Boise State proved why it is a special team when it comes to Western Athletic Conference football.

The special teams for the Broncos came up with three crucial scoring plays in the second half as Boise State rallied for a 44-41 victory over Hawai'i last night at Aloha Stadium.

"At Boise State, we preach special teams," said defensive back Orlando Scandrick, who returned two blocked kicks for scores. "We pride ourselves on that. We practice it a lot. In the games, we expect to make big plays on special teams."

Scandrick's return of a blocked point-after try by Hawai'i's Dan Kelly resulted in two points for the Broncos with 3:03 remaining in the game. Instead of the Warriors tying the score at 42, the Broncos went ahead 44-41.

"We talked a little (Friday) night about somebody coming up and making a play," Boise State head coach Dan Hawkins said. "Some of them were a little unusual, but you don't take any play off. It was big for us to score those points the way we did."

Earlier in the fourth quarter, Scandrick scooped up a blocked field-goal attempt by Kelly and raced 69 yards for a touchdown. The point-after kick tied the score at 28 with 11:23 remaining in the fourth quarter.

"On both kicks, I saw the block," Scandrick said. "And both times the ball just came right to me, so I just kept going. We practice finishing plays like that in practice all the time, and the guys kept blocking for me."

Both kicks were blocked by 6-foot-5, 295-pound offensive tackle Daryn Colledge.

"One off my forearm, one off my elbow — both on my right arm," Colledge said. "We had a great push. I just happened to be the lucky one to get the hand up."

Colledge said the blocked field-goal try early in the fourth quarter helped get the Broncos up for the blocked point-after try late in the game.

"We planned it," he said. "Before they even converted the big play to get in (the end zone), we said we were going to block the extra point and end it right there."

Scandrick added: "Watching them on film, we knew we could block at least one kick. There's some holes there, and we found it."

The Broncos also got a 92-yard punt return for a touchdown from Quinton Jones in the third quarter. It was Jones' first game as Boise State's punt returner, and his touchdown return was the longest in school history.

"Having Quinton in there on that one paid off because he's fast," Hawkins said.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.