Box Score
Post Game Notes
Post Game Quotes

HONOLULU – The University of Hawai`i Warrior football team continued its quest for bowl eligibility with a thrilling 24-17 win over Navy Saturday night at Aloha Stadium. With its fourth straight win the Warriors improved to 6-6 overall and set up a climactic regular season-finale next week against Wisconsin.

 

In a battle of contrasting offenses, the Warrior pass offense trumped the Midshipmen rushing game, with the UH defense making a game-clinching stand for the second straight week. After a 17-17 halftime score, the Warrior defense shut out the Midshipmen (8-4) in the second half, including a pair of sacks on the final possession to secure the win.

 

Blaze Soares led the Warrior defense that held Navy's vaunted rushing attack to 248 yards, nearly 40 yards under its season average. Soares tied his career high with 12 tackles, including a game-ending takedown of Navy quarterback Ricky Dobbs as time expired.

 

Meanwhile the Warrior offense racked up more than 400 yards of offense for the fifth straight game. Bryant Moniz, making his return into starting lineup, tossed for 366 yards and three touchdowns, including a pair of scores to Kealoha Pilares. Greg Salas continued his tear this season with 10 receptions for 147 yards.

 

UH got on the board first in the waning minutes of the first quarter when Moniz found a streaking Pilares down the sideline for a 24-yard scoring strike. Navy answered back just moments later with Dobbs bursting for a 53-yard dash to tie the game on the final play of the first quarter.

 

After the teams traded field goals, Vince Murray gave the Midshipmen a 17-10 lead in when he ran up the middle for an 18-yard score with a little more than a minute in the half. However, UH got a 55-yard kick return from Jovonte Taylor and drove 44 yards in 51 seconds, capped by Pilares' second touchdown reception of the evening, knotting the game, 17-17, going into the half.

 

UH took a 24-17 lead on an Alex Green 14-yard reception with 37 seconds left in the third quarter. It was a score that would prove to be the game-winner.  The Warriors looked to seal the game after a long fourth-quarter drive, but were stopped on 4^th-and-1 on the Midshipmen 16-yard line with 5:41. That set up the game's final possession as Navy drove to the UH 39-yard line, before the Warrior defense sent Navy for a loss on three of the game's final four plays.

 

The Warriors now face Wisconsin in its regular-season finale on Saturday, Dec. 5 in a game for bowl eligibility. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. HT.