For perhaps the first time since the June Jones era. the University of Hawaii football squad is finally starting to produce some serious goose bump-inducing moments. This was best displayed in last night’s commanding, crowd-deflating, 49-27 victory over the Fresno St. Bulldogs in Fresno.
The passing game, led by the brilliant junior quarterback Bryant Moniz, was a bright spot as usual, but it was a solid defense-who seemed to play even better whenever Fresno threatened to make the game competitive-that set the tone for the game and a surprising, if long awaited running attack-led by Alex Green’s 96 yards and 3 rushing scores-that helped put it out of reach.
By the time Green broke away for a breathtaking, 38 yard TD run, directly through the middle of the suddenly empty field, putting the Warriors up 28-10, it was starting to become crystal clear that it was going to be extremely difficult for Fresno to overcome the UH awakening. They would never fully recover.
More importantly, it was quite possibly a huge turning point in Greg McMackin’s coaching career. The ‘Bows suddenly look like a team to be reckoned with on any stage and do not appear to be one of those frustratingly middling ones. A bowl appearance seems like a guarantee at this point and so does a bit of a scare being put into their two biggest obstacles in the WAC-Nevada and Boise State.
The run by Alex Green was truly a sight to see, as the Bulldog defense blitzed and Green seemingly appeared out of a cloud of smoke and didn’t stop until he reached the end zone. Fresno’s defense looked as mystified as the crowd sounded at that point. But that was nothing compared to what All-American candidate Greg Salas did on another eye-opening and perhaps fateful play in the pivotal third quarter after Salas made one of his 9 receptions (for 148 yards).
In a game full of statements, Salas delivered the biggest when he zoomed down the sideline and instead of going out of bounds, lowered his head to nearly decapitate an oncoming tackler, as if to say, “Neither I, nor my team are to be taken lightly from this point forward, thank you very much.” Salas came up huge on another play in that epic third frame when wideout Royce Pollard made a great catch and approached the end zone, before coughing up the ball on the 1 yard line. Before anyone-including the announcers-noticed, Salas jumped on the ball in the end zone for one of his 3 scores. Kealoha Pilares had looked like he was well on his way to getting some All-American notice early on in the season, but Salas once again put himself back in the forefront with his full house of memorable plays in a huge win.
For years, I’ve been saying that for UH to consistently compete against the big boys, they need to focus on the run a bit more and play a consistently solid defense. The pass offense will carry this team 9 times out of 10, but sometimes they need a little bit of help and that’s why last night’s victory was so important. It showed that the Warriors are capable of being more than just the shoot first and ask questions later-type of team. They showed that they can grind away and gradually yank the spirit out of teams, even when said teams are in the comfort of their own homes. And be sure to add that part to the importance quotient, as well. Most people still don’t realize how hard it is for any team in any league to win on the road within their own conference, which is one of many reasons I believe Hawaii will be triumphant over Nevada next week at Aloha Stadium. If my bold predictions pan out, that means the only real test left for Hawaii after that will be their November 6 visit to the blue turf in Boise.
After last night’s magical win in Fresno, if the Warriors can keep the magic going until they set foot in Idaho, you never know what might happen. Boise has a good chance to dominate that game and remind the Warriors what gravity feels like. But keep in mind that Hawaii may not just be trying to play spoiler to potential national title contender Boise in that contest, but they may also be in contention for a WAC title of their own. So don’t count out the ‘Bows. If they keep momentum going, they’ll have a fighter’s chance. We’ll just have to wait and see whether, or not they’re ready to move up in weight classes.
Regardless, last night’s victory is truly one to savor. Not only does it pave the way for the Warriors to go bowling again, but they have a chance to knock over a couple of big pins on their way there. These UH teams are known for playing with the heart of a warrior, but for one night-and hopefully for the rest of the season-they played with bulldog skin. Let the rest of the WAC be warned: These ‘Bows bite.
pocket knives AND lint 