LIHU‘E — The 2010 Warriors appear to be waging an all-out assault on the University of Hawai‘i football record book. Last week it was Bryant Moniz setting the single-game passing mark with 560 yards. This week, it was Alex Green
LIHU‘E — The 2010 Warriors appear to be waging an all-out assault on the University of Hawai‘i football record book.
Last week it was Bryant Moniz setting the single-game passing mark with 560 yards.
This week, it was Alex Green smashing the single-game rushing record with 327 yards.
The senior running back did all his work on just 19 carries (17.2 yard average) as Hawai‘i blew out New Mexico State in its final Western Athetic Conference game of the season, 59-24, Saturday in Las Cruces, N.M.
The victory assures the Warriors (9-3, 7-1 WAC) at least a share of the WAC championship, as both Nevada (6-1) and Boise State (6-1) need wins next week to keep pace.
“I didn’t know until I was 10 yards shy,” Green said about approaching the record. “Then coach told me on the sideline I had 10 more yards to go.”
He got those 10 and a lot more, breaking the previous mark of 270 yards set in 1950 by Pete Wilson.
It is Green’s third 100-yard game in his past five outings as he eclipsed 1,000 yards for the season. He is now averaging a staggering 8.7 yards per carry on the year.
All those accomplishments in a passing offense is special, but the rest of the Warriors skill players didn’t let Green have the spotlight all to himself.
Moniz still threw for 315 yards — rather pedestrian compared to last week’s bonanza — and four touchdowns on the day.
His favorite target, senior Greg Salas, etched his name once more into the UH pantheon as he broke the career receiving yards record during his 10-catch, 191-yard afternoon. Salas passed Jason Rivers, whose 3,919 yards had been the high-water mark, but the new figure is 4,037 and counting.
The Warriors got the scoring started with an 11-yard Green touchdown run at the 7:01 mark of the opening quarter, then upped it to a 10-0 advantage on a 27-yard field goal by Scott Enos.
Aggies quarterback Andrew Manley, a Leilehua High School graduate starting his third game for New Mexico State (2-10, 1-7), led his offense on a 13-play drive that was capped by a Marcus Allen 5-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to three at 10-7, early in the second quarter.
But that was by far the closest the Aggies would come to remaining competitive. Green busted a 62-yard run on the ensuing UH drive and Moniz hit Chizzy Dimude for a 12-yard score and a 17-7 lead.
After a New Mexico State field goal, Green broke loose for a 45-yard score to put the Warriors up 24-10 with 4:17 to play in the half.
Moniz then engineered a four-play drive with two completions to Salas, followed by two completions to Kealoha Pilares, the second a 14-yard touchdown for a 31-10 lead at halftime.
On the first play of the second half, Green ran for 71 yards to the New Mexico State 7. Moniz continued the onslaught with a 3-yard strike to Salas, his one scoring grab of the day.
The quarterback had his only blemish on the next Hawai‘i drive as he was intercepted by Davon House, who returned it 48 yards for a score.
But Moniz quickly made up for the error by finding Royce Pollard on a 33-yard touchdown for a 45-17 lead with 8:41 left in the third quarter.
After a 37-yard pass to Salas, Green found paydirt for the third time, rumbling 33 yards for a score on his final carry of the day with 7:52 to play in the fourth.
Aaron Brown then picked off a Manley throw and returned it 33 yards for a touchdown to put the Warriors up 59-17. Brown was penalized on the play for unsportsmanlike conduct as he dove into the end zone.
It was the second straight game that Brown has returned an interception for a score and the fourth for UH’s defense on the season.
Hawai‘i, who led the nation in forced turnovers coming into the game, added two Saturday with Brown’s pick and an interception by Kaua‘i’s Kamalu Umu, the first of his career. Umu picked off a Manley toss on the first series of the game.
UH amassed 606 yards of offense and limited New Mexico State to just 214.
Manley was 20 of 35 for 135 yards and the two picks on the day. Running back Kenny Turner had 52 yards on 10 carries. Todd Lee and Kyle Nelson each had five receptions for the Aggies.
Moniz’s 315 yards came on 21 of 31 passing. He connected with Salas 10 times, which was six fewer catches than the receiver had against the Aggies in 2009, when he hauled in a then-record 16 receptions.
Pilares had six catches for 50 yards and a score. Pollard had two grabs for 38 yards, including his 33-yard touchdown. Rodney Bradley had two catches for 24 yards and Dimude’s 12-yard TD was his lone grab of the game.
The three scores give Green 17 total touchdowns on the season (16 rushing, one receiving).
UH returns home for its regular season finale against UNLV (2-10, 2-6 Mountain West Conference) with Senior Night festivities on Saturday at Aloha Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
The Warriors have already accepted an invitation to play in the Sheraton Hawai‘i Bowl at 3 p.m. HST on Dec. 24. Their opponent, which will come from Conference USA, has not yet been determined.
NOTES: Green became the seventh Warrior to surpass 1,000 rushing yards in a season, the first since Travis Sims (1992)… It was Salas’ ninth 100-yard game of the season and 18th of his career… He has now caught a pass in 39 straight games dating back to his sophomore season… UH improved to 7-0 against New Mexico State and has won by an average of 44.0 points per contest… UH eclipsed 40 points for the seventh time this season, sixth in WAC play… UH has recorded at least two interceptions in nine straight games… During its past nine games, the UH defense has forced 28 turnovers, including 20 interceptions.
