Enos makes them count

Scott Enos felt the jitters all night.

When it mattered, though, Hawaii's new kicker put the points through the uprights.

The JC transfer connected on a 36-yard field goal with 2:21 left in the third quarter to put UH up 19-14. He also made good on both of his extra-point attempts, which totaled the Warriors' winning margin.

“;At first I felt a little bit nervous, because I'd never played in front of that many people before,”; said the junior, whose previous largest crowd was in high school. “;Some of those kickoffs, everyone's getting pretty rowdy out there. It's a little hard not to get my adrenaline flowing. I just needed to relax a little bit, and I think this game really helped me (do it).”;

His only mistake was a shanked kickoff out of bounds in the first half that allowed the Bears to start on their own 40.

Brand-new defense comes through

With defensive end John Fonoti sitting out after suffering a bruised knee in practice on Tuesday, the Warriors were left without a returning full-time starter for last night's game.

After the Warriors fell behind 14-2, the defense limited the Bears to six second-half points and 31 yards in the third quarter.

“;We had a bunch of new little puppies out there, but they learned a lot today,”; UH head coach Greg McMackin said.

Linebacker Blaze Soares was among the first-time starters, playing in his first game since UH's Sugar Bowl appearance to close the 2007 season. He finished with seven tackles and sacked UCA quarterback Robbie Park on a 2-point conversion attempt.

Linebacker R.J. Kiesel-Kauhane, a spot starter last season, and safeties Spencer Smith and Mana Silva led the Warriors with 10 total stops.

Lack of penalties pleases coach

McMackin was overjoyed about one statistic: penalties.

The Warriors were assessed a total of 5 yards on two infractions.

“;And no personal fouls,”; McMackin said.

Last year penalties of all varieties were a big problem for UH.

One was illegal procedure for 5 yards, and the other was a block in the back that resulted in a penalty of a couple of inches on a punt, since Central Arkansas had downed the ball near the UH goal.

“;I'm doing a little thing where I've learned all the officials' names and I'm very polite to them and call them by their names,”; McMackin said. “;I think I'll continue to do that.”;

Bears feel rush hour

Despite having a police escort, it took Central Arkansas more than an hour to get to Aloha Stadium from the Waikiki Marriott.

“;I promise you, I've seen worse traffic in New York,”; Bears coach Clint Conque said.

Fortunately for the Bears, it didn't translate to a slow start. Central Arkansas forced a Hawaii fumble less than a minute into the game and had a 7-0 lead at the 13-minute mark of the first quarter.