UH's season fittingly ends in the zone
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
The Hawai'i football team's offense had a point to prove and many more to score yesterday.
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In a thrill-a-minute 72-45 victory over Brigham Young, the Warriors shattered several records, not to mention the undefeated season of the Cougars.
UH senior quarterback Nick Rolovich surveys the field in early action. Rolovich capped a dream season with 543 yards and eight touchdowns.
"BYU was talking about suing the (Bowl Championship Series) because they were undefeated and all that," said UH senior center Brian Smith. "But we were like, 'hey, you're not undefeated yet.' We took that to heart."
In the end, the Warriors broke the Cougars' heart with a school-record 72 points.
Leading the way was senior quarterback Nick Rolovich, who completed 29 of 52 passes, and established school single-game records of 543 yards and eight touchdowns.
"Rolo got a little more confident with every game," UH head coach June Jones said. "It showed in the last couple of games. He played a heck of a game today."
Rolovich finished his fairy tale senior season with 3,361 yards and another school record of 34 touchdown passes. At the start of the season, he was a back-up to Tim Chang, and even contemplated redshirting.
"I can't believe how it turned out," he said. "It's a dream come true."
As has been the case all season, Rolovich's dream receiver yesterday was junior Ashley Lelie. He caught eight passes for 262 yards and two touchdowns.
In the process, Lelie shattered UH single-season records for receptions (84), receiving yards (1,713) and receiving touchdowns (19). He is also UH's career leader in all three categories.
"I'll look at all the numbers some day and it will amaze me," Lelie said. "This whole season will, actually. It was a great season, a magical season."
If so, the most magical game was yesterday.
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Rolovich credited the offense's performance to "homework." During film sessions earlier in the week, the UH coaches noticed that BYU's defensive personnel tipped off its schemes.
UH junior receiver Ashley Lelie is loose in the secondary for some of his 262 yards. Lelie caught two touchdown passes.
"When they substituted, we watched who was coming in and by that we would know what defense they were playing," Rolovich said. "They didn't really disguise anything."
In particular, the Warriors attacked BYU's zone defense.
"They tried to cover us (the slotbacks) with linebackers in that zone," senior slotback Channon Harris said. "That was a big mistake. You can't play us with linebackers."
As proof, Harris caught a team-high 11 passes for 145 yards and three touchdowns.
Equally important, the UH offensive line allowed just one sack in nearly 60 passing plays. Like the receivers, the linemen were generally aware of BYU's defensive plan before each snap.
"They didn't do that much within the front six or seven (defenders)," Smith said. "It was pretty basic, and from the way they lined up, you could tell what they were going to do."
BYU entered the game with the nation's top-scoring offense, but Jones thinks it was the Warriors' run-and-shoot that gained fans across the nation yesterday.
"A whole bunch of people saw it on the Mainland (on ESPN2)," Jones said. "If you were a receiver or quarterback, what (offense) would you like to play in right now?"
The Warriors also established new school single-season records for total points (483), total offense (5,552) and passing yards (4,576).
"We're a high-powered offense," Harris said. "When we get it going, nobody can stop us."
