Warriors bowled over by Badgers
POSTED: Sunday, December 06, 2009
Not all holiday wishes come true.
Hawaii's hopes of playing into the Christmas season—elevated by a late-season run—were stomped out last night with a 51-10 season-ending loss to Wisconsin at Aloha Stadium.
The tantalizing possibility of meeting former UH head coach June Jones and SMU in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl had largely evaporated by halftime when Wisconsin rumbled to a 27-3 lead to quiet a crowd of 37,018, the largest of the season.
The Warriors' season ended 30 minutes of playing time later with the senior class leaving the field for the final time before re-emerging for the traditional senior walk.
“;Just being in the locker room it was a lot of emotion,”; said center John Estes, who started all 54 games in his career, “;because for the seniors we're not going to be in that setting ever again, which is sad. I'm going to miss the boys, everything, Aloha Stadium.”;
The Warriors had put themselves in position for a spot in the Hawaii Bowl by reeling off four straight wins after falling to 2-6. But the Badgers proved to be far too formidable an obstacle to overcome and the season came to an abrupt conclusion.
“;It's sad, the dream ends here,”; linebacker Blaze Soares said after posting a game-high 11 tackles. “;I got very emotional (in the locker room) and I never do. Being a Warrior comes to an end here and it hit me.”;
Wisconsin running back John Clay, the Big Ten offensive player of the year, plowed through the Warriors defense for 172 yards—111 in the first half—and three touchdowns.
When he wasn't handing the ball to the Badgers' backs, quarterback Scott Tolzien ran an efficient offense in completing 16 of 20 passes for 253 yards as part of a 554-yard performance for Wisconsin.
“;You have to give Wisconsin credit, they out-physicaled us, beat us in every phase of the game,”; said Hawaii head coach Greg McMackin, whose second season ended at 6-7.
“;We were just out of sync and I'm really surprised. We had excellent practices, the guys were really jacked up and I just think we got beat by a better team.”;
While the Badgers rolled on their way to finishing the regular season at 9-3, the Warriors struggled to get into gear.
The Hawaii offense couldn't sustain drives, as quarterback Bryant Moniz was sacked six times by a Badgers defense that held UH to 77 passing yards in the first half and 197 for the game.
“;We just never got anything going, we never got in a rhythm and I probably had the worst night of the season,”; said Moniz, who completed 15 of 34 passes. “;Letting down all these seniors, how hard they worked, wasn't able to get them that bowl game, I just feel bad about it.
“;It was one of those nights and it's too bad it had to be this night.”;
Receiver Greg Salas' quest for the UH single-season receptions and yardage records also fizzled. The junior caught three passes for 31 yards before leaving with a hamstring injury in the third quarter.
The domination started early, with Wisconsin's first possession providing an indication of what was to come.
The Badgers kept the ball on the ground for their first six plays. Faced with third down for the first time, Tolzien lofted a pass down the left side that receiver Nick Toon reeled in at the UH 2 for a 33-yard gain. Clay hit the end zone for his first score of the night on the next play.
“;Watching film he did it through the whole year and you have to give credit to that line, their line was awesome,”; linebacker R.J. Kiesel-Kauhane said.
David Gilreath (8-yard end-around) and Tolzien (1-yard sneak) accounted for the next two touchdowns and the Warriors trailed 21-0 by the 11-minute mark of the second quarter.
“;They were running power O and what we call 'the express,' where they get a lot of mass at a certain point and we couldn't handle it,”; McMackin said.
Hawaii went into halftime with only 102 yards of offense to Wisconsin's 346 and finished with a season-low 214. The Warriors had been averaging 456 yards of total offense entering the night.
The Warriors managed just a Scott Enos field goal in the first half and finally reached the end zone when Moniz hit Jovonte Taylor for a 2-yard touchdown pass with 4:51 left in the game and the outcome long decided.
That left only the senior ceremony and reflection for the 24 honorees.
“;I think I gave this program 110 percent and did what I could. I tried to set a good example for the boys and I think I did that,”; Kiesel-Kauhane said.
WISCONSIN, HAWAII
At Aloha Stadium
| Wisconsin | 14 | 13 | 7 | 17 | — | 51 |
| Hawaii | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | — | 10 |
| First Quarter | |||
| WIS | 9:07 | John Clay 2 run (Philip Welch kick) | 0-7 |
| WIS | 1:25 | David Gilreath 8 run (Welch kick) | 0-14 |
| Second Quarter | |||
| WIS | 11:08 | Scott Tolzien 1 run (Welch kick) | 0-21 |
| UH | 8:10 | Enos 45 FG | 3-21 |
| WIS | 00:49 | Clay 3 run (kick failed) | 3-27 |
| Third Quarter | |||
| WIS | 3:43 | Clay 15 run (Chris Borland kick) | 3-34 |
| Fourth Quarter | |||
| WIS | 8:47 | Welch 33 FG | 3-37 |
| UH | 4:51 | Jovonte Taylor 2 pass from Bryant Moniz (Scott Enos kick) | 10-37 |
| WIS | 4:40 | Montee Ball 35 run (Borland kick) | 10-44 |
| WIS | 1:27 | Dustin Sherer 11 run (Borland kick) | 10-51 |
Attendance —37,018. Time: 3:23.
Officials — Referee: Larry Farina; Umpire: Jerry Meyerhoff; Back judge: John Freitas; Field judge: Mike McCabe; Scorer: Dara Young.
TEAM STATISTICS
| WISCONSIN | HAWAII | |
| FIRST DOWNS | 26 | 14 |
| Rushing | 14 | 4 |
| Passing | 11 | 1 |
| Penalty | 1 | 1 |
| NET YARDS RUSHING | 301 | 17 |
| Rushing | 52 | 17 |
| Average per rush | 5.8 | 1.0 |
| Rushing touchdowns | 7 | 0 |
| Yards gained rushing | 334 | 62 |
| Yards lost rushing | 33 | 45 |
| NET YARDS PASSING | 253 | 197 |
| Completions-Attempts-Int | 16-20-0 | 15-34-2 |
| Average per attempt | 12.6 | 5.8 |
| Average per completion | 15.8 | 13.1 |
| Passing touchdowns | 0 | 1 |
| TOTAL OFFENSIVE YARDS | 554 | 214 |
| Total offensive plays | 72 | 51 |
| Average gain per play | 7.7 | 4.2 |
| Fumbles: Number-Lost | 1-0 | 0-0 |
| Penalties: Number-Yards | 8-71 | 7-73 |
| PUNTS-YARDS | 2-74 | 6-295 |
| Average yards per punt | 37.0 | 49.2 |
| Net yards per punt | 34.5 | 44.5 |
| Inside 20 | 1 | 2 |
| 50-plus yards | 0 | 4 |
| Touchbacks | 0 | 0 |
| Fair catch | 0 | 0 |
| KICKOFF-YARDS | 9-529 | 3-156 |
| Average yards per kickff | 58.8 | 52.0 |
| Net yards per kickoff | 40.4 | 20.7 |
| Touchbacks | 1 | 0 |
| Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD | 3-8-0 | 1-5-0 |
| Average per return | 2.7 | 5.0 |
| Kickoff returns: Number-Yards-TD | 2-94-0 | 6-145-0 |
| Average per return | 47.0 | 24.2 |
| Interceptions: Number-Yards-TD | 2-8-0 | 0-0-0 |
| Fumbles returns: Number-Yards-TD | 0-0-0 | 0-0-0 |
| Miscellaneous yards | 0 | 0 |
| Possession time | 37:57 | 22:03 |
| First Quarter | 8:43 | 6:17 |
| Second Quarter | 10:06 | 4:54 |
| Third Quarter | 10:35 | 4:25 |
| Fourth Quarter | 8:33 | 6:27 |
| Third-down conversions | 8 of 13 | 3 of 11 |
| Fourth-down conversions | 1 of 1 | 0 of 0 |
| Red-zone scores-chances | 7-8 | 1-1 |
| Sacks by: Number-Yards | 6-44 | 2-16 |
| PAT kicks | 6-7 | 1-1 |
| Field goals | 1-2 | 1-1 |
INDIVIDUAL OFFENSIVE STATISTICS
| WISCONSIN | |||||||||
| RUSHING | NO. | GAIN | LOSS | NET | TD | LG | AVG. | ||
| John Clay | 24 | 172 | 0 | 172 | 3 | 34 | 7.2 | ||
| Montee Ball | 15 | 95 | 17 | 78 | 1 | 35 | 5.2 | ||
| Zach Brown | 5 | 32 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 14 | 6.4 | ||
| David Gilreath | 2 | 13 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 8 | 6.5 | ||
| Nick Toon | 1 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7.0 | ||
| Dustin Sherer | 2 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 1.5 | ||
| Scott Tolzien | 3 | 4 | 8 | -4 | 1 | 3 | -1.3 | ||
| Totals | 52 | 334 | 33 | 301 | 7 | 35 | 5.8 | ||
| PASSING | COMP.-ATT.-INT. | YDS. | TD | LG | SACK | ||||
| Scott Tolzien | 16—20—0 | 253 | 0 | 45 | 1 | ||||
| Dustin Sherer | 0—0—0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||
| Totals | 16—20—0 | 253 | 0 | 45 | 2 | ||||
| RECEIVING | NO. | GAIN | TD | LG | |||||
| Garrett Graham | 4 | 45 | 0 | 15 | |||||
| Nick Toon | 3 | 66 | 0 | 33 | |||||
| Montee Ball | 3 | 37 | 0 | 30 | |||||
| David Gilreath | 2 | 54 | 0 | 45 | |||||
| Lance Kendricks | 2 | 34 | 0 | 23 | |||||
| Kraig Appleton | 1 | 11 | 0 | 11 | |||||
| Mickey Turner | 1 | 6 | 0 | 6 | |||||
| Totals | 16 | 253 | 0 | 45 | |||||
| PUNTING | NO. | YDS. | AVG. | LG | In20 | TB | |||
| Brad Nortman | 2 | 74 | 37 | 46 | 1 | 0 | |||
| Totals | 2 | 74 | 37 | 46 | 1 | 0 | |||
| ALL RETURNS | PUNTS | KICKOFFS | INTERCEPT | ||||||
| No. | Yds. | Lg | No. | Yds. | Lg | No. | Yds. | Lg | |
| David Gilreath | 3 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 94 | 51 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Blake Sorensen | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 8 |
| Jay Valai | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 3 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 94 | 51 | 2 | 8 | 8 |
| ALL PURPOSE | RUSH | RCV | KR | PR | TOTAL | ||||
| John Clay | 172 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 172 | ||||
| David Gilreath | 13 | 54 | 94 | 8 | 169 | ||||
| Montee Ball | 78 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 115 | ||||
| Nick Toon | 7 | 66 | 0 | 0 | 73 | ||||
| Totals | 270 | 157 | 94 | 8 | 529 |
| HAWAII | |||||||||
| RUSHING | NO. | GAIN | LOSS | NET | TD | LG | AVG. | ||
| Leon Wright-Jackson | 5 | 43 | 1 | 42 | 0 | 18 | 8.4 | ||
| Inoke Funaki | 2 | 16 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 13 | 8.0 | ||
| Alex Green | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 | ||
| Bryant Moniz | 7 | 0 | 44 | -44 | 0 | 0 | -6.3 | ||
| Totals | 17 | 62 | 45 | 17 | 0 | 18 | 1.0 | ||
| PASSING | COMP.-ATT.-INT. | YDS. | TD | LG | SACK | ||||
| Bryant Moniz | 15—34—2 | 197 | 1 | 32 | 6 | ||||
| Totals | 15—34—2 | 197 | 1 | 32 | 6 | ||||
| RECEIVING | NO. | GAIN | TD | LG | |||||
| Jovonte Taylor | 3 | 47 | 1 | 29 | |||||
| Kealoha Pilares | 3 | 39 | 0 | 18 | |||||
| Greg Salas | 3 | 31 | 0 | 13 | |||||
| Jon Medeiros | 3 | 30 | 0 | 22 | |||||
| Leon Wright-Jackson | 2 | 18 | 0 | 13 | |||||
| Alex Green | 1 | 32 | 0 | 32 | |||||
| Totals | 15 | 197 | 1 | 32 | |||||
| PUNTING | NO. | YDS. | AVG. | LG | In20 | TB | |||
| Alex Dunnachie | 6 | 295 | 49.2 | 66 | 2 | 1 | |||
| Totals | 6 | 295 | 49.2 | 66 | 2 | 1 | |||
| ALL RETURNS | PUNTS | KICKOFFS | INTERCEPT | ||||||
| No. | Yds. | Lg | No. | Yds. | Lg | No. | Yds. | Lg | |
| Ryan Henry | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joshua Rice | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jovonte Taylor | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 130 | 45 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 1 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 145 | 45 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ALL PURPOSE | RUSH | RCV | KR | PR | TOTAL | ||||
| Jovonte Taylor | 0 | 47 | 130 | 0 | 177 | ||||
| Leon Wright-Jackson | 42 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 60 | ||||
| Kealoha Pilares | 0 | 39 | 0 | 0 | 39 | ||||
| Alex Green | 3 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 35 | ||||
| Totals | 45 | 136 | 130 | 0 | 311 |
INDIVIDUAL DEFENSIVE STATISTICS
TACKLES FOR LOSS-YARDS —Wisconsin, J.J. Watts 3-10; O'Brien Schofield 2-14; Chris Borland 1-16; Louis Nzegwu 1-5. Hawaii, Spencer Smith 2-11; Fetaiagogo Fonoti 2-5; Vaughn Meatoga 1-8; Jake Heun 1-7; Paipai Falemalu 1-2.
SACKS-YARDS —Wisconsin, O'Brien Schofield 2-14, J.J. Watts 2-9, Chris Borland, 1-16, Louis Nzegwu 1-5. Hawaii, Spencer Smith 1-8; Vaughn Meatoga 1-8.
INTERCEPTIONS —Wisconsin, Blake Sorensen 1-8; Jay Valai 1-0. Hawaii, None.
KICKS BLOCKED —Wisconsin, None. Hawaii, None.
QUARTERBACK HURRIES —Wisconsin, J.J. Watts; Dan Moore; Jeffrey Stehle. Hawaii, Jake Heun; Tuika Tufaga.
| WISCONSIN | |||
| TACKLES | |||
| PLAYER | SOLO | AST | T |
| Devin Smith | 7 | 2 | 9 |
| J.J. Watt | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| O'Brien Schofield | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Niles Brinkley | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Jay Valai | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Blake Sorensen | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Antonio Fenelus | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Adam Hampton | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Philip Welch | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Kevin Claxton | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Chukwuma Offor | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Chris Maragos | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Chris Borland | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Louis Nzegwu | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Dan Moore | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Jaevery McFadden | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Culmer St. Jean | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Aaron Henry | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| HAWAII | |||
| TACKLES | |||
| PLAYER | SOLO | AST | T |
| Blaze Soares | 9 | 2 | 11 |
| Spencer Smith | 7 | 3 | 10 |
| R.J. Kiesel-Kauhane | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| Mana Silva | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| Jeramy Bryant | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| Fetaiagogo Fonoti | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Jake Heun | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Jordan Gomes | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Vaughn Meatoga | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Victor Clore | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Paipai Falemalu | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Lametrius Davis | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Richard Torres | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Liko Satele | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Jovonte Taylor | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Luke Ingram | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Elliott Purcell | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Inoke Funaki | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Corey Paredes | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Tuika Tufaga | 0 | 1 | 1 |
WAC FOOTBALL FINAL STANDINGS
| CONFERENCE | OVERALL | |||||||
| W | L | PF | PA | W | L | PF | PA | |
| x-Boise State | 8 | 0 | 342 | 162 | 13 | 0 | 520 | 221 |
| Nevada | 7 | 1 | 383 | 197 | 8 | 4 | 487 | 326 |
| Fresno State | 6 | 2 | 257 | 220 | 8 | 4 | 412 | 334 |
| Idaho | 4 | 4 | 260 | 304 | 7 | 5 | 382 | 426 |
| Hawaii | 3 | 5 | 166 | 241 | 6 | 7 | 296 | 383 |
| Utah State | 3 | 5 | 232 | 266 | 4 | 8 | 349 | 408 |
| Louisiana Tech | 3 | 5 | 259 | 203 | 4 | 8 | 350 | 309 |
| San Jose State | 1 | 7 | 112 | 281 | 2 | 10 | 165 | 414 |
| New Mexico State | 1 | 7 | 79 | 259 | 3 | 10 | 149 | 464 |
Yesterday
» Wisconsin 51, Hawaii 10
» Fresno State 53, Illinois 52
» Louisiana Tech 55, San Jose State 20
» Boise State 42, New Mexico State 7
