Forsey's TD changed tune of game

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

Brock Forsey will have some nice souvenirs from Hawai'i to take back with him to Boise: an ukulele, a few surfer T-shirts, and a game-winning touchdown.

Forsey, a junior running back, rushed for 132 yards and the clinching fourth-quarter touchdown in Boise State's 28-21 victory over Hawai'i last night at Aloha Stadium.

"I think he really kind of defines our team a little bit," Boise State head coach Dan Hawkins said. "He's just a hard-nosed guy."

And iron-willed.

Forsey's 4-yard touchdown run with 3:15 remaining came on his 29th — and final — carry of the game to give the Broncos a 26-21 lead. A two-point conversion pass from Ryan Dinwiddie to Jeb Putzier provided the final score.

The touchdown more than compensated for a third-quarter fumble that nearly cost the Broncos the victory. After his fumble, which came late in the third quarter, the Warriors drove 45 yards for a touchdown that put Hawai'i ahead, 21-20.

"That was a huge momentum change when I fumbled," said Forsey, who is 6 feet and 198 pounds. "All I wanted to do after that was get back in there and pound the ball to make up for it."

In the fourth quarter alone, Forsey accounted for 37 yards on 10 carries, most of them workman-like rushes up the middle. On the game-winning drive, he rushed four times for 31 yards, including the touchdown.

"My running style is downhill — just run hard," he said. "I don't like to waste time making too many dance moves."

Even after Forsey's fumble, Hawkins said the Broncos did not want to stray from their game plan of rushing the ball at the heart of the Hawai'i defense. Led by Forsey's season-high output, the Broncos rushed for 187 yards as a team. Prior to last night's game, Forsey ranked fourth in the Western Athletic Conference with 82.3 yards per game, and the Broncos were ranked fifth with 151.2 rushing yards per game.

"We've run the ball pretty well all year, and our guys have confidence with it," Hawkins said. "The thing is, we try not to get away from it even if we are struggling a little bit."

It was Forsey's fifth 100-yard game of the season, and eighth in the last two seasons. He also surpassed the 2,000-yard mark for his career last night.

For good measure, he also caught a team-high six passes for 46 yards and another touchdown.

"I think our (offensive) line did a good job," Forsey said. "I know Hawai'i had a couple of (defensive) guys banged up, but I thought we established our running game pretty well and that opened up the passing game."

After figuring out the Hawai'i defense last night, Forsey said he was anxious to figure out his new musical instrument.

"I bought a ukulele because I want to jam some tunes on it," he said.