Posted on: Sunday, December 8, 2002
Win over Aztecs fitting in season
• Warriors win run 'n' shootout
• For 19 seniors, there's no place like Hawai'i to play
• UH relies on run to win shootout
• How they scored
• Scoring drives
• 2002 Hawai'i schedule
• Hawai'i stars of the game
• Statistics
By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Sports Columnist
They leaped from the sidelines and triumphantly thrust fists into the night. They danced around the field trading high fives and hugs amid the cascading confetti.
It took the University of Hawai'i 12 long years and 10 often frustrating games to finally beat San Diego State, but the Warriors had no problem figuring out how to celebrate the end of what had been their longest running mastery by an opponent after a 41-40 victory.
It was a triumph three head coaches, a conference breakaway, a couple of offenses, and a logo change in coming. One that had, for a time seemed, might never occur.
In a season of breakthroughs — the first win at Fresno State's Bulldog Stadium; the first victory over Rice, etc. — the Warriors fittingly closed this regular season with another milestone.
And all it took was 610 yards yards in offense, which gives you an idea of how UH managed to come up short so often in the past.
For too many years the Warriors lacked the offensive firepower to keep up with a team that had a virtual production line of big-play offensive stars: Marshall Faulk, George Jones, Az Hakim, et al.
For all the other offensive prowess and their defensive and special teams abilities, previous Warrior teams had no answer for SDSU's ability to put up, on average, 40 points a game in the streak.
Never before were the Warriors capable of matching San Diego State score for score; big play for big play; star for star.
How ironic, then, that the Warriors would find the answer to the biggest piece in the puzzle that had become the Aztecs right in San Diego State's backyard: June Jones.
When Jones walked away from the San Diego Chargers' employment to take over a UH team that hadn't beaten the Aztecs since 1989, he brought with him the only offense capable of bridging the talent gap and putting up enough points to turn the trick.
Seven times last night the Warriors broke plays of 20 yards or more to keep them in the game and, eventually holding off the Aztecs.
They needed them all to overcome J. R. Tolver's 283 yards and two touchdowns and Kassim Osgood's 126 yards and a touchdown.
Because the Warriors couldn't keep pace with the Aztecs in the past, they had become a butt of jokes in San Diego where a newspaper headline once crowed: "Games against Hawai'i are like get-well cards." And a San Diego Union columnist had written: "They should send a limo and a marching band to meet (Hawai'i) at the airport. Have a party."
When it comes to playing Hawai'i, the party is apparently over for San Diego State.
And, the Warriors' was just getting started last night.
