Box Score
Post Game Notes
Post Game Quotes

HONOLULU – The University of Hawai`i Warrior football team broke out of its slump in a big way with a 49-36 homecoming win over Utah State Saturday night at Aloha Stadium. The Warriors (3-6, 1-5) snapped a six-game slide with its first Western Athletic Conference win of the year.

 

Hawai`i piled up an eye-popping 697 yards of total offense, just 44 yards short of the school record (741) set against Army in 2003. UH gave up an early touchdown, but after that it was all Warriors as UH reeled off 35 straight points and led by four touchdowns at halftime.  

 

UH racked up 431 yards of offense in the first half alone and surprisingly did much of its damage on the ground. UH finished with 360 rushing yards, its most in 14 years. Senior running back Leon Wright-Jackson had a career-high 167 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries, while junior Alex Green finished with 110 yards on 10 carries. They were the first UH running back tandem to each crack 100 yards since 1993.

 

Meanwhile, the UH's passing game wasn't too shabby either. Sophomore quarterback Bryant Moniz shook off an early interception to finish with 337 yards passing and a career-high four touchdown passes. Greg Salas was on the receiving end of two scores and tied a career-high with 10 catches for 187 yards.

 

UH got off to an inauspicious start when it turned the ball over on its first play from scrimmage. Kejon Murphy's interception set up Utah State in UH territory and the Aggies scored on a Robert Turbin, 7-yard touchdown run just two minutes into the game.

 

But after that it was all Warriors as the UH offense came up with big play after big play and the UH defense didn't allow another Aggie score for the rest of the half. After trailing 35-7 at the break, Utah State (2-7, 1-4 WAC) scored two straight touchdowns to open up the third quarter, but could never close the double-digit gap. It was UH's eight straight Homecoming win and 10th in the last 11 years.

 

UH will play its second straight home game when it hosts New Mexico State on Saturday, Nov. 14. Kickoff is set for 5:05 p.m. at Aloha Stadium.