Before Hercules Satele could do his senior walk, he needed to take a breather.

Satele, the starting guard for the University of Hawai'i football team, was nearly breathless in the locker room following the Warriors' 35-28 victory over Washington last night at Aloha Stadium.

"We left everything out there," Satele said. "Most teams would have given up. We were down 21 points to Washington. But this team, we never give up. We never stop fighting."

Satele was one of 22 seniors who capped an undefeated regular season in style last night.

After the game, the seniors did the traditional senior walk, greeting fans around Aloha Stadium.

"This is my last game in Aloha Stadium and what a way to go out," he said. "We're 12-0. I'm never going to forget this."

But it was a forgettable first half for Satele and the rest of the Hawai'i offensive line. Self-admitted "screw ups" contributed to the Warriors' falling into a 21-0 deficit in the first quarter.

"We take all the blame," Satele said. "We're here to protect the quarterback, and we didn't do a good job. We had some screw ups and the coaches got on us."

During one timeout, head coach June Jones came out to the field to lecture the offensive linemen.

"He just said to pick it up," Satele said. "We all looked at each other and said that's it. We're not going to let this team beat us in our house."

Now, the Warriors are in line for a historic appearance in a Bowl Championship Series game.

"I don't care where we go, anyplace," Satele said. "This team has been through so much adversity, we deserve to go."

The other 21 Hawai'i seniors are: Colt Brennan, C.J. Hawthorne, Brad Kalilimoku, Ryan Keomaka, Michael Lafaele, Micah Lau, Jason Laumoli, Gerard Lewis, Francis Maka, A.J. Martinez, Myron Newberry, Karl Noa, Timo Paepule, Jacob Patek, Lorgan Pau, Amani Purcell, Jason Rivers, Nate Russell, Rustin Saole, Larry Sauafea and Siave Seti.

LIBRE ON THE RUN

A month ago, junior running back Daniel Libre was a member of the scout team.

Last night, he had one of the best games by a Hawai'i running back this season with 82 yards rushing on 10 carries, and 61 yards receiving on six receptions.

"To be honest with you, I had no idea what was coming for me," Libre said. "I didn't even know if I was going to play."

Last night was only Libre's third game of the season. Earlier this year, he was a slotback, but eventually switched to running back.

"There's so many good slotbacks on this team," he said. "So I'm just glad I got a chance at running back; that's a more natural position for me."

Libre, who is a junior, said he hopes his late-game surge will carry into his senior season.

"Tonight was all about the seniors and I wanted to do what I could to help them win this game," he said. "And hopefully I can be in the same position next year, getting more reps from the start."

CREDIT LEWIS, MOUTON

The Warriors clinched last night's victory when cornerback Ryan Mouton intercepted a Washington pass in the end zone.

He said the ball got kicked up in the air by teammate Gerard Lewis.

"Everybody's giving me the credit, but Gerard made the play," Mouton said. "He had the man covered and the ball kicked off his foot. I just happened to be there to catch it."

Mouton returned the ball 19 yards, and probably could have raced for a touchdown, but he slid to the turf with 3 seconds remaining.

"The game was over," he said. "I didn't want to risk anything."

CONTINUING TO STREAK

Hawai'i increased its winning streak to a school-record 13 games, dating to last season's Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl.

Hawai'i also won its sixth consecutive game on national television (last night's game was on ESPN2). The Warriors are 14-12 in national television games with June Jones as head coach.

NEAR-RECORD CROWD

The turnstile attendance for last night's game was announced at 49,566 — the second-largest ever for a UH home game.

The record of 49,651 was set last week against Boise State.

Prior to this season, the record was 49,139 against Brigham Young in 1980. A game against USC in 1978 drew 48,767.

MONEY MATTERS

The University of Hawai'i isn't ready to say yet if the athletic department will keep the proceeds from a Bowl Championship Series appearance if the football team qualifies for one of the bowls.

Manoa Chancellor Virginia Hinshaw said, "We're going to talk about it," but declined to say which way she is leaning. UH President David McClain referred all questions to Hinshaw saying that while, "they are UH's team, the state's team, they come under the Manoa chancellor's office."

If UH appears in a BCS game, the school would receive a minimum of $4.2 million. From that it must pay for team travel, hotel, food and other expenses including unsold tickets.

Last year Boise State realized approximately $3 million after expenses and has earmarked some of the funds for facilities.

Coaches and athletic department staff have been hopeful that if UH reached a BCS game the proceeds would be left in the department to improve budgets and facilities.

The athletic department has reported a deficit for four of the most recently announced five fiscal years.

A HAPPY 56TH

Yesterday was the 56th birthday for Western Athletic Conference commissioner Karl Benson, who attended the game.

Wearing a hat with a UH logo and aloha shirt, Benson said, " I think you know what I'd like to see for my birthday."

A UH appearance in a BCS event would be worth at least $6 million to the WAC, a minimum of $4.2 million of which would go to UH.

AND WHAT'S MORE

Local entertainer Henry Kapono sang the national anthem and Hawai'i Pono'i prior to the game.

The University of Hawai'i marching band and Rainbow Dancers performed at halftime.

A fan dressed as Santa Claus made his way on the field during a timeout midway through the second quarter. The fan managed to run all the way across the field — about 80 yards — before security personnel removed him.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.