.2
Alexander	9	139	0	0	0	0	139	15.4
Farmer	11	59	41	0	29	0	129	11.7
Medeiros	10	0	98	0	0	0	98	9.8
Rego	14	91	0	0	0	0	91	6.5
Pollard	8	0	71	0	0	0	71	8.9
Torres	10	0	0	0	49	0	49	4.9
Monteilh	14	0	0	0	0	36	36	2.6
Dowling	14	0	0	1	0	34	35	2.5
Thomas	14	0	0	0	0	35	35	2.5
Robinson	13	0	0	0	0	32	32	2.5
Bryant	3	0	0	0	0	11	11	3.7
Roberts	14	0	0	0	0	9	9	0.6
Chopp	1	7	0	0	0	0	7	7.0
Nasca	7	0	7	0	0	0	7	1.0
Paredes	14	0	0	0	7	0	7	0.5
Satele	14	0	0	0	0	4	4	0.3
Smith	14	0	0	0	4	0	4	0.3
Cam.Allen-Jones	11	0	0	0	-2	0	-2	-0.2
Peoples	9	-9	0	0	0	0	-9	-1.0
TEAM	10	-13	0	0	0	0	-13	-1.3
Graunke	4	-20	0	0	0	0	-20	-5.0
Total	14	1,323	3,518	62	1,370	252	6,525	466.1

Individual Defensive Statistics

	Tackles	Sacks	Pass Defense	Fumbles
	G-GS	Solo	Ast	Total	TFL-Yds	No.-Yds	Int.-Yds	BU	PD	QBH	FR-Yds	FF
Elimimian	14-14	64	57	121	10.5-39	4.0-25	0-0	5	5	4	1-0	1
Leonard, A.	13-13	46	42	88	9.0-41	2.5-10	0-0	0	0	4	0-0	0
Veikune	14-14	47	26	73	16.5-69	9.0-53	0-0	3	3	11	0-0	4
Dowling	14-8	45	21	66	2.5-7	1.5-6	2-34	3	5	0	1-7	1
Fonoti	14-14	31	31	62	9.5-47	3.5-30	0	3	3	7	3-13	0
Roberts	14-14	43	17	60	2.5-4	0-0	1-9	4	5	0	1-0	0
Satele	14-8	32	21	53	6.0-31	1.0-16	1-4	0	1	5	0-0	1
Robinson	13-12	32	19	51	5.0-25	1.0-8	1-32	2	3	1	0-0	0
Monteilh	14-11	26	18	44	1.5-5	0-0	5-36	6	11	0	0-0	0
Mouton	13-13	31	12	43	6.0-29	1.0-7	1-91	8	9	4	1-10	2
Thomas	14-3	23	16	39	0-0	0-0	3-35	1	4	0	1-0	1
Leonard, J.	13-12	22	14	36	8.0-31	2.5-18	0	2	2	2	1-0	0
Watson, Keala	14-11	15	13	28	6.0-27	2.0-18	0-0	2	2	2	1-0	0
Kiesel-Kauhane	13-4	14	8	22	2.0-4	1.0-3	0-0	0	0	2	1-0	2
C.J. Allen-Jones	14-0	12	9	21	3.0-21	2.0-17	0-0	0	0	1	0-0	1
Smith	14-0	9	3	12	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0-0	0
Laeli	12-2	7	4	11	3.5-15	1.0-6	0-0	0	0	1	0-0	0
Silva	11-0	8	2	10	0-0	0-0	0-0	1	1	0	0-0	0
Meatoga	14-2	2	8	10	2.5-14	1.5-11	0-0	0	0	4	0-0	0
Maka	8-1	7	3	10	3.0-11	1.5-5	0-0	1	1	4	0-0	0
Tufaga	13-0	5	3	8	0.5-1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	1-0	0
Ahmad	13-0	7	0	7	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0-0	0
Torres	10-0	5	2	7	1.0-1	1.0-1	0-0	0	0	0	0-0	0
Kafentzis	14-0	3	4	7	0.5-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0-0	0
Porlas	13-0	5	1	6	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0-0	0
Galdeira	8-0	3	3	6	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0-0	0
Davis	14-0	4	1	5	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0-0	0
Rego	14-0	2	2	4	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	2-11	0
Purcell	14-0	1	3	4	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0-0	0
Kelly	14-0	4	0	4	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0-0	0
Lolotai	13-0	4	0	4	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0-0	1
Paredes	14-0	1	2	3	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0-0	0
Ingram	14-0	3	0	3	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0-0	0
Clore	10-0	2	0	2	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0-0	0
Washington	14-14	2	0	2	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0-0	0
Bryant	3-0	2	0	2	0-0	0-0	1-11	0	1	0	0-0	0
Libre	13-3	0	1	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0-0	0
Funaki	11-6	1	0	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0-0	0
Kia	13-11	0	1	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0-0	0
Grasso	14-0	0	1	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0-0	0
Peoples	9-0	1	0	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0-0	0
Wong	1-0	1	0	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0-0	0
Mahaley	10-0	1	0	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0-0	0
Savaiigaea	1-0	0	1	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	1	0-0	0
Watson, Keahi	2-0	1	0	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0-0	0
Salas	14-14	1	0	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0-0	0
Rice	6-0	1	0	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0-0	0
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