Receiving corps steps up when Lelie slowed

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

For the record, the Hawai'i football team has more than one big-play receiver.

Justin Colbert proved that last night in the Warriors' 34-10 victory over San Jose State at Aloha Stadium.

Colbert, a 5-foot-7 junior, caught six passes for a team-high 108 yards, including a 39-yard fourth-quarter touchdown that put the finishing touch on the victory.

"It's just a matter of time before everybody gets the ball in this offense," Colbert said. "You just have to be patient and stay within the offense."

Still, the past few UH games have turned into an Ashley Lelie show. Lelie entered last night's game ranked third in the nation in receptions per game (7.86), and had more touchdowns (10) than the other three starting receivers combined (4).

However, Lelie bruised his forearm in the first quarter of last night's game. Although he returned shortly after the injury, Lelie was stymied by a deep-coverage scheme employed by the San Jose State defensive backs. He finished with two receptions for 57 yards.

"Lelie is a great receiver and he makes all the big plays when we need it," Colbert said. "But we realize that if we want to finish this season strong, other guys need to make plays."

Channon Harris added six receptions for 82 yards, and Craig Stutzmann had three catches for 59 yards and one touchdown.

"It was great to see those guys make some big plays," Lelie said. "We all work hard at it, and we all know that it could be any one of us on any given day."

Because the San Jose State defense was preventing the deep passes, the Warriors worked short. Most of Colbert's yards came on runs after he made the reception.

"They had a weird coverage, nothing we saw on film," Colbert said. "To tell you the truth, I don't know what it was. I just knew that we had to take what they gave us. We just had to find the holes in the defense."

Interestingly enough, Colbert's primary production came in the second half. In the first half, he caught just two passes for 12 yards.

Prior to last night, Colbert had been splitting time with senior Tafiti Uso. Most games, Colbert would play the first half, and Uso the second.

"I just play my hardest when I'm out there," Colbert said. "Tafiti deserves playing time because he's a great player. Basically, we had five players for four positions, so I didn't mind splitting time."

But Uso did not suit up last night because of a shoulder injury, allowing Colbert to play the entire game. "I knew I had to step it up," Colbert said.