Komine's breakout game helps erase drops of past

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

Britton Komine has decided to drop the past and catch every pass for the rest of the season.

UH's Chad Owens congratulates fellow receiver Britton Komine after Komine caught his second touchdown of the game, a 13-yard pass in the fourth period. Komine caught nine passes for 159 yards. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

For Komine, a 5-foot-10 starting wide receiver, it was the kind of breakout senior performance he's been waiting for all season.

"I know I was dropping passes I should be catching early in the season," he said. "My confidence was a little down, but I never stopped working."

In recent weeks, Komine said he stayed after practice to catch passes, even if it meant catching footballs fired from a machine.

"I went back to the fundamentals, looking the ball into my hands, all of that," he said.

The work has paid off. In Hawai'i's past three games, including last night, Komine has a team-high 21 receptions for 355 yards. In the previous three games, he caught eight passes for 135 yards.

Early in last night's game, it looked like he might suffer a relapse when he dropped an easy pass late in the second quarter.

"That was my fault, I took my eye off it," he said.

But fitting with his newfound confidence, he came back on the very next play, catching a 46-yard strike from quarterback Tim Chang for a touchdown — his first of this season.

"It wasn't like Timmy wanted to go to me because I dropped the one before; it just worked out that way," Komine said. "But I'm glad I got the chance because I wanted that one."

Perhaps most important, Komine's touchdown gave Hawai'i a 21-14 lead it would not relinquish the rest of the game.

In the fourth quarter, Komine capped the victory with a 13-yard touchdown catch in the back of the end zone.

"He made some really big catches for us," head coach June Jones said. "He took some big licks but got up every time. That says a lot about his character."

Komine took a particularly hard shot after catching a pass in the first half, and had to momentarily come out of the game.

"I felt a little woozy, so I needed a break," he said.# "I'm just glad I caught the ball."

If Komine didn't play like himself earlier in the season, it may be because he was in a different jersey number. Prior to this season, Komine switched to No. 9. In his previous three seasons, he was No. 84.

"I was No. 9 in high school, and that's where it started," said Komine, who was a record-breaking prep receiver for Pac-Five. "I've been trying to get it for three years and it was finally available this year."

In any case, he said he didn't want to cause any confusion for Hawai'i fans.

"Hopefully they remember the name and not the number," he said.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8101.